1111-11: New York Times Crossword Answers 11 Nov 11, Friday

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: Alex Vratsanos
THEME: None … although there is a big number “11” in the middle of the grid. It’s there in recognition of the date the puzzle is appearing in the New York Times, on 11.11.11 … 11 Nov 2011. And it’s Veterans Day, so our thoughts go out to all who have served this country in the Military. Veterans Day used to be known as Armistice Day, and this particular date was chosen as the Armistice that ended WWI was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
COMPLETION TIME: 15m 33s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0


Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. ___ scan : MRI
A CT (or “CAT”) scan produces (via computer manipulation) a three dimensional image of the inside of an object, usually the human body. It does so by taking a series of two dimensional x-ray images while rotating the camera around the patient. The issue with CT scans is that they use x-rays, and high doses of radiation can be harmful and that damage is cumulative over time. An MRI on the other hand (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so it’s now just called MRI.

4. Media inits. since 1927 : BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is also known as “the Beeb”, a name given to the network by the great Peter Sellers on the classic British radio comedy called “The Goon Show”.

7. Music genre of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones : SKA
Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties, and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of some sound.

13. It’s shown on a topographical map : CONTOUR
The word “topography” comes from the Greek “topographos” meaning “describing a place”. Topographic maps were originally the output of surveys, prepared by the military, showing natural and man-made features (including elevation). These maps were of great importance in planning battles and defensive positions. Nowadays, the important thing on a topographical map is the elevation of landforms, represented by contour lines.

15. Disheveled : UNKEMPT
The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”.

17. Family members : MAFIOSI
A Mafioso is a member of the Mafia, with the plural being Mafiosi (or sometimes Mafiosos).

19. Prefix with -matic : IDIO-
Something that is idiomatic is characteristic of a particular language. It comes from the Greek “idios” meaning “one’s own” and “matos” meaning “thinking, animated”.

20. Google search object : IMAGE
The Google search engine is the most popular way in the world to search the Internet. The Google site receives several hundred million queries every single day.

22. First name in auto racing : ARIE
Arie Luyendyk is a racing driver from the Netherlands, winner of the Indianapolis 500 on two occasions. Luyendyk’s son, also called Arie, is following in his father’s footsteps and is an auto racer as well.

23. Cousin ___ : ITT
In the television sitcom “The Addams Family“, the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

25. Actress Merrill : DINA
Dina Merrill was in 22 movies, including two of my favorites, “Desk Set” with Tracy & Hepburn, and “Operation Petticoat” with Cary Grant. Nowadays she carries some sway in the business world. Until 2007 she was on the compensation committee of Lehman Brothers, the merry band that approved all those big bonuses. She probably doesn’t talk about that too much these days about that aspect of her life!

26. Bygone espionage org. : 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.

28. Biology div. : ENTOM
Entomology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects. The etymology of entomology (!) is the Greek “entomon” (meaning “insect”) and “logia” (meaning “study of”). In turn, the Greek word for insect, “entomos”, literally means “having a notch or cut”, in deference to the observation by Aristotle that insects have segmented bodies.

31. Morales of “Gun Hill Road” : ESAI
Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai).

32. Hot spot : SAUNA
As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is pronounced “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).

33. First name in auto racing : CALE
Cale Yarborough is a former NASCAR driver and owner. Yarborough was the first NASCAR driver to appear on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”.

35. Philadelphia landmark : MINT
The nation’s first mint was established in Philadelphia in 1792, as back then Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. It was established in a building that previously housed a whiskey distillery.

36. Denigrates, in British slang : SLAGS
To “slag off” is a pretty rude slang term meaning to verbally attack someone. In Ireland we use the term “slagging” in a much more friendly and jocular way. It’s more like teasing; the kind of things that brothers do to each other when they get together, and don’t I know it …

41. Atlanta sch. with 30,000+ students : GSU
Georgia State University is located in downtown Atlanta. It was established in 1913 as a branch of Georgia School of Technology called the Evening School of Commerce.

