0917-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 17 Sep 11, Saturday

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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Peter A. Collins
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 48m 36s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0


Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Singer/songwriter Scialfa : PATTI
Patti Scialfa is a singer, songwriter and guitar player from Deal, New Jersey. She joined the E Street Band in 1984, having met Bruce Springsteen a few years earlier. Springsteen and Scialfa were married in 1991.

17. Debut at the 1979 Frankfurt Auto Show : VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
The name Jetta is one in a series of names related to winds that has used by Volkswagen. Jetta comes from the German for “jet stream””, and the model name Passat comes from the German for “trade wind”).

18. It can heat up Roquefort : ETE
One might spend the summer (été) in Roquefort in France.

Roquefort cheese comes from the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in the South of France.

23. Last movement of a sonata : RONDO
A rondo was often chosen by composers for the last movement of a sonata (or symphony or concerto, for that matter). In rondo form there is a principal theme that alternates with a contrasting theme(s). So, the original theme anchors the whole piece in between secondary digressions.

35. Relatives of the Iowa : OTO
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

36. They’re in the vicinity: Abbr. : ESTS
Estimates are often in the vicinity of the final number.

37. Sartre’s “Les Jeux Sont ___” : FAITS
“Les jeux sont faits” is a screenplay written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1943, eventually produced as a film in 1947. The title translates as “The Bets Have Been Placed”, a term often heard in casinos in French speaking countries.

42. Tool handle strengthener : FERRULE
A ferrule is a circular ring often made of metal. One might use a ferrule when plumbing to seal a joint, or as a reinforcing “strap” around say a a wooden handle on a tool. The metal sleeve that holds an eraser on the end of a pencil is also a good example of a ferrule.

46. Titan after whom one of the oceans is named : ATLAS
In Greek mythology, Atlas was one of the Titans. Famously, he supported the heavens on his shoulders, while crouched on what are now called the Atlas Mountains in Greece.

48. Silver checker : REIN
Silver was the Lone Ranger’s horse.

54. Lid around a loch : TAM
A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap traditionally worn by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available, they became more colorful. The name tam o’shanter comes from the title character of Robert Burns poem “Tam O’Shanter”.

63. They go with uppers : SOLES
Uppers and soles are parts of shoes.

Down
4. Drug in a sci-fi novel series : TEK
The “Tekwar” series of science-fiction novels was co-authored by Ron Goulart and the actor William Shatner, although it’s only Shatner’s name who appears on the covers. The stories center around the microchip “drug” called “tek” which dominates the Tekwar universe.

6. Suits often hold them : MBAS
The world’s first MBA degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

9. Memphis hospital, familiarly : ST JUDE’S
The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital was founded in 1962 by the entertainer Danny Thomas, and it is named after Thomas’s patron saint.

11. Indian flatbread : ROTI
In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Roti is the unleavened cousin to naan.

13. Math is part of it: Abbr. : PSAT
I think the acronym PSAT stands for Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.

15. Benefiting from Vivarin : AWAKE
Vivarin is a brand name for the drug caffeine.

16. It’s shown on TV monitors at many airports : CNN NEWS
CNN (Cable News Network) was launched in 1980, the first television channel in the world to provide news 24 hours a day.

26. 51-Down division : CASTE
The bees in a hive are divided into three castes, three societal levels:

– a queen bee
– female worker bees
– male drones

27. Alexandria is in it : DC AREA
The city of Alexandria, Virginia lies on the west bank of the Potomac River and is just six miles from Washington, D.C. Alexandria was actually ceded to the US Government to form part of the District of Columbia in 1791, but the city was returned to her home state in 1846.

30. Net sales : ETAIL
“Etail” is the term used these days for online shopping. It is often compared to regular shopping in the “real world” by juxtaposing it with a “brick and mortar” store.

31. Spur part : ROWEL
That pointed wheel on a spur, which digs into the side of the poor horse, that’s called a rowel.

34. Tulipe relative : LIS
In French, a “tulipe” is a tulip, and a “lis” is a lily.

“Lys” (also “lis”) is the French word for “lily”, as in fleur-de-lys, the heraldic symbol often associated with the French monarchy.

40. Pirate’s appurtenance : CUTLASS
An appurtenance is an accessory, a piece of equipment for a specific task.

41. Grandfathers, e.g. : EXEMPTS
“To grandfather” something is to exempt it, say from a new regulation.

43. Speakeasy scourge : RAIDER
A speakeasy is an establishment that sells alcoholic drinks illegally. They were very big in the US in the days of Prohibition. The obvious etymology, of a speakeasy owner asking his or her customers to “speak easy” so as not to draw attention to the authorities, is thought to have originated in 1888 in McKeesport, just outside Pittsburgh.

