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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: Paula Gamache
THEME: HACK SAWS … each of the them clues is the beginning of an old saying or SAW, but the answer provides a whimsical or perhaps banal (HACK) ending to replace the original:
27A “A penny saved is …” : NOT ENOUGH TO RETIRE ON (… a penny earned)
35A. “Where there’s a will, there’s …” : GOING TO BE A RELATIVE (… a way)
56A. “Where there’s smoke, there’s …” : AIR POLLUTION (… fire)
66A. “People who live in glass houses …” : LET IT ALL HANG OUT (… shouldn’t throw stones)
80A. “He who laughs last …” : FINALLY GOT IT (… laughs longest)
99A. “If at first you don’t succeed …” : REDEFINE THE MISSION (try, try again)
108A. “Don’t bite the hand …” : THAT HASN’T BEEN WASHED (… that feeds you)
COMPLETION TIME: 28m 37s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … NOLITA (NOLETA), NADINE (NADENE)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. ___ of roses : ATTAR
Attar is a fragrant essential oil obtained from flowers, and may particularly refer to attar of roses.
“Swans Reflecting Elephants” is a painting that Salvador Dali completed in 1937. The title is somewhat self-explanatory. The scene features some swans on a lake, along with their reflections. In the reflection the swans take on the appearance of elephants, with the swans’ necks becoming elephant trunks and wings becoming ears.
I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Dali Museum in Figueres some years ago, just north of Barcelona. If you ever get the chance, it’s a “must see”.
The French racing driver Alain Prost, won the Formula One Drivers’ championship four times, one of the best records to date.
After serving in the navy in WWII for three years, Tito Puente studied at Julliard, where he got a great grounding in conducting, orchestration and theory. He parlayed this education into a career in Latin Jazz and Mambo. He was know as “El Rey” as well as “The King of Latin Music”.
21. Religion founded in Iran : BAHA’I
The Baha’i Faith is relatively new in the scheme of things, founded in Persia in the 1800s. One of the tenets of the religion is that messengers have come from God over time, including Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and most recently Bahá’u’lláh, who founded the Baha’i Faith.
22. Dash : ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning: “style” or “flair”.
Roger Ebert co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Ebert was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in 2002, and since then has undergone a number of surgical procedures. Sadly, he has lost his voice, but continues work as a film critic, focusing these days on the print medium.
The old adage, “A penny saved is a penny earned” is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. However, what he actually wrote is, “A penny saved is twopence dear”.
32. Winery wood : OAK
Oak barrels are sometimes used to store wine during fermentation and aging. The oak wood has a profound effect, perhaps changing the wine’s color, flavor and texture. Sometimes the same effect is produced “less traditionally”. If the wine is stored in stainless steel containers then oak chips are often added into the liquid.
An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui”, from France. The French also have a modern usage of the word “etui” … using it for a case that stores CDs.
34. Like a black hole : DENSE
A black hole in space is a region that is extremely dense, it has an enormous gravitational field. The force of gravity is so great that not even light can escape, hence the name “black hole”, as all that can be observed is “blackness”. It is believed that black holes form when large stars reach the end of their lives and collapse in upon themselves.
Cass Elliot was one of the four singers in the Mamas and the Papas, the sensational group from the sixties. She was performing sold-out concerts in London in 1974 when she was found dead one morning, having had a heart attack. She was only 32 years old. Eerily, she died in the same flat (on loan from Harry Nilsson) in which the Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, would die just four years later.
43. Partner of 74-Across : AFL
(74. Partner of 43-Across : CIO)
The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time, the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932, the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades, until finally merging in 1955.
‘Til Tuesday was a New Wave band from Boston that performed and recorded from 1982 to 1988.
55. Certain commando : SEAL
SEAL is an acronym, used by the US Navy’s SEa, Air and Land teams. The SEALs were born out of the Navy’s special warfare groups from WWII, like the Underwater Demolition Teams and the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons. The Navy SEAL unit was established soon after President Kennedy’s speech in which he announced the plan to put a man on the moon, as in the same speech the president allocated $100m of funding to strengthen special operations forces. The Navy used some of this money to set up guerrilla and counter-guerrilla units, which soon became the SEALs.