42. Publication that clicks with readers? : EZINE
An ezine is an online magazine.

43. “Star Trek” extra: Abbr. : ENS
An ensign is the most junior rank of commissioned officer (usually) in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

When Gene Roddenberry first proposed the science fiction series that became “Star Trek”, he marketed it as a “Wagon Train to the Stars”, a pioneer-style Western in outer space. In fact his idea was to produce something more like “Gulliver’s Travels”, as he intended to write episodes that were adventure stories on one level, but morality tales on another. Personally I think that he best achieved this model with the spin off series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. If you watch individual episodes you will see thinly disguised treatments of moral issues such as racism, homosexuality, genocide etc. For my money, “The Next Generation” is the best of the whole franchise …

44. Carrie Chapman ___, founder of the League of Women Voters : CATT
Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. She was also very close to Susan B. Anthony and succeeded her as head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

45. Buttocks : NATES
“Nates” is the Latin term for the buttocks, and is also the anatomical term used for the body part.

46. 1974 Gould/Sutherland spoof : S*P*Y*S
S*P*Y*S” is a 1974 comedy starring Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland as two men mistaken as spies and targeted by the KGB. With all those asterisks in the title, one has to assume the movie was intended to capitalize on the success of the 1970 Gould/Sutherland vehicle called “M*A*S*H”.

48. W.W. II rationing org. : OPA
President Franklin D. Roosevelt set up the Office of Price Administration (OPA) during WWII, with the intent of stabilizing prices and rents during the emergency.

49. Norse equivalent of Mars : TYR
Týr is the Norse god of single combat, victory and heroic glory.

50. Death on the Nile cause? : ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. Therefore, when the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was her chosen method.

51. Female charmer of myth : LORELEI
Lorelei is the name of a legendary mermaid who lured fishermen by singing a beautiful song, so that they steered their boats onto rocks lurking beneath the water’s surface.

55. Montana neighbor : ALBERTA
Alberta is one of Canada’s largest provinces, and is about the size of Texas. Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Louise also donated her name to Lake Louise, the large glacial lake in the province that lies within the bounds of today’s Banff National Park.

59. Rockefeller Center is built in it : ART DECO
Art Deco is the name given to a style of design and architecture of the 1920s, which actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of art deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of Rockefeller Center also in New York City, with the address of “30 Rock”.

62. Breaks : SCHISMS
A schism is a split or a division, especially in a religion.

Down
1. Year the first Rose Bowl was played : MCMII
The Rose Bowl is the oldest of all the bowl games, and so has the nickname “The Grandaddy of the Them All”. The first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902.

2. 1940 Crosby/Lamour/Hope comedy : ROAD TO SINGAPORE
1940’s “Road to Singapore” was the first of the wonderful “Road” series of movies starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. The trio had great chemistry on screen but there was a bit of luck involved in bringing the three together. The movie was first offered to Fred McMurray and Jack Oakie, and then to George Burns and Gracie Allen. Everyone declined the roles, with Gracie Allen even saying that she “thought the whole thing was silly”. The next tactic was to cast Dorothy Lamour who was riding a wave of popularity, but who could take the male leads? The studio decided to take a chance on pairing Hope and Crosby for the first time, and see how they did together. Arguably, Hope and Crosby became the most popular duo on the big screen in the history of cinema.

5. Rotary Club members : BUSINESSMEN
The first Rotary Club meeting was held in 1905 in Chicago in the office of one of the four businessmen who attended. The name “Rotary Club” was chosen as the plan was to “rotate” the locations of the meetings to the offices of each of the club’s members in turn.

7. Medical bigwigs : SURGEON GENERALS
I think this is a mistake, as the plural of “Surgeon General” is “Surgeons General”.

10. Carnegie Hall debut of 1928, with “An” : AMERICAN IN PARIS
An American in Paris” is a wonderful symphonic tone poem composed by George Gershwin in 1928. Gershwin was inspired to write the piece after spending time in the French capital in the twenties. When it was first performed in Carnegie Hall the audience could really hear the sounds of the city, especially as the orchestra used real taxi horns that Gershwin brought home from Paris.

14. Familia member : TIO
In Spanish, one’s mother’s brother (madre’s hermano) is an uncle (tio).

31. Layer of green eggs : EMU
The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formation and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

34. “Concentration” pronoun : EWE
The game show “Concentration” featured a rebus puzzle i.e. a puzzle that used pictures to represent letters and groups of letters. A picture of a “ewe” might represent the letter “U” or the pronoun “you”.

