0916-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 16 Sep 11, Friday

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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe DiPietro
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 42m 12s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0


Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. 1990 Clint Eastwood cop film : THE ROOKIE
“The Rookie” is a 1990 action movie featuring a pair of cops. Clint Eastwood plays the veteran detective, and he is teamed with a rookie, played by Charlie Sheen.

19. Money competitor : INC
“Inc.” is a business magazine that specializes in articles about growing companies.

22. Pitlik who directed “Barney Miller” and “Mr. Belvedere” : NOAM
Noam Pitlik was a television director and actor. He won a Best Director Emmy in 1979, for his work on the sitcom “Barney Miller”.

31. Firm : AL DENTE
The Italian expression “al dente” literally means “to the tooth” or “to the bite” and is used to describe not only pasta, but also vegetables that are cooked so that they are tender yet still crisp.

33. Wallace who wrote “Angle of Repose” : STEGNER
Wallace Stegner was a writer, winner of a Pullitzer Prize in 1972 for his novel “Angle of Repose”.

35. Old “One mission. Yours.” sloganeer : TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan-Am, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the acronym TWA) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

36. Miss ___ : USA
The Miss USA beauty pageant was founded in 1952 in order to select the American candidate for the Miss Universe competition.

41. Blowout : SHINDIG
“Shindig” is such a lovely word, I think, describing a party that usually includes some dancing. Although its origin isn’t really clear, it perhaps comes from “shinty”, a Scottish game similar to field hockey.

46. Small night creatures : ELF OWLS
The tiny Elf Owl is the lightest of all owls, usually weighing less than 1½ ounces, with a height of about 5 inches.

47. Reckless smuggler of sci-fi : HAN SOLO
Han Solo was the space smuggler in “Star Wars” played by Harrison Ford. Ford was originally hired by George Lucas just to read lines for actors during auditions for “Star Wars”, but over time Lucas became convinced that Ford was right for the pivotal role of Han Solo.

49. Abbr. before “Co.” in some company names : MFG
Manufacturing (MFG).

62. Hit the bottom of? : CANED
Corporal punishment in schools is still legal in 20 US States, mostly in the south of the country.

64. Laments : KEENS
“To keen” is to wail in lamentation. Keening has its roots in Ireland, coming from the Irish word “caoinim” meaning “I weep, wail, lament”.

Down
3. Change one’s image, in a way? : RESCALE
One can rescale a photographic image, change its size.

5. ___ wheelie : POP A
“To pop a wheelie” is a lift the front wheels of a vehicle off the ground by accelerating rapidly with the rear wheels.

6. Actress Diana : DORS
I remember Diana Dors in the movies of my youth. She was considered the English equivalent of the “blonde bombshell” of Hollywood in the fifties. She was so successful early in her career that at the age of 20 she became the UK’s youngest registered owner of a Rolls Royce car.

8. Blushes, say : WINES
The term “blush” in the world of wine has been around since the late seventies, and is really only used here in the US. Today we think of a blush as a relatively sweet pink wine, and a rosé as something drier.

13. Matte finish? : SILENT E
The E on the end of the word “matte” isn’t pronounced. It is a silent E.

14. Met on the down-low : TRYSTED
Something described as “down-low” is “secret”.

25. Kings prophet : ELISHA
The prophet Elisha is mentioned both in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an. In the Islamic tradition, Elisha is usually known by his Arabic name, Alyasa.

29. Minnesota home of Martin Luther College : NEW ULM
The city of New Ulm, Minnesota was founded in 1854 by German immigrants and is named after the city of Ulm in the south of Germany. The city’s German roots led to New Ulm developing a brewing industry. It is home to the August Schell Brewing Company, the second-oldest family-owned brewery in the country.

30. Semiterrestrial bug-catchers : GRASS FROGS
What we call “grass frogs” here in North America are more correctly known as leopard frogs. What are called grass frogs in Europe are more correctly called the common frog.

37. Alice Cooper’s appropriately titled theme song for “Friday the 13th Part VI” : HE’S BACK
“Friday the 13th: Jason Lives” was the sixth in twelve (so far!) of a very successful slasher film series. How many have I sat through? Well, that would be none …

Outrageous rock singer Alice Cooper’s real name is Vincent Furnier. Alice Cooper was originally the name of the band that Furnier fronted, but he adopted the name as his own when he started his solo career in 1975. Outside the recording studio, Cooper is an exceptional golfer. He has stated that golf was a great help to him as he overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol.

