0717-12: New York Times Crossword Answers 17 Jul 12, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Karate school : DOJO
The Japanese word dojo literally means “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

13. Grad : ALUM
An “alumnus” (plural … alumni) is a graduate or former student of a school or college. The female form is “alumna” (plural … alumnae). The term comes into English from Latin, in which alumnus means foster-son or pupil.

14. Washington who was called “Queen of the Blues” : DINAH
Dinah Washington was the stage name of the blues and jazz singer Ruth Lee Jones. Apparently once when she was performing at the famed London Palladium she announced (with Queen Elizabeth sitting in the Royal Box), “There is but one Heaven, one Hell, one queen, and your Elizabeth is an impostor.” That would have created a bit of a stir …

15. “Voulez-vous coucher ___ moi ce soir?” : AVEC
I’ve always thought that the phrase “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?” was grammatically “odd”. The expression is sexually suggestive, meaning “Would you like to sleep with me tonight?” The problem is that the use of the formal (or plural!) “vous” instead of the familiar “tu” indicates a lack of intimacy that should be present in such a forward invitation. But, I just read that the term would perhaps be correct if the speaker was a high-class prostitute using formal grammar with a client.

16. Geographical formation whose name is Spanish for 9-Down : MESA
“Mesa” is the Spanish for “table” and is of course is how we get the term “mesa” that describes a geographic feature.

17. ___ Rizzo, “Midnight Cowboy” role : RATSO
Ratso Rizzo is one of the characters in the groundbreaking 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy”. Rizzo is a down-and-out con man, played by Dustin Hoffman.

The 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy” is a Hollywood adaption of a novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It’s a pretty depressing story about a young Texan (played by Jon Voight) who heads to New York City to make money as a hustler, hiring himself out to women for sex. Pretty soon the young man ends up selling his body for sex with males as well. Prior to release the MPAA give the movie an R-rating, but the United Artists studio took advice and decided to release it with an X-rating. When “Midnight Cowboy” won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1969, it became the only X-rated film to be so honored.

19. Dope fiend : POTHEAD
“Potiguaya” is the Mexican-Spanish word for “marijuana leaves”. The slang name “pot” comes from “potiguaya”.

26. Baja bear : OSO
In Spanish, “osa” is a female bear, and “oso” is a male.

Baja California is both the most northern, and the most western of the Mexican states.

28. Land where the Danube flows : ROMANIA
Romania sits just east of Hungary and north of Bulgaria in Europe. Romania was formed from the union of two principalities in 1859, Moldavia and Wallachia. The Kingdom of Romania grew larger in size after WWI with the addition of three new regions, including the “vampirish” Transylvania.

The Danube is the second largest river in Europe (after the Volga), and actually flows through four European capitals (Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bratislava).

30. Cleopatra’s killer : 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. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

33. Hold filler : CARGO
“Cargo” is a Spanish word that we use in English. In Spanish it means “burden”. The Spanish word in turn comes from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load onto a cart”. Quite interesting …

36. Model ___ Nicole Smith : ANNA
The TV personality Anna Nicole Smith’s real name was Vickie Marshall. Smith worked as a model and gained fame after being named Playboy’s “Playmate of the Year” in 1993. She hit the gossip columns when she married an 89-year-old business mogul in 1994 when she herself was just 26-years-old. Her husband died just 14 months later, leaving Smith to fight an unsuccessful court battle over the inheritance of his estate.

37. Author of the book whose title is circled in the grid : ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Ernest Hemingway moved around a lot. He was born in Illinois and after leaving school headed to the Italian front during WWI. There he served as an ambulance driver, an experience he used as inspiration for “A Farewell to Arms”. He returned to the US after being seriously wounded, but a few years later moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent. He covered the Spanish War as a journalist, from Spain, using this experience for “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. During the thirties and forties he had two permanent residences, one in Key West, Florida and one in Cuba. In the late fifties he moved to Ketchum, Idaho where he committed suicide in 1961.