47. “The primary factor in a successful attack,” per Lord Mountbatten : SPEED
Louis Mountbatten was the uncle of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Mountbatten held many influential posts in the British Government. He was the last Viceroy of India in the late forties and oversaw the transition of India to independence and the end of the British Raj. In the 1950s, he was First Sea Lord, the head of the Royal Navy. Mountbatten was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army in 1979, while holidaying in his summer home in the West of Ireland.

49. Capital near Faleolo International Airport : APIA
Apia is the capital city, in fact the only “city”, of the Pacific island nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven ships from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching, so the safest thing to do was head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of the others. Six of the vessels were lost in the typhoon as a result, and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely.

50. “The Joy Luck Club” director, 1993 : WANG
“The Joy Luck Club” is a 1993 screen adaptation of the book of the same name by Amy Tan. The movie was directed by the Chinese American director Wayne Wang.

55. Lofty place : ACME
The “acme” is the highest point, coming from the Greek word “akme” which has the same meaning.

58. “I think you overshared,” briefly : TMI
Too Much Information!

59. Locomobile competitor : REO
The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899 in Watertown, Massachusetts to manufacture automobiles. The company first produced small steam cars. During the Boer War (1899-1902), Locomobile produced the first car ever designed for use in a war, a generator and searchlight tractor made for the British Army. Production was switched to internal combustion-powered vehicles in 1903, and the company focused on luxury vehicles until it went out of business in 1929.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Singer/songwriter Scialfa : PATTI
6. ___ student : MED
9. Banjo accessory : STRAP
14. Cause for some spatial relationships? : ALIEN ABDUCTIONS
17. Debut at the 1979 Frankfurt Auto Show : VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
18. It can heat up Roquefort : ETE
19. Smooth : EASE
20. One with nothing to hide : NUDIST
21. Wallop : SOCK
23. Last movement of a sonata : RONDO
25. Like bath beads, typically : SCENTED
28. Show one’s stamped hand, perhaps : REENTER
32. Can’t take a bit : HATES
33. Bear essentials? : CLAWS
35. Relatives of the Iowa : OTO
36. They’re in the vicinity: Abbr. : ESTS
37. Sartre’s “Les Jeux Sont ___” : FAITS
38. Box office need : DRAW
39. Got things down : ATE
40. Damn : CURSE
41. Like 14-Across : EERIE
42. Tool handle strengthener : FERRULE
44. Member of a very early union? : SEX CELL
46. Titan after whom one of the oceans is named : ATLAS
48. Silver checker : REIN
49. Some time : AWHILE
52. Choice job : PLUM
54. Lid around a loch : TAM
57. Suffered serious consequences : PAID A STEEP PRICE
60. Groups aiming for good returns : INVESTMENT TEAMS
61. Smoking and heavy drinking : AGERS
62. Security demands : IDS
63. They go with uppers : SOLES

Down
1. Surface : PAVE
2. Over and over : A LOT
3. One spending a long time in the bathroom? : TILE SETTER
4. Drug in a sci-fi novel series : TEK
5. What swallows swallow : INSECTS
6. Suits often hold them : MBAS
7. Landscaping aid : EDGER
8. Like some balances : DUE
9. Memphis hospital, familiarly : ST JUDE’S
10. Like sashes : TIED ON
11. Indian flatbread : ROTI
12. Some marching bands : ANTS
13. Math is part of it: Abbr. : PSAT
15. Benefiting from Vivarin : AWAKE
16. It’s shown on TV monitors at many airports : CNN NEWS
22. Tips, often : ONES
24. Is a spellbinder : ORATES
25. Bundle of a sort : SHEAF
26. 51-Down division : CASTE
27. Alexandria is in it : DC AREA
29. Coming down hard : TORRENTIAL
30. Net sales : ETAIL
31. Spur part : ROWEL
34. Tulipe relative : LIS
37. Maximum : FULLEST
38. Numerical prefix : DECI-
40. Pirate’s appurtenance : CUTLASS
41. Grandfathers, e.g. : EXEMPTS
43. Speakeasy scourge : RAIDER
45. Blow : ERUPT
47. “The primary factor in a successful attack,” per Lord Mountbatten : SPEED
49. Capital near Faleolo International Airport : APIA
50. “The Joy Luck Club” director, 1993 : WANG
51. Busy place : HIVE
53. Magnifier : LENS
55. Lofty place : ACME
56. Hoarder’s problem : MESS
58. “I think you overshared,” briefly : TMI
59. Locomobile competitor : REO

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