0206-12: New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Feb 12, Monday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
1. ___ Men (“Who Let the Dogs Out” group) : BAHA
The Baha Men are so called because they hail from … the Bahamas. Their big hit was “Who Let the Dogs Out?” which has been ranked as third in a list of the world’s most annoying songs!

15. ___ Doone cookies : LORNA
Lorna Doone shortbread cookies were introduced by Nabisco in 1912. Presumably, they were named after the famous novel by R. D. Blackmore.

“Lorna Doone” was written by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. R. D. Blackmore was an English novelist, very celebrated and in demand in his day (the late 1800s). His romantic story “Lorna Doone” was by no means a personal favorite of his, and yet it is the only one of his works still in print.

20. Throat dangler : UVULA
The uvula is that conical fleshy projection hanging down at the back of the soft palate. The uvula plays an important role in human speech, particularly in the making of “guttural” sounds. The Latin word for “grape” is “uva”, so “uvula” is a “little grape”.

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

25. Ruble : Russia :: ___ : Poland : ZLOTY
The zloty is the currency of Poland, with word “zloty” translating into English as “golden”. The zloty has been around since the Middle Ages.

27. Milky Way, for one : GALAXY
The Milky Way is the name given to our own galaxy, the home to the Solar System. The word “galaxy” comes from the Greek “galaxias” meaning “milky”.

30. New Zealanders, informally : KIWIS
Unlike many nicknames for people of a particular country, the name “Kiwi” that’s used for a New Zealander isn’t offensive at all. The term comes from the flightless bird that is endemic to New Zealand and is the country’s national symbol. Kiwi is a Maori word, and the plural (when referring to the bird) is simply “kiwi”. However, when you have two or more New Zealanders with you, they are Kiwis (note the “s”, and indeed the capital “K”!).

41. Genetic stuff : RNA
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. Amino acids are delivered in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA and then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

42. iPad, for example : TABLET
The very exciting iPad isn’t Apple’s first foray into the world of tablet computing. Apple created great buzz by introducing the Newton MessagePad way back in 1993. This innovative machine was fraught with problems and really died a very slow death, finally being withdrawn from the market in 1998.

44. Flamenco cheer : OLE
Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

46. Old-fashioned music hall : ODEON
In Ancient Greece an odeon was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning a “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome, for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

47. Bet on a one-two finish : EXACTA
To win the bet called an exacta, the person betting must name the horses that finish first and second and in the exact order. The related bet called the trifecta requires naming of the first, second and third-place finishers in the right order.

60. Safari animal, informally : RHINO
There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, and the smaller Javan Rhino is the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

61. “___ sow, so shall …” : AS YE
The commonly quoted lines “As ye sow, so shall ye reap” is not actually a direct quote from the Bible, although the sentiment is expressed there at least twice. In the Book of Job is the line “They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same”. And in the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians is the line “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”.

65. ___-Detoo of “Star Wars” : ARTOO
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2, the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stands just 3 ft 8 ins tall, has been the man inside the R2-D2 droid for all six of the “Star Wars” movies.

67. Boston ___ (orchestra) : POPS
The marvelous Boston Pops orchestra specializes in playing light classical and popular music. The Boston Pops was founded in 1885, four years after its sister orchestra, the Boston Symphony (BSO). Many of the musicians from the BSO were also regular members of the Boston Pops.

68. Replies to an invitation : RSVPS
RSVP stands for “Répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “please, answer”.

69. Former New York mayor Giuliani : RUDY
Rudy Giuliani became known around the world as he stepped up and led his city so well during the terrible days following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. His actions that September earned him a number of accolades. He was named as “Time” magazine’s person of the year, and was even given an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.

Down
2. From the beginning, in Latin : AB OVO
“Ab ovo” translates literally from Latin as “from the egg”, and is used in English to mean “from the beginning”.

6. Civil rights pioneer Parks : ROSA
Rosa Parks was one of a few brave women in days gone by who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white woman. It was the stand taken by Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955 that sparked the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott. President Clinton presented Ms. Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. When she died in 2005, Rosa Parks became the first ever woman to have her body lie in honor in the US Capital Rotunda.

8. Dwarf who’s blessed a lot? : SNEEZY
In the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale called “Snow White”, the seven dwarfs were not given any names. The names were added for the 1937 classic animated film from Walt Disney called “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The seven dwarfs are:

– Doc (the leader of the group)
– Grumpy (that would be me, according to my wife …)
– Happy
– Sleepy
– Bashful
– Sneezy
– Dopey

18. Dr. Zhivago’s love : LARA
Olga Ivinskaya was the mistress of the writer Boris Pasternak. As such, she was the inspiration for the famous Lara character in Pasternak’s epic novel “Doctor Zhivago”.

“Doctor Zhivago” is of course the epic novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957. I haven’t tried to read it, but the 1965 film version is a must-see, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif in the title role. The story centers on Yuri Zhivago, a doctor and poet, and how he is affected by the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War.

24. J. Alfred Prufrock’s creator T. S. ___ : ELIOT
T. S. Eliot was born in New England but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Much of his college education was at Oxford, and clearly he became comfortable with life in England. In 1927 he became a British citizen, and lived the rest of life in the UK.

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a very famous poem by T. S. Eliot, first published in 1915. The rather odd name of “Prufrock” seems to have just come to Eliot, although there was a Prufrock-Littau Company in St. Louis when he lived there.