Ross Perot graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1953, as president of his class. He served his 4-year commitment but then apparently resigned his commission, being somewhat disillusioned with the navy.
John Rae was a Scottish explorer, who took on the task of searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The Franklin Expedition was itself searching for the elusive Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. John Rae created much controversy back in England when he reported evidence of cannibalism among the ill-fated Franklin explorers.
65. Buddhist teaching : DHARMA
“Dharma” can mean a number of different things in Buddhism and Hinduism. In the context of Hinduism, dharma is one’s duty, which is a function of one’s age, class, occupation and gender. In the context of Buddhism, dharma is the collection of teachings and doctrines of the faith.
Azaleas are very toxic to horses, sheep and goats, but strangely enough cause no problem for cats or dogs. And if you go to Korea you might come across “Tugyonju”, which is azalea wine made from the plant’s blossoms.
75. Chinese “path” : TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.
84. Russian council : DUMA
A Duma is a representative assembly in Russia. The word “dumat” in Russian means “to think, consider”.
86. Land in a river : AIT
Aits are little islands found in a river. Aits aren’t formed by erosion, but by the deposition of silt over time. As a result, aits often have a long and narrow shape running parallel to the banks as the sediment builds up with the flow of the water. Many of the islands in the River Thames in England have been given the name Ait, like Raven’s Ait in Kingston-upon-Thames, and Lot’s Ait in Brentford.
88. Part of a cul-de-sac address, maybe: Abbr. : CIR
Even though “cul de sac” can indeed mean “bottom of the bag” in French, the term cul-de-sac is of English origin (the use of “cul” in French is actually quite rude). 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 with just a symbol and no accompanying words, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”.
89. Neighborhood east of SoHo : NOLITA
Nolita is a neighborhood in Manhattan in New York City. The name “Nolita” is derived from “North of Little Italy”. One of the area’s most famous sons is the director Martin Scorsese.
Trisha Yearwood is an American country music singer. She was discovered by the man who is now her third husband, country music legend Garth Brooks.
92. “Riddle me, riddle me ___” : REE
There’s an old English nursery thyme that goes:
Riddle-me riddle-me riddle-me-ree,
Perhaps you can tell what this riddle may be:
As deep as a house, as round as a cup,
And all the king’s horses can’t draw it up.
And the answer is … a well!
106. Alley ___ : OOP
French people, and circus acrobats in particular, use the phrase “allez hop!” as words of encouragement, sort of like our “let’s go!”. The phrase was anglicized to “alley oop”.
115. Legend of the Himalayas : YETI
A yeti is a beast of legend, also called an abominable snowman. It is a Tibetan term, and the yeti is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot. The study of beasts whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology.
116. Oldest von Trapp child in “The Sound of Music” : LIESL
The von Trapps portrayed in the musical “The Sound of Music”, was 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.
117. Protein building blocks : AMINO ACIDS
Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins.
121. Looped handles : ANSAE
Ansa is the Latin word for handle. The term is also used to describe anatomical structures that are shaped like a handle, forming a loop or an arc.
123. Sacred city of Lamaism : LHASA
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and the name “Lhasa” translates as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”.
Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties, “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”.
Down
3. Analgesic : PAINKILLER
Our word “analgesic”, used for “painkiller”, comes from “analgesia” is a Greek word meaning “painlessness”.
Pico Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles named for Pío Pico, the last governor of California when it was under Mexican rule.
6. Wasted : STINKO
Wasted, stinko … drunk.
Tino Martinez has retired from Major League Baseball Het played first base for a number of teams including the Mariners, Yankees, Cardinals and Devil Rays. Martinez was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and worked as a boy in his father’s cigar factory.
8. Departing words? : ET TU
It was Shakespeare who wrote the words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?), in his play “Julius Caesar” although the phrase was around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said just before he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.
Robert Moog invented the Moog Synthesizer in the sixties, an electronic device that he used to produce music. I used to own a few of his albums, including a Moog version of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. What a great performance that was …
10. Helped in a job : ABETTED
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” to mean aid or encourage someone in a crime.
Tabouleh is one my my favorite dishes. It is usually made from bulgur, tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint, onion, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Just writing that list of ingredients gets my mouth watering …
The Rialto is the financial and commercial center of Venice, and has been so for centuries. One of the most famous features of the area is the Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal.
