0725-12: New York Times Crossword Answers 25 Jul 12, Wednesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Insect segment : ABDOMEN
By definition, an insect has a body made up of three parts: head, thorax and abdomen.

14. Big name in diamonds : DE BEERS
The hugely successful De Beers company is involved in all aspects of mining and trading of diamonds. The company was founded in 1888 in South Africa by Cecil Rhodes (after whom “Rhodesia” would be named). The name of the company comes from two brothers who owned a farm on which was discovered a particularly lucrative diamond mine. The De Beers brothers had absolutely nothing to do with the company nor its operations.

18. Flier of legend : ROC
The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants.

19. “___ bin ein Berliner” : ICH
“Ich” is the German for “I”, as in “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner), the famous words of support uttered by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 in a speech in West Berlin. The supposed translation of “Ich bin ein Berliner” as “I am a jelly doughnut” … that’s just an urban myth. President Kennedy’s use of German was perfectly correct.

20. Opposite of baja : ALTA
In Spanish, “baja” is “low” and “alta” is “high”.

21. Dump, so to speak : JILT
To “jilt” someone with whom you have a relationship is to drop them suddenly or callously. “Jilt” is an obsolete noun that used to mean “harlot” or “loose woman”.

24. “Rabbit, Run” writer : UPDIKE
The novelist John Updike’s most famous work is the Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom series of books. Updike is one of only three authors who has won more than one Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and he did so for two of his “Rabbit” books.

The 1960 novel by John Updike called “Rabbit Run” tells the story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom as he tries to escape from his constraining, middle-class life. “Rabbit Run” is the first in a series of novels from Updike that feature the “Rabbit” character, the others being:

– “Rabbit Redux”
– “Rabbit is Rich”
– “Rabbit at Rest”
– “Rabbit Remembered”

27. ___ milk : SOY
What are known as soybeans here in the US are called soya beans in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

28. Ocean State sch. : URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was first chartered as an agricultural school, back in 1888. URI’s main campus today is located in the village of Kingston.

Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made of ocean bays and inlets.

29. Competition of sorts : BEE
Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a “bee”. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a “quilting bee”, or even a “spelling bee”.

40. Oospheres, say : OVA
The ova (eggs) of lower plants and algae are often referred to as oospheres.

41. Amalgam, e.g. : ALLOY
Amalgam is an alloy of mercury with some other metal. Many dental fillings are made of an amalgam of silver and mercury.

42. Musical combo designs experiments? : SESTET SETS TESTS
A sestet is a group of six lines of poetry similar to a quatrain, a group of four lines. In the world of music, “sestet” is another word for “sextet”.

46. Cartoon “devil,” for short : TAZ
The carnivorous marsupial known as the Tasmanian devil is aptly named, in the sense that the only place the animal is found in the wild is on the island of Tasmania. The “little devils” are about the size of a small dog, and they have the strongest bite for their size of any known mammal.

47. Hairy sitcom 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.

48. Puccini’s Cio-Cio-___ : SAN
Cio-Cio San is the title character in Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly”.

Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is the most-performed opera in the US. The opera we see today is actually the second version that Puccini produced. The original version was first staged in 1904 at La Scala in Milan where it received a very poor reception. Puccini reworked the piece, breaking the second act into two new acts and making some other significant changes. The opera was relaunched a few months later and it was a resounding success.

55. “Prik khing” cuisine : THAI
Pad prik khing is a type of curry in Thai cuisine.

57. “Superman ___” : III
“Superman III” was not nearly as successful as the previous two “Superman” films. “Superman III” was written as a more comedic action film, and that approach seemed to fall flat.

58. ___ Dhabi : ABU
Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

66. Short operatic piece : ARIETTA
An arietta quite simply is a short aria.

Down
5. Bowlful at a Japanese restaurant : MISO
Miso is the name of the seasoning that makes the soup. Basic miso seasoning is made by fermenting rice, barley and soybeans with salt and a fungus (!), to produce a paste. The paste can be added to stock to make miso soup, or perhaps to flavor tofu.

7. Super Mario Bros. letters : NES
The acronym Super NES stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …

8. “Lopez Tonight” channel : TBS
George Lopez is a comedian and talk show host, perhaps most noted for starring in the sitcom known simply as “George Lopez”, a show that Lopez produced himself.

9. The Crystals’ “___ Rebel” : HE’S A
Gene Pitney wrote the sixties hit song “He’s a Rebel”, and he intended it to be recorded by the Shirelles. The Shirelles passed on the song, and so producer Phil Spector gave the song to the Crystals. At the time the song’s recording was scheduled, the Crystals were on tour so Spector had Darlene Love perform the song in the studio, backed by the Blossoms. But when the recording was released, the song was credited to the Crystals and they had to add it to their concert repertoire. So, the Crystals had a number one hit that they didn’t even record!

10. Moves like a tosspot : REELS
Drunks have been referred to as tosspots since the mid-1500s.

11. Lyre-holding Muse : ERATO
In Greek mythology, the muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. The number of muses is a subject of debate at times, but the most popular view is that there are nine:

– Calliope (epic poetry)
– Clio (history)
– Erato (lyric poetry)
– Euterpe (music)
– Melpomene (tragedy)
– Polyhymnia (choral poetry)
– Terpsichore (dance)
– Thalia (comedy)
– Urania (astronomy)

12. Nora Ephron work : ESSAY
Nora Ephron had many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she wrote, she also directed. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame? Sadly, Ephron passed away in June 2012.

