0414-12: New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Apr 12, Saturday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
9. Toward the tip : APICAL
“Apical” is the adjective associated with the noun “apex”, the highest point.

15. Equivalent of “ibidem” : SEE ABOVE
Ibid. is short for the Latin word “ibidem” and is typically found in footnotes and bibliographies. Ibid. is used to refer the reader to the prior citation, instead of giving the same information all over again (title, author etc.).

16. ___ 400 (Pennsylvania Nascar event) : POCONO
The Pocono 400 is a stock car race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was first run in 1982 and went for 500 miles. Starting in 2012, the race was cut back to 400 miles.

18. Parnassian : POETIC
“Parnassian” means “relating to poetry”. The Parnassians were members of a school of French poets in the late 1800s. The school took its name from the first anthology of poems that it published, called “Parnasse”. The anthology in turn was named for Mount Parnassus in Greece, which was the home of the Muses according to Greek mythology.

20. Do some post-harvesting work : THRESH
Years ago I was taking a tour of a beautiful Elizabethan manor house in England, and was told a little “threshing” story by the guide as we stood in one of the rooms. She reminded us that threshing was the removal of seeds from chaff, and told us that back in the day the “chaff” was sometimes called the “thresh”. Thresh would be used on the floors, particularly in the kitchen areas where it would soak up spills and provide some thermal insulation, much as sawdust was used in my favorite pubs many moons ago. She pointed to two slots at the bottom of the door jambs where she said a low board was placed upright on the floor, to hold the thresh in the room. The board was called a “thresh hold”, giving us our contemporary word “threshold”. I am not sure if it is really true, but it makes a nice story.

21. Marion ___, Emmy-winning actress on “Bewitched” : LORNE
“Bewitched” ran from 1964-72. Clara was the lovable but bumbling aunt of Samantha, played by Marion Lorne. Lorne won a posthumous Emmy for her performances.

24. Singer in the “Odyssey” : SIREN
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were seductive bird-women who lured men to their deaths with their song. When Odysseus sailed closed to the island home of the Sirens he wanted to hear their voices, but safely. He had his men plug their ears with beeswax and then ordered them to tie him to the mast and not to free him until they were safe. On hearing their song he begged to be let loose, but the soldiers just tightened his bonds and sailed away to safety.

“The Odyssey” is one of two epic poems from ancient Greece that is attributed to Homer. “The Odyssey” is largely a sequel to Homer’s other epic, “The Iliad”. “The Odyssey” centers on the heroic figure, Odysseus, and his adventures on his journey home to Greece following the fall of Troy.

26. Subject for Enrico Caruso : AMORE
“Amore” is the Italian for “love”.

Enrico Caruso was an Italian tenor, famous as one of the first opera singers to embrace the phonograph technology of the early 1900s. He made 290 recordings that were released between 1902 and 1920, and today they’re all available on CD or as digital downloads.

28. Kiss hit “Rock and Roll All ___” : NITE
KISS is a hard rock band from New York City. They’re the group that uses all that scary face paint and wears wacky outfits on stage.

31. Cousin of bridge : SPADES
The American card game of Spades is one of the Whist family of games, a family which includes Bridge and Hearts. Spades is far less complex than Bridge but is similar in that there is a round of bidding before start of play. The game is usually played with partners, and the idea is to win at least the number of tricks that have been bid. One major difference with Bridge is that the trump suit is always spades, hence the name of the game. Apparently Spades was born as a game in Cincinnati, Ohio in the late 1930s, and then spread via the military in the 1940s.

36. 2001 presidential biography by Edmund Morris : THEODORE REX
“Theodore Rex” is a biography of President Theodore Roosevelt that was written by Edmund Morris. “Theodore Rex” is actually the second book in a trilogy that covers the life of the president. The first volume of the trilogy is “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” which won a Pulitzer. The last volume is “Colonel Roosevelt” which was published in 2010.

41. Michael who sang “I’m a lumberjack and I’m O.K.” : PALIN
Michael Palin is a marvelously talented comedian and actor, most famous as one of the “Monty Python” team. Palin is well known as a travel writer and has made some outstanding travel documentaries for television. He did one show called “Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days” in which he followed the route called out in the Jules Verne classic, without using airplanes. Palin also made “Pole to Pole”, a journey from the North to South Poles, along the 30 degree line of longitude. Currently, Michael Palin is the President of the Royal Geographical Society.