13. It has banks in Switzerland : AARE
The Aar (also called the Aare in German) is the longest river entirely in Switzerland. A famous spot along the river is the Reichenbach Falls in the center of the country, actually a series of waterfalls near the city of Meiringen. These falls are celebrated in the world of literature as it was here that Sherlock Holmes fell to his supposed doom with his nemesis Professor Moriarty (in “The Adventure of the Final Problem”).
Martin Ritt is best remembered as a television and movie director. During the bad old days of the “Red Scare”, Ritt was working in television until he found himself on a blacklist for supposed support of Communist causes. He turned to the theater for work until the Red Scare had run its course, and them moved into the world of film. Some of his best known movies are “The Great White Hope” and “Norma Rae”.
17. Port on the Gulf of Guinea : LAGOS
Lagos is a port and the biggest city in Nigeria. Lagos used to be the country’s capital, until it was replaced in that role in 1991 by Abuja, a city built for just for this purpose.
37. Rapscallion : BAD LOT
We might call a little imp a rapscallion, an evolution from “rascallion”, which in turn comes from “rascal”.
Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world, living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants, unlike the eggs of frogs and toads which float freely. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.
39. Part of T.A.E. : ALVA
Thomas Alva Edison was nicknamed “The Wizard of Menlo Park” by a newspaper reporter, a name that stuck. He was indeed a wizard, in the sense that he was such a prolific inventor. The Menlo Park part of the moniker recognizes the location of his first research lab, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
Lucy Lawless is a New Zealand actress (and singer), famous for playing the title role in TV’s “Xena: Warrior Princess”. Lawless first played the Xena character in a made-for-TV movie called “Hercules and the Amazon Women”, and later reprised the role in a series called “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. Xena became so popular that a series was built around her character, with Lawless retained for the role.
50. It’s north of Baja, informally : CALI
Baja California is both the most northern, and the most western of the Mexican states.
58. Bog buildup : PEAT
When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because this decaying matter can form peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs.
Lt. Nyota Uhura was the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, played by Nichelle Nichols. The role was significant in that it was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first inter-racial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner says that he deliberately ran long on the first shoot (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second shoot (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.
61. Cooking pots : OLLAS
An olla is a traditional clay pot used for the making of stews.
Remember Ken Starr of Whitewater fame? He is now the President of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
68. Wasted : LIT
Waste, lit … drunk.
Chuck Berry may be a pioneer of rock and roll, but he had an inauspicious start to his life. He was raised in a middle class family in St. Louis, and started playing and performing music in high school. However, while still at school he was arrested and convicted of armed robbery. He served three years for the crime, and was released from prison in 1947 on his 21st birthday. He certainly got his act together after that …
70. Toe woe : GOUT
Gout is caused by an elevation of the levels of uric acid in the blood. As a result of the high concentrations, the uric acid can crystallize out in tissue causing extreme discomfort. What we tend to call gout occurs when the crystals are deposited in the big toe. If the same crystals are deposited in the kidney, then we call them kidney stones.
72. Fanboy’s reading : ZINE
Fanboys are fans, but fans of a very specific subject in a particular field. So, someone might be a fan of home computing, but an Intel fanboy would have an enthusiasm for CPUs made by Intel. A fanzine (also “zine”) is a fan publication with a very limited circulation, dealing with a very specific subject matter. Fanzines are usually desktop published and distributed electronically or as photocopies.
73. Stud money : ANTE
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.
Ban Ki-Moon is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations. He is from South Korea and spent most of his working life as a diplomat for his country, before taking the post of Foreign Minister in the South Korean government. He will continue as UN Secretary-General until the end of 2016, having been unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly to a second term.
79. Laurence who wrote “Tristram Shandy” : STERNE
Laurence Sterns is best known for his novel, “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman”. It is an epic work, published in nine volumes over ten years.
83. Material for a suit? : TORT
The word “tort” is a French word, meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. Tort law is generally about negligence, when the action of one party causes injury to another, in an action that is outside of the scope of criminal law.
The verb phrase “tilt at” meaning “fight with” derives from the sport of jousting, or “tilting”, in which contestants fought each other on horseback with lances.