42. “___ the fields we go …” : O’ER
The traditional Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was first published in 1857, penned by James Lord Pierpoint. We associate the song with Christmas, although in fact Pierpoint wrote it as a celebration of Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

43. Japanese port : OTARU
The Japanese city and port of Otaru is just a 25-minute drive northwest from Sapporo. Just like Sapporo, Otaru has a famous beer that shares the city’s name.

52. Musical instruments listed very late alphabetically : ZITHERS
The Zither is a stringed instrument, one in which the strings do not extend beyond the bounds of the sounding box. That means that the instrument has no neck, unlike a guitar say.

62. Brickell who sang “What I Am” : EDIE
Edie Brickell is a singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas.

63. China’s ___ En-lai : CHOU
Zhou Enlai (also Chou En-Lai) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. For example, he was instrumental in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

64. Keister : TUSHY
“Tush” is a slang term for the backside, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

Back in the early 1900s a keister was a safe or a strongbox. It has been suggested that this term was then used as slang by pickpockets for the rear trouser pocket in which one might keep a wallet. From this usage keister appeared as a slang term for the buttocks in the early 1930s.

65. Groucho or Chico : MARX
The five Marx Brothers were born to “Minnie” and “Frenchy” Marx in New York City. The more famous older boys were Chico, Harpo and Groucho. Zeppo was the youngest brother, and he appeared in the early Marx Brothers movies. The fifth son was called Gummo, and he decided to pursue a career off the stage.

66. “King ___” : KONG
“King Kong” really is a classic movie. It stars Fay Wray as the young woman (Ann Darrow) with whom Kong falls in love. Wray was very interested in the role as she was told that she would be playing opposite the “tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood”. She thought it might be Clark Gable. At least that’s how the story goes …

Down
2. Dairy-free spread : OLEO
Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France announced a competition to develop a substitute for butter, a substitute that would be more accessible to the lower classes and more practical for the armed forces. In 1869, a French chemist called Hippolyte Mege-Mouries came up with something he called oleomargarine, which was eventually manufactured under the trade name “margarine”. The name “oleomargarine” also gives us our generic term “oleo”.

4. Nebraska home of Berkshire Hathaway : OMAHA
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. When Nebraska was still a territory Omaha was its capital, but when Nebraska achieved statehood the capital was moved to the city of Lincoln.

Berkshire Hathaway is the holding company that is controlled by Warren Buffett, the so-called “Oracle of Omaha”. Berkshire Hathaway is the eighth largest public company in the world.

5. Crown : DIADEM
A diadem is a type of crown that is worn as a sign of royalty. The original “diadem” wasn’t made of metal and was simply an embroidered slik ribbon that was worn by a king as a symbol of his authority.

6. Prov. east of Manitoba : ONT
The Canadian province of Ontario takes its name from the Great Lake. In turn, Lake Ontario’s name is thought to be derived from “Ontari:io”, a Huron word meaning “great lake”. Ontario is home to the nation’s capital of Ottawa as well as Toronto, Canada’s most populous city (and capital of the province).

Manitoba is the Canadian province that borders the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota. Even though Manitoba has an area of over 250,000 square miles, 60% of the population resides in the province’s capital city of Winnipeg.

7. Mama ___ Elliot : CASS
Cass Elliot was one of the four singers in the Mamas and the Papas, the sensational group from the sixties. She was performing sold-out concerts in London in 1974 when she was found dead one morning, having had a heart attack. She was only 32 years old. Eerily, she died in the same flat (on loan from Harry Nilsson) in which the Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, would die just four years later.

8. Iranian Revolution leader : KHOMEINI
The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was one of the leaders of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which overthrew the Shah of Iran. After the revolution he came to power as the country’s Supreme Leader, holding the highest ranking political and religious position. When Khomeini died in 1989, there were two funerals. The first had to be aborted after a crowd of 2 million people got out of control and encroached on the funeral procession. The Ayatollah’s wooden casket broke open and his body nearly fell to the ground as devotees tried to grasp pieces of his death shroud.