42. Rudimentary run : ABCS
I would have thought this clue should have read, “Rudimentary runs” i.e. the plural.

48. Zero-deg. setting : GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich in London.

A meridian is a line of longitude, and the Prime Meridian is that line of longitude defined as 0 degrees. It is also called the Greenwich Meridian as it passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in southeast London. Of course which line of longitude is used to represent 0 degrees is an arbitrary decision. 25 nations formally decided in 1884 to use the Greenwich Meridian as 0 degrees as it was already a popular choice. That is all except the French, who abstained from the vote and used the Paris Meridian as 0 degrees on French charts for several decades.

49. Source of a feather in one’s cap? : EGRET
At one time the egret was in danger of extinction as it was hunted for its feathers, which were used as plumes in hats.

50. Symbol of power : FASCES
The “fasces” is an image usually symbolic of power. The original Roman fasces consisted of a bundle of birch rods tied together into a cylindrical form with a bronze axe incorporated. Back in Ancient Rome the fasces were carried by “lictors” who accompanied magistrates. The fasces were used much as we use flags today, with the rods and axe being symbolic of the power held by the magistrates.

52. TV hotline : BATPHONE
The Batphone was introduced in the Batman comic books before gaining notoriety in the Batman television series of the sixties. The Batphone was Commissioner Gordon’s secure line to Batman. The term “bat phone” is used quite a bit now in business, describing a private telephone number that is handled as a priority above the regular lines.

55. Spanish port : ALICANTE
Alicante is a Spanish port on the Mediterranean. The city was given its name by the Moors, Arabic for “city of lights”.

56. Classic Lorre role : UGARTE
Signor Ugarte is a wonderful character in the classic film “Casablanca”. Ugarte is played by Peter Lorre, and is the man who has possession of the crucial letters of transit that were obtained by murdering two German couriers.

The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. His real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. He found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.

57. Jabbed back : RIPOSTED
“Riposte” is a fencing term, describing a quick thrust after having parried a lunge from one’s opponent. We also use to the term to mean a sharp verbal retort.

59. Macramé creators : KNOTTERS
Macramé is a way to make cloth that uses a knotting technique rather than weaving or knitting. Macramé was popularised at sea, where sailors would decorate the likes of knife handles, bottles and even parts of the ship.

Down
2. Lorry supply : PETROL
Petrol is of course the same thing as gasoline. “Petrol” comes via French from the Latin “petroleum”, itself derived from “petra” meaning “rock” and “oleum” meaning “oil”.

3. Shows reservations : DEMURS
To demur is to voice opposition, to object. It can also mean to delay and has it roots in the Latin word “demorare”, meaning to delay.

4. Molière contemporary : RACINE
Jean Racine was a French dramatist in the 17th century, a compatriot of the more famous Molière .

Molière was the stage name of French actor and playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. It is amazing how well the comedies of Molière, written in the 1600s, entertain us on stage today. Among his best-known plays are “The Misanthrope”, “The School for Wives” and “Tartuffe or the Hypocrite”.

6. “Heads up!” : FORE
No one seems to know for sure where the golfing term “fore!” comes from. It has been used at least as far back as 1881, and since then has been called out to warn other golfers that a wayward ball might be heading their way. My favorite possibility for its origin is that it is a contraction of the Gaelic warning cry “Faugh a Ballach!” (clear the way!) which is still called out in the sport of road bowling. Road bowling is an Irish game where players bowl balls along roads between villages, trying to reach the end of the course in as few bowls as possible, just like in golf!

7. Many an HBO show : TV DRAMA
Home Box Office (HBO) is the second largest network of premium channels in the US, after Encore. HBO is a favorite of mine as I really like many of the HBO made-for-television movies and especially the HBO original series. Among the list of original series from HBO is “Mildred Pierce”, “The Pacific”, “John Adams”, “Big Love”, “Extras”, “The Wire”, “Sex and the City”, “From the Earth to the Moon”, “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers”. What great television …

8. Shrink time, say : SESSION
The use of the term “shrink” to describe a psychiatrist is first attested in 1966. “Shrink” is diminutive of “head-shrinker”.