98. It might be on the road : ASPHALT
It turns out that the asphalt surface on roads (or basketball courts) is more properly called asphaltic concrete, because asphalt itself is just a sticky, black liquid that comes from crude petroleum. Asphalt is used as a binder with aggregate to form asphaltic concrete.
99. One behind the lens : RETINA
The retina is the name given to the tissue that lines the inside of the eye, the tissue that is light-sensitive. There are (mainly) two types of cell in the retina that are sensitive to light: the rods and the cones. Rods are cells that best function in very dim light and only provide black-and-white vision. Cones on the other hand function in brighter light and can perceive color.
104. Exempli gratia, e.g. : LATIN
The Latin term “exempli gratia” means “for the sake of example”, and we use it all the time in English. It’s almost always shortened to “e.g.”
Alan Greenspan served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, the longest anyone has held that post. He was appointed by President Reagan for a four-year term, and was reappointed by subsequent presidents until Greenspan retired. Outside of the world of economics, Greenspan is married to NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, and back in the seventies he even dated Barbara Walters.
110. It has a period of 2π : SINE
When we look at a sine wave undulating across the page, we can see that it repeats itself, coming to peaks and troughs at regular intervals. The distance between each successive peak or trough say, is called the “period” of the sine function.
112. Its highest point is Wheeler Peak: Abbr. : N MEX
Wheeler Peak is the highest point in the state of New Mexico, and is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The famous Taos Ski Valley is just two miles away.
114. Nymph spurned by Narcissus : ECHO
In Greek mythology, Echo is one of the Oreads, the mountain nymphs. She fell in love with the vain Narcissus, and followed him into the forest one day. Narcissus heard her following him, and called out, “Who’s there?”. Echo answered, “Who’s there?” Again he called out, and again Echo echoed his words back to him. Get the gist?
118. August hrs. : DST
On the other side of the Atlantic, Daylight Saving Time (DST) is known as “summer time”. The idea behind summer/daylight-savings is to move clocks forward an hour in spring and backwards in the fall, so that afternoons have more daylight.
119. ___ Tomé : SAO
São Tomé is one of two islands off the west coast of Africa that make up the nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Animal with a huge yawn : HIPPO
6. Garden support : STEM
10. ___ of roses : ATTAR
15. “Swans Reflecting Elephants” artist : DALI
19. Formula One driver Prost : ALAIN
20. Bandleader Puente : TITO
21. Religion founded in Iran : BAHA’I
22. Dash : ELAN
23. Reduces significantly : SLICES INTO
25. “Your Movie Sucks” writer : EBERT
26. Billion: Prefix : GIGA-
27. “A penny saved is …” : NOT ENOUGH TO RETIRE ON
30. “___ me anything” : ASK
32. Winery wood : OAK
33. Needle case : ETUI
34. Like a black hole : DENSE
35. “Where there’s a will, there’s …” : GOING TO BE A RELATIVE
42. Mama Cass : ELLIOT
43. Partner of 74-Across : AFL
44. Spread out : DILATE
45. E-mail alternative : FAX
48. Effrontery : GALL
49. Entertainment providers at a sports bar : LCD TVS
52. Pop’s ___ Tuesday : ‘TIL
53. Fill : SATE
54. Perfect service : ACE
55. Certain commando : SEAL
56. “Where there’s smoke, there’s …” : AIR POLLUTION
60. Founder of United We Stand America : PEROT
62. Despicable : LOW
64. John who searched for the Northwest Passage : RAE
65. Buddhist teaching : DHARMA
66. “People who live in glass houses …” : LET IT ALL HANG OUT
71. Rhododendron cousin : AZALEA
74. Partner of 43-Across : CIO
75. Chinese “path” : TAO
76. Stinks to high heaven : REEKS