29. Office copy, say : XEROX
Xerox was founded in 1906 in Rochester, New York and originally made photographic paper and equipment. Real success came for the company in 1959 when it introduced the first plain-paper photocopier. Xerox named Ursula Burns as CEO in 2009, the first African American woman to head up a S&P 100 company. Burn was also the first woman to succeed another female CEO (replacing Anne Mulcahy).

37. Prague native : CZECH
The beautiful city of Prague is today the capital of the Czech Republic. Prague’s prominence in Europe has come and gone over the centuries. For many years it was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

43. Casual shoes : LOAFERS
The type of slip-on shoe called a “loafer” dates back to 1939. “Loafer” was originally a brand name introduced by the Fortnum and Mason’s store in London.

48. Six years, for a U.S. senator : TERM
The six-year terms enjoyed by US senators are staggered, so that every two years about one third of the US Senate seats come up for reelection.

50. Mystery writer’s award : EDGAR
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgars) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America.

52. Infomercial knife : GINSU
Ginsu knives are more famous for their hard-sell television ads than they are for their efficacy in the kitchen. The Ginsu phenomenon took off in the seventies when two brothers found a set of knives called “Eversharp” that were being manufactured in Ohio. The brothers changed the brand name to something more exotic, and Japanese in particular (Ginsu), and then produced ads that made references to Japanese martial arts. I think they made a fortune …

56. Nobel Peace Prize city : OSLO
The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established in Oslo in 1904. The main task of the Institute is to assist the Norwegian Nobel Committee in selecting the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and to organize the annual Nobel event.

The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded “in memory of Alfred Nobel”. Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and that award is presented in Oslo.

58. When Hamlet dies : ACT V

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous fortune;
Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles …

There has been centuries of debate about how one interprets Hamlet’s soliloquy that begins “To be or not to be …”. My favorite opinion is that Hamlet is weighing up the pros and cons of suicide (“to not be”).

63. Hip-hop’s ___ Def : MOS
Mos Def is the stage name of actor and rapper Dante Terrell Smith-Bay. Mos Def is one of the few rap stars who is really making a name for himself in the world of movies. He received critical acclaim for roles in 2003’s “The Italian Job” , 2005’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, and a featured role in an episode of television’s “House”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. ___ Men (“Who Let the Dogs Out” group) : BAHA
5. Remove, as pencil marks : ERASE
10. Ones ranked above cpls. : SGTS
14. Black, to bards : EBON
15. ___ Doone cookies : LORNA
16. Spanish bull : TORO
17. Split a bill evenly with someone : GO HALFSIES
19. Throat clearer : AHEM
20. Throat dangler : UVULA
21. “Zip-___-Doo-Dah” : A-DEE
22. Do a fall chore : RAKE
23. “I’ve had enough!” : NO MORE
25. Ruble : Russia :: ___ : Poland : ZLOTY
27. Milky Way, for one : GALAXY
30. New Zealanders, informally : KIWIS
33. Unrestrained revelry : ORGY
36. Hot temper : IRE
37. Fanglike tooth : CANINE
38. Prefix with classical : NEO-
39. Flip out : GO CRAZY
41. Genetic stuff : RNA
42. iPad, for example : TABLET
44. Flamenco cheer : OLE
45. Second to none : BEST
46. Old-fashioned music hall : ODEON
47. Bet on a one-two finish : EXACTA
49. Procrastinator’s word : LATER
51. Natural barriers between yards : HEDGES
55. Sport that’s been called “a good walk spoiled” : GOLF
57. Pull along : DRAG
60. Safari animal, informally : RHINO
61. “___ sow, so shall …” : AS YE
62. Leave the drawers in the drawer, say : GO COMMANDO
64. Speak drunkenly : SLUR
65. ___-Detoo of “Star Wars” : ARTOO
66. “Understood” : I SEE
67. Boston ___ (orchestra) : POPS
68. Replies to an invitation : RSVPS
69. Former New York mayor Giuliani : RUDY

Down
1. Commenced : BEGUN
2. From the beginning, in Latin : AB OVO
3. Yawn-inducing : HO-HUM
4. The clue for 25-Across, e.g. : ANALOGY
5. North Pole toymaker : ELF
6. Civil rights pioneer Parks : ROSA
7. Saharan : ARID
8. Dwarf who’s blessed a lot? : SNEEZY
9. Painter’s stand : EASEL
10. Get to work (on) : START IN
11. Malfunction : GO HAYWIRE
12. Long, hard journey : TREK
13. Amount between none and all : SOME
18. Dr. Zhivago’s love : LARA
24. J. Alfred Prufrock’s creator T. S. ___ : ELIOT
26. “Fine by me” : OKAY
28. Rainbow’s shape : ARC
29. Office copy, say : XEROX
31. Quaint lodgings : INNS
32. Plane assignment : SEAT
33. Not fooled by : ONTO
34. Librarian’s urging : READ
35. Fail financially : GO BELLY-UP
37. Prague native : CZECH
39. Mannerly man, briefly : GENT
40. In the style of : A LA
43. Casual shoes : LOAFERS
45. Kind of day, grooming-wise : BAD HAIR
47. Blunders : ERRORS
48. Six years, for a U.S. senator : TERM
50. Mystery writer’s award : EDGAR
52. Infomercial knife : GINSU
53. Finished : ENDED
54. “Here, piggy piggy piggy!” : SOOEY
55. [Horrors!] : GASP
56. Nobel Peace Prize city : OSLO
58. When Hamlet dies : ACT V
59. Sticky stuff : GOOP
63. Hip-hop’s ___ Def : MOS

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