10. Some toy bears, informally : POOHS
Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author, best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

12. Sets of friends : COTERIES
A “coterie” is a small group of friends who hang out together, often sharing a common interest. The term comes to us from French where a coterie was an organization of peasants all of whom held land owned by the same feudal lord.

13. Liqueur sweetened with syrup : ANISETTE
Anisette is a French liqueur that is flavored with anise. Anisette is different than the popular drink called Pastis as it is produced using a different process and anisette does not contain any licorice. The equivalent drink to anisette in Italy is called Sambuca.

14. Locale in a much-studied 1934 photo : LOCH NESS
The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs really sparking the imagination.

The “Surgeon’s Photograph” is an image that was taken in 1934, supposedly of the Loch Ness monster. It is perhaps the most famous picture of Nessie to this day, the one with a “head” and “neck” sticking up out of the water. The picture’s renown doesn’t seem to have abated, even though in the mid-nineties it was shown to be a hoax. The picture is called the “Surgeon’s Photograph” because it was “taken” by a Dr. Wilson.

23. 1970s-’80s N.B.A. nickname : DR J
Julius Erving is a retired professional basketball player who was known as Dr. J, a nickname he picked up in high school. Dr. J was a trailblazer in many ways, being the first player associated with slam dunking, as well as other moves above the rim.

26. Classical subject of a Velázquez painting in the Prado : AESOP
Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. He was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter during the Baroque period. He was a member of the court of King Philip IV in the first half of the 17th century, and as such was commissioned to paint many portraits and scenes of historical importance.

The Museo del Prado is in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and has one of the finest art collections in the world. The galleries most famous work is “Las Meninas” By Velazquez.

29. “The Beverly Hillbillies” role : JED
The actor Buddy Ebsen was best known for playing Jed Clampett in television’s “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Ebsen had been cast in the role of the Tin Man in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”, but he developed an allergy to the aluminium dust that was used in the makeup. He ended up in hospital and had to walk away from the part. Ebsen blamed “The Wizard of Oz” on persistent problems that he had with his lungs in subsequent years. But Ebsen lived 16 years longer that any of the other major cast members of the film, so maybe he had the last laugh!

30. 1920 Democratic presidential nominee : COX
James M. Cox was a Governor of Ohio and the Democratic candidate for US President in 1920, losing out to Warren G. Harding. Cox’s running mate in that election did eventually achieve the office of President. That running mate was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

31. “Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves,” in Alcoholics Anonymous : STEP FOUR
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935, by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. As the organization grew, the guiding principles established by the founders were formatted into a 12-step program that was in place by the forties.

32. Digital bone : PHALANGE
I always thought that the singular of “phalanges” was “phalanx”, but I guess “phalange” is used as well. A phalanx/phalange is a bone in a finger or toe.

In ancient warfare, a phalanx was a group of soldiers that stood or marched together as a unit using their shields as an outer barrier around the formation. “Phalanx” (plural “phalanges”) is the Greek word for “finger”. “Phalanx” was used for the military formation probably because of the finger-like movements that such formations made on the field of battle.

33. 1980s-’90s Ford model : AEROSTAR
The Aerostar was the first minivan released by the Ford Motor Company, and was produced from 1986 to 1997.

37. Catchy tune : RAG
A rag is a piece of music written in ragtime.

Ragtime music was at the height of its popularity in the early 1900s. The genre takes its name from its characteristic “ragged” rhythms. The most famous ragtime composer was Scott Joplin, who had a big hit with his “Maple Leaf Rag” when it was published in 1899. Ragtime fell out of favor around 1917 when the public turned to jazz, and then had a resurgence in the forties when jazz musicians started to include ragtime tunes in their repertoires. But it was the 1973 movie “The Sting” that brought the true revival, as the hit soundtrack included numerous ragtime tunes by Scott Joplin, including the celebrated melody “The Entertainer”, originally published in 1902.

38. Medicinal tea source : ELM BARK
The inner bark of the slippery elm can used in a medicinal tea. Elm bark tea is said to ease a sore throat or irritated stomach.