44. Flat ones are not good : COLAS
The first cola drink to become a commercial success was Coca-Cola, soon after it was invented by a druggist in 1886. It was flavored mainly with kola nuts and vanilla. The formulation was based on an alcoholic drink called Coca Wine that had been on sale over twenty years. That original alcoholic version actually contained a small concentration of cocaine.

52. Glamour types, for short : EDS
I’m not sure what “EDS” are in the context of “glamour” … maybe editors of “Glamour” magazine?

53. Gift on a string : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment intended to be worn.

56. ___ cit. (footnote abbr.) : LOC
Loc. cit. is short for “loco citato” meaning “in the place cited”. Loc. cit. is used in a footnote instead of op. cit. as it refers not only to a prior work, but also to the same page in that work.

Op. cit. is short for “opus citatum”, Latin for “the work cited”. Op. cit. is used in footnotes to refer the reader to an earlier citation. It is similar to “ibid”, except that ibid refers the reader the last citation, the one immediately above.

57. Dickensian cry : BAH
The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to the popular use of “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” meaning a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Scrooge uttered the famous line “Bah! Humbug!”.

58. Record label inits. : EMI
EMI is a British music company, with the acronym originally standing for Electric and Musical Industries.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. ___ scan : MRI
4. Media inits. since 1927 : BBC
7. Music genre of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones : SKA
10. Solid rock center? : AS A
13. It’s shown on a topographical map : CONTOUR
15. Disheveled : UNKEMPT
17. Family members : MAFIOSI
18. Parents, e.g. : REARERS
19. Prefix with -matic : IDIO-
20. Google search object : IMAGE
22. First name in auto racing : ARIE
23. Cousin ___ : ITT
24. “Well done!” : NICE
25. Actress Merrill : DINA
26. Bygone espionage org. : OSS
28. Biology div. : ENTOM
30. Cry of repugnance : ICK
31. Morales of “Gun Hill Road” : ESAI
32. Hot spot : SAUNA
33. First name in auto racing : CALE
35. Philadelphia landmark : MINT
36. Denigrates, in British slang : SLAGS
37. Over : ANEW
38. Reverse : UNDO
39. Things gotten with a credit card, often : MILES
40. Get beat : TIRE
41. Atlanta sch. with 30,000+ students : GSU
42. Publication that clicks with readers? : EZINE
43. “Star Trek” extra: Abbr. : ENS
44. Carrie Chapman ___, founder of the League of Women Voters : CATT
45. Buttocks : NATES
46. 1974 Gould/Sutherland spoof : S*P*Y*S
48. W.W. II rationing org. : OPA
49. Norse equivalent of Mars : TYR
50. Death on the Nile cause? : ASP
51. Female charmer of myth : LORELEI
55. Montana neighbor : ALBERTA
59. Rockefeller Center is built in it : ART DECO
60. More rich, as soil : LOAMIER
61. Meeting : SESSION
62. Breaks : SCHISMS

Down
1. Year the first Rose Bowl was played : MCMII
2. 1940 Crosby/Lamour/Hope comedy : ROAD TO SINGAPORE
3. Irregularly : IN FITS AND STARTS
4. It might make you jump : BOO
5. Rotary Club members : BUSINESSMEN
6. Outlawing : CRIMINALIZATION
7. Medical bigwigs : SURGEON GENERALS
8. Place for a pad : KNEE
9. Wanted letters? : AKA
10. Carnegie Hall debut of 1928, with “An” : AMERICAN IN PARIS
11. Building safety feature : SPRINKLER SYSTEM
12. Befuddled : AT SEA
14. Familia member : TIO
16. Wipes out : ERADICATES
21. It’s not a dream : ACTUALITY
27. Recuse oneself from, say : SIT OUT
29. Some services : MASSES
31. Layer of green eggs : EMU
34. “Concentration” pronoun : EWE
44. Flat ones are not good : COLAS
47. Wrangles (with) : SPARS
52. Glamour types, for short : EDS
53. Gift on a string : LEI
54. Prefix with car : ECO-
56. ___ cit. (footnote abbr.) : LOC
57. Dickensian cry : BAH
58. Record label inits. : EMI

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