10. Gung-ho : AVID
“Kung ho” is a Chinese expression meaning “work together, cooperate”. The anglicized version “gung ho” was adopted by a Major Evans Carlson as an expression of combined spirit for his 2nd Marine Raider Battalion during WWII. From there the term spread throughout the Marine Corps and back to America where it persists to this day.

11. Hockey feint : DEKE
A deke, also known as a dangle, is a technique used to get past an opponent in ice hockey. “Deke” is a colloquial shortening of the word “decoy”.

12. Computer giant : ACER
I am typing away right now in an Acer laptop, for my money the most reliable machine at the best price. Acer is a Taiwanese company that I used to visit a lot when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed with the company’s dedication to quality, and haven’t been let down since.

14. ___ Malfoy (Harry Potter villain) : DRACO
Draco Malfoy is one of the regular “bad guys” in the Harry Potter series. Malfoy is one of Potter’s fellow students, the one who sneers a lot.

20. Continental coins : EUROS
The European Union today stands at a membership of 27 states. The Euro is the official currency of only 16 of the 27. The list of states not using the Euro includes the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

26. Indian ___ : OCEAN
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the oceans, after the Pacific and Atlantic.

27. Beetle Bailey’s boss : SARGE
Sgt. Snorkel (“Sarge”) is Beetle Bailey’s nemesis in the cartoon strip that bears his name. Snorkel has a dog called Otto that he dresses up to look just like himself. Otto started off as a regular dog, but artist Mort Walker decide to draw him more like his owner, and he became a big hit.

30. Camp David Accords party : ANWAR SADAT
Anwar Sadat was the third President of Egypt right up to the time of his assassination in 1981. Sadat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, for their role in crafting the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1978 at Camp David. It was this agreement that largely led to Sadat’s assassination two years later.

Camp David is the very lovely country retreat used by the US President and family. Technically, Camp David belongs to the US Navy and is known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont. The installation was originally built between 1935 and 1938 as a retreat for government agents and their families. President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat in 1942, naming it Shangri-La. When President Eisenhower was in office he renamed Shangri-La to Camp David in honor of his father and grandson, both of whom were called David.

34. H.S. dropout’s document : GED
The General Education Diploma (GED) is a substitute for a high school diploma, available perhaps for high school dropouts or students who are home-schooled.

39. “Isn’t ___ bit like you and me?” (Beatles lyric) : HE A
“Nowhere Man” is an early song by the Beatles, released in 1966. “Nowhere Man” was one of the first songs that John Lennon wrote that was more philosophical than romantic in nature, something that was to stand out in his composing for the rest of his life.

40. “The Highwayman” poet : NOYES
Alfred Noyes was an English poet best known for his narrative poem “The Highwayman”, published in 1906.

46. One of the D’s in D.D.E. : DWIGHT
President Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower, but by the time he made it to the White House he was going by the name Dwight D. Eisenhower. Growing up, his family called him Dwight, and when “Ike” enrolled in West Point he himself reversed the order of his given names.

47. 1950s-’60s comic Bruce : LENNY
Lenny Bruce was the stage name of comedian Leonard Schneider. Bruce was noted for his edgy style and material on stage, as well as his edgy lifestyle offstage. He was arrested several times and charged with obscenity because of language used in his routines. He was eventually found guilty of one of the charges and sentenced to four months in a workhouse. He was set free on bail while making a much-publicized appeal. Sadly, he died before the appeal process was completed. After his death, the Governor of the New York granted Lenny Bruce a pardon.

52. 2009 Cy Young Award winner Greinke : ZACK
Zack Greinke is professional baseball pitcher playing with the Milwaukee Brewers. Greinke won the Cy Young Award in 2009 while playing for the Kansas City Royals.

53. “If you ask me,” in textspeak : IMHO
In my humble opinion (IMHO).

54. Bugs Bunny or Tweety Bird : TOON
The word “cartoon” was originally used for a “drawing on strong paper”, a durable drawing used as a model for another work. The term comes from the French word “carton” meaning “heavy paper, pasteboard”. Cartoons have been around a long time, with some of the most famous having being drawn by Leonardo da Vinci.