38. Morse who sang “Cow-Cow Boogie” : ELLA MAE
Ella Mae Morse was a singer from Texas, first hired by bandleader Jimmy Dorsey when she was just 14 years old (she told him she was 19!).

42. Australian state: Abbr. : NSW
New South Wales is the most populous state in Australia and is home to Sydney, the most populous city in the country. New South Wales was founded in 1788.  When the British took over New Zealand in 1840, for a while it was actually part of New South Wales.

50. Explorer John Cabot’s birthplace : GENOA
Giovanni Caboto (known in English as “John Cabot”) was an Italian explorer. He is believed to have been the first European to visit North America since the Vikings landed here in the 11th century. Many say that he landed in Newfoundland in 1497.

53. Some M&M’s : REDS
Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. He invented the Mars Bar while living over in England, and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. He came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the Ms from Mars and Murrie which give the name to the candy.

56. Eye part : UVEA
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Reduce to bare bones : STRIP DOWN
10. “Hey you!” : PSSST
15. 1990 Clint Eastwood cop film : THE ROOKIE
16. Studio sign : ON AIR
17. Likely to take chances : RISK PRONE
18. Figure on a bridge score sheet : TALLY
19. Money competitor : INC
20. Was up to date, with “out”? : ASKED
21. They may work for both sides : SPIES
22. Pitlik who directed “Barney Miller” and “Mr. Belvedere” : NOAM
24. Toledo-to-Columbus dir. : SSE
26. Shut (up) : PENT
27. Reaction of thirsty people : GULPING
31. Firm : AL DENTE
33. Wallace who wrote “Angle of Repose” : STEGNER
34. Stolen : PIRATED
35. Old “One mission. Yours.” sloganeer : TWA
36. Miss ___ : USA
37. Worse than awful : HEINOUS
41. Blowout : SHINDIG
46. Small night creatures : ELF OWLS
47. Reckless smuggler of sci-fi : HAN SOLO
48. Area close to a hockey net : SLOT
49. Abbr. before “Co.” in some company names : MFG
51. Suffer from the heat : WILT
52. Having less coverage : BARER
54. Go down again, so to speak : RECUR
58. Frost relative : DEW
59. “Get ___ on!” : A MOVE
60. “Generally speaking …” : ON AVERAGE
62. Hit the bottom of? : CANED
63. Spread quickly over the Internet : GONE VIRAL
64. Laments : KEENS
65. Put one’s feet up in neighborly fashion : SAT A SPELL

Down
1. Series : STRINGS
2. Become sparse : THIN OUT
3. Change one’s image, in a way? : RESCALE
4. Needle : IRK
5. ___ wheelie : POP A
6. Actress Diana : DORS
7. “Enough already … relax!” : OK OK
8. Blushes, say : WINES
9. Has trouble getting started : NEEDS A PUSH
10. Piles of chips, say : POTS
11. Stir-fry vegetable : SNAP PEA
12. Pronounced : SALIENT
13. Matte finish? : SILENT E
14. Met on the down-low : TRYSTED
23. Certain meas. of economy : MPG
25. Kings prophet : ELISHA
28. Getting dragged along : IN TOW
29. Minnesota home of Martin Luther College : NEW ULM
30. Semiterrestrial bug-catchers : GRASS FROGS
32. Sap : DRAIN
37. Alice Cooper’s appropriately titled theme song for “Friday the 13th Part VI” : HE’S BACK
38. Morse who sang “Cow-Cow Boogie” : ELLA MAE
39. “From my perspective …” : I FOR ONE
40. Much less than that : NOT EVEN
42. Australian state: Abbr. : NSW
43. “Is it worth the chance?” : DO I DARE
44. Criminal : ILLEGAL
45. Recovered : GOT WELL
50. Explorer John Cabot’s birthplace : GENOA
53. Some M&M’s : REDS
55. “I’m busy then” : CAN’T
56. Eye part : UVEA
57. Powers (up) : REVS
61. Big swing : RIP

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