80. “He who laughs last …” : FINALLY GOT IT
84. Russian council : DUMA
86. Land in a river : AIT
87. Some are queens : ANTS
88. Part of a cul-de-sac address, maybe: Abbr. : CIR
89. Neighborhood east of SoHo : NOLITA
91. “This ___ You’re Talking To” (Trisha Yearwood song) : IS ME
92. “Riddle me, riddle me ___” : REE
93. Public respect : REPUTE
96. Managed : RAN
97. 2, 3, 4 or 6, for 12 : FACTOR
99. “If at first you don’t succeed …” : REDEFINE THE MISSION
102. Revenue line : SALES
105. It can make a 10 a 9 : FLAW
106. Alley ___ : OOP
107. Sante Fe-to-Denver dir. : NNE
108. “Don’t bite the hand …” : THAT HASN’T BEEN WASHED
115. Legend of the Himalayas : YETI
116. Oldest von Trapp child in “The Sound of Music” : LIESL
117. Protein building blocks : AMINO ACIDS
120. Reposed : LAIN
121. Looped handles : ANSAE
122. Bone-dry : SERE
123. Sacred city of Lamaism : LHASA
124. Mrs. Garrett on “The Facts of Life” : EDNA
125. Places to live in the sticks? : NESTS
126. Struck out : EXED
127. Stupid, in Sonora : TONTO
Down
1. Is sick with : HAS
2. Sick : ILL
3. Analgesic : PAINKILLER
4. Boulevard where Fox Studios and the Los Angeles Convention Center are located : PICO
5. “Almost finished!” : ONE TO GO
6. Wasted : STINKO
7. Former Yankee Martinez : TINO
8. Departing words? : ET TU
9. Synthesizer designer Robert : MOOG
10. Helped in a job : ABETTED
11. Middle Eastern salad : TABOULI
12. Area of Venice with a famous bridge : THE RIALTO
13. It has banks in Switzerland : AARE
14. Director Martin : RITT
15. Step : DEGREE
16. It’s out of this world : ALIEN
17. Port on the Gulf of Guinea : LAGOS
18. Silly : INANE
24. Western terminus of I-90 : SEATTLE
28. ___ Majesty : HER
29. Contraction with two apostrophes : I’D’VE
30. Relationship disparity, perhaps : AGE GAP
31. Console : SOLACE
36. Naught : NIL
37. Rapscallion : BAD LOT
38. New newt : EFT
39. Part of T.A.E. : ALVA
40. Comet part : TAIL
41. “That’s good enough” : IT’LL DO
45. C-worthy : FAIR
46. Scintilla : ATOM
47. TV warrior for good : XENA
50. It’s north of Baja, informally : CALI
51. Prime cut : SIRLOIN
53. A star may represent it : STATE
55. ___ blue : STEEL
57. College cheer : RAH
58. Bog buildup : PEAT
59. “Star Trek” role : UHURA
61. Cooking pots : OLLAS
63. Baylor’s city : WACO
67. Applied some powder to : TALCED
68. Wasted : LIT
69. Title girl in a 1964 Chuck Berry hit : NADINE
70. Toe woe : GOUT
71. Come from ___ : AFAR
72. Fanboy’s reading : ZINE
73. Stud money : ANTE
77. Javanese or Malay : EAST INDIAN
78. Ban ___ (Kofi Annan’s successor) : KI-MOON
79. Laurence who wrote “Tristram Shandy” : STERNE
81. “Good grief!” : YIPE
82. Surly manner : GRUFFNESS
83. Material for a suit? : TORT
85. Party of the underworld : MAFIOSO
90. ___-di-dah : LAH
91. Suffix with robot : ICS
93. Hebrew letter after koph : RESH
94. Fights with : TILTS AT
95. Permits : ENABLES
98. It might be on the road : ASPHALT
99. One behind the lens : RETINA
100. Farm mate : EWE
101. Didn’t suffer in silence : MOANED
102. Flair : STYLE
103. Forward : AHEAD
104. Exempli gratia, e.g. : LATIN
109. Economist Greenspan : ALAN
110. It has a period of 2π : SINE
111. No pressure : EASE
112. Its highest point is Wheeler Peak: Abbr. : N MEX
113. Current carrier : WIRE
114. Nymph spurned by Narcissus : ECHO
118. August hrs. : DST
119. ___ Tomé : SAO
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The french word "cul" may be considered rude. But "cul-de-sac" has no such connotation
Thank you for spotting that slip. I've made a correction.
Thanks for taking time to point out the error. I really do appreciate the help!
I don't get the clue, "it can make a ten." I got the answer, I just don't know what that means.
Hi there,
Re "It can make a 10 a 9"
I think the idea is that a perfect score is often a "10", so a flaw could make that less than perfect, a "9".
I hope that helps!