39. Narcolepsy drug : RITALIN
Ritalin is a trade name for the drug methylphenidate that is used for treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy. Methylphenidate has a similar structure and similar properties to the drug cocaine, although it is less potent.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder in which the sufferer is drowsy during the day and experiences sudden needs for sleep. The term “narcolepsy” comes from the Greek words “narke” (numbness, stupor) and “lepsis” (seizure, attack).

43. Family name in English literature : BRONTE
The Brontë family lived in the lovely village of Haworth in Yorkshire, England. The three daughters all became recognised authors. The first to achieve success was Charlotte Brontë when she published “Jane Eyre”. Then came Emily with “Wuthering Heights” and Anne with “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”.

47. Walls of the heart : SEPTA
In the world of anatomy, a septum is a dividing wall within a chamber or other structure. For example, the interatrial septum separates the left and right atria of the heart, and the nasal septum separates the nostrils of the nose.

49. With 44-Down, it had its grand opening on 10/1/1982 : EPCOT
(44. See 49-Down : CENTER)
EPCOT Center (now just called Epcot) is the theme park beside Walt Disney World in Florida. EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a representation of the future as envisioned by Walt Disney. Walt Disney actually wanted to build a living community for 20,000 residents at EPCOT, but he passed away before that vision could be realized.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Skirt raisers? : UPDRAFTS
9. Toward the tip : APICAL
15. Equivalent of “ibidem” : SEE ABOVE
16. ___ 400 (Pennsylvania Nascar event) : POCONO
17. They’re often swiped at stores : ATM CARDS
18. Parnassian : POETIC
19. Stereotypical bouncers : BRUISERS
20. Do some post-harvesting work : THRESH
21. Marion ___, Emmy-winning actress on “Bewitched” : LORNE
22. A hand : AID
24. Singer in the “Odyssey” : SIREN
25. “What ___?” : ELSE
26. Subject for Enrico Caruso : AMORE
28. Kiss hit “Rock and Roll All ___” : NITE
29. Western wear : JEAN JACKETS
31. Cousin of bridge : SPADES
35. Discards : TOSSES
36. 2001 presidential biography by Edmund Morris : THEODORE REX
40. Pull down : EARN
41. Michael who sang “I’m a lumberjack and I’m O.K.” : PALIN
42. Rudimentary run : ABCS
46. Puts on a graph, say : PLOTS
48. Zero-deg. setting : GMT
49. Source of a feather in one’s cap? : EGRET
50. Symbol of power : FASCES
52. TV hotline : BAT PHONE
54. Captured for posterity, maybe : ON TAPE
55. Spanish port : ALICANTE
56. Classic Lorre role : UGARTE
57. Jabbed back : RIPOSTED
58. Like classic stories : REREAD
59. Macramé creators : KNOTTERS

Down
1. Helpful : USABLE
2. Lorry supply : PETROL
3. Shows reservations : DEMURS
4. Molière contemporary : RACINE
5. Put to shame : ABASE
6. “Heads up!” : FORE
7. Many an HBO show : TV DRAMA
8. Shrink time, say : SESSION
9. 8-Down, e.g.: Abbr. : APPT
10. Some toy bears, informally : POOHS
11. They have two goals : ICE RINKS
12. Sets of friends : COTERIES
13. Liqueur sweetened with syrup : ANISETTE
14. Locale in a much-studied 1934 photo : LOCH NESS
23. 1970s-’80s N.B.A. nickname : DR J
26. Classical subject of a Velázquez painting in the Prado : AESOP
27. Gone from a plate : EATEN
29. “The Beverly Hillbillies” role : JED
30. 1920 Democratic presidential nominee : COX
31. “Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves,” in Alcoholics Anonymous : STEP FOUR
32. Digital bone : PHALANGE
33. 1980s-’90s Ford model : AEROSTAR
34. “Whatever” : DON’T CARE
37. Catchy tune : RAG
38. Medicinal tea source : ELM BARK
39. Narcolepsy drug : RITALIN
42. Totally shaken : AGHAST
43. Family name in English literature : BRONTE
44. See 49-Down : CENTER
45. Strong mounts : STEEDS
47. Walls of the heart : SEPTA
49. With 44-Down, it had its grand opening on 10/1/1982 : EPCOT
51. Ranked player : SEED
53. ___ the hat : TIP O’

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