55. Dickensian setting : SLUM
Charles Dickens was an English novelist who achieved great notoriety in his own lifetime, and is still regarded as perhaps the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Many of his novels explored the plight of the poor in Victorian society, perhaps driven by his own experiences as a child. Dickens had to leave school to work in a factory after his father was thrown into a debtor’s prison. As a result, Dickens had to educate himself and did so with great success. He is said to have pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, with his first success coming with the 1835 serial publication of “Pickwick Papers”. And everyone’s favorite has to be his 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol”.

57. Sorvino of “Mighty Aphrodite” : MIRA
Mira Sorvino is an American actress, winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite“. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Karate school : DOJO
5. Pier : DOCK
9. “Look what I just did!” : TA-DA
13. Grad : ALUM
14. Washington who was called “Queen of the Blues” : DINAH
15. “Voulez-vous coucher ___ moi ce soir?” : AVEC
16. Geographical formation whose name is Spanish for 9-Down : MESA
17. ___ Rizzo, “Midnight Cowboy” role : RATSO
18. What might take a stand outside a school? : BIKE
19. Dope fiend : POTHEAD
21. Burn without a flame : SMOLDER
23. Tap : FAUCET
25. New Year’s ___ : EVE
26. Baja bear : OSO
28. Land where the Danube flows : ROMANIA
30. Cleopatra’s killer : ASP
33. Hold filler : CARGO
35. Mover’s vehicle : VAN
36. Model ___ Nicole Smith : ANNA
37. Author of the book whose title is circled in the grid : ERNEST HEMINGWAY
41. “Yes, there is ____!” : A GOD
42. “___ the fields we go …” : O’ER
43. Japanese port : OTARU
44. Right out of the box : NEW
45. With lack of distinctiveness : BLANDLY
48. Street cred : REP
49. “Get it?” : SEE
50. Bonbons, e.g. : SWEETS
52. Musical instruments listed very late alphabetically : ZITHERS
56. Trouser measurements : INSEAMS
59. Latin love : AMOR
60. Straighten : ALIGN
62. Brickell who sang “What I Am” : EDIE
63. China’s ___ En-lai : CHOU
64. Keister : TUSHY
65. Groucho or Chico : MARX
66. “King ___” : KONG
67. Send out : EMIT
68. “Don’t leave!” : STAY

Down
1. Like morning grass, typically : DAMP
2. Dairy-free spread : OLEO
3. Temporarily : JUST FOR NOW
4. Nebraska home of Berkshire Hathaway : OMAHA
5. Crown : DIADEM
6. Prov. east of Manitoba : ONT
7. Mama ___ Elliot : CASS
8. Iranian Revolution leader : KHOMEINI
9. See 16-Across : TABLE
10. Gung-ho : AVID
11. Hockey feint : DEKE
12. Computer giant : ACER
14. ___ Malfoy (Harry Potter villain) : DRACO
20. Continental coins : EUROS
22. Tube travelers? : OVA
24. Businesses where the customers call the shots? : TAVERNS
26. Indian ___ : OCEAN
27. Beetle Bailey’s boss : SARGE
29. ’60s war locale : NAM
30. Camp David Accords party : ANWAR SADAT
31. Capture : SNARE
32. Winner’s demand : PAY UP
34. H.S. dropout’s document : GED
36. F.B.I. employee: Abbr. : AGT
38. Abide : TOLERATE
39. “Isn’t ___ bit like you and me?” (Beatles lyric) : HE A
40. “The Highwayman” poet : NOYES
45. Hive member : BEE
46. One of the D’s in D.D.E. : DWIGHT
47. 1950s-’60s comic Bruce : LENNY
49. Gesture accompanying “Beats me” : SHRUG
51. Swarms : TEEMS
52. 2009 Cy Young Award winner Greinke : ZACK
53. “If you ask me,” in textspeak : IMHO
54. Bugs Bunny or Tweety Bird : TOON
55. Dickensian setting : SLUM
57. Sorvino of “Mighty Aphrodite” : MIRA
58. Very exciting : SEXY
61. “It ___” (formal acknowledgment) : IS I

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