15. Ben-Gurion successor : ESHKOL
Levi Eshkol was Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 to 1969, serving after David Ben-Gurion. Eshkol died of a heart attack while he was still in office.

17. Funny Caesar : SID
Sid Caesar achieved fame in the fifties on TV’s “Your Show of Shows”, but to be honest, I know him mainly from the fun film version of the musical “Grease”, in which he played Coach Calhoun.

21. Cartoonist Feiffer : JULES
Jules Feiffer is a cartoonist whose most famous strip was “Feiffer”, which ran in the “The Village Voice”.

22. “Me, Myself & ___” (2000 comedy) : IRENE
“Me, Myself & Irene” is a 2000 comedy film starring Jim Carrey (“Me” and “Myself”) and Renée Zellweger (Irene). The movie is a perfect vehicle for Carrey as his character is a state trooper who develops a second personality after a psychotic breakdown. You can just imagine how Jim Carrey plays that extra, unrepressed persona!

25. Change in Chile : PESOS
The land of Chile has a very distinctive shape. It is a narrow strip that runs up the west coast of South America. The average width of the country is only a little over 100 miles, and yet its length is about 2,700 miles. Chile is touted as the longest country in the world, although I am not so sure what that means exactly. I mean, Russian extends about 4,800 miles from east-to west …

26. Like chicory vis-à-vis coffee : ERSATZ
Something described as “ersatz” is a copy, and usually not a good one. “Ersatz” comes from the German verb “ersetzen” meaning “to replace”.

29. Guardian Angels’ toppers : BERETS
The Guardian Angels is an organization of unarmed volunteers who patrol high-crime areas and make citizen arrests when necessary. The group was founded in 1979 and originally focused on patrols of the New York City subway system. Now there are Guardian Angels operating in 15 countries and 144 cities around the world. You might recognize a Guardian Angel from his or her distinctive red beret.

33. MacFarlane of “Ted” : SETH
“Ted” is a movie written, directed, produced and starring Seth MacFarlane. In the story, MacFarlane voices a teddy bear who is the best friend of a character played by Mark Wahlberg.

34. Palindromic time : EVE
One of my favorite words is “Aibophobia”, although it doesn’t appear in the dictionary and is a joke term. It is a great way to describe a fear of palindromes, by creating a palindrome out of the suffix “-phobia”. I would call it a “real” word though in one sense, as it was introduced in the early eighties and has been around ever since.

35. It might be served with a cinnamon stick : LATTE
The term “latte” is an abbreviation of the Italian “caffelatte” meaning “coffee (and) milk”. Note that in the correct spelling of “latte”, the Italian word for milk, there is no accent over the “e”. An accent is often added by mistake when we use the word in English, perhaps meaning to suggest that the word is French.

36. Girl’s name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ELSIE
Elsie is a Scottish name, a diminuitive of Elizabeth.

37. There’s a drawing of it on TV : LOTTO
Originally “Lotto” was a type of card game, with “lotto” being the Italian for “a lot”. We’ve used “lotto” to mean a gambling game since the late 1700s.

44. “Less Than Perfect” actress, 2002-06 : SARA RUE
The actress Sara Rue is best known for roles in the TV shows “Popular” and “Less Then Perfect”. Rue is also a spokesperson for Jenny Craig who we see in television commercials every so often.

50. Rock bottom : NADIR
The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith.

52. Opera that premiered in Cairo : AIDA
“Aida” is a famous opera by Giuseppe Verde, actually based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, who also designed the costumes and stages for the opening performance. The opera was first performed in 1871 in an opera house in Cairo. In the storyline Aida is an Ethiopian princess brought into Egypt as a slave. Radames is an Egyptian commander who falls in love with her, and then of course, complications arise!

54. Subjected to a hex : CURST
“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

61. “V” visitors, briefly : ETS
“V” is a franchise of science fiction television shows. The “V” in the titles of the various productions stands for “visitors”, aliens disguised as human beings who want to take over the Earth.

62. Schubert’s “The ___ King” : ERL
“Der Erlkönig” (“The Erl King”) is a poem by the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem tells of the death of child attacked by the Erl King, a supernatural being. The Austrian composer Franz Schubert made a musical adaptation of Goethe’s poem, using the same title.

63. ___ v. Wade : ROE
Roe v. Wade was decided in a US District Court in Texas in 1970, and reached the Supreme Court on appeal. The basic decision by the Supreme Court was that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy applied to an abortion, but that this right had to be balanced with a state’s interest in protecting an unborn child and a mother’s health. The Court further defined that the state’s interest became stronger with each trimester of a pregnancy. So, in the first trimester the woman’s right to privacy outweighed any state interest. In the second trimester the state’s interest in maternal health was deemed to be strong enough to allow state regulation of abortion for the sake of the mother. In the third trimester the viability of the fetus dictated that the state’s interest in the unborn child came into play, so states could regulate or prohibit abortions, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. I’m no lawyer, but that’s my understanding of the initial Supreme Court decision …

64. Home of Ukr. : EUR
Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe, a Soviet Republic before the dissolution of the USSR. In English we often call the country “the Ukraine”, but I am told this isn’t appropriate.

65. Tosspot’s affliction : DTS
The episodes of delirium that can accompany withdrawal from alcohol are called Delirium Tremens (the DTs). The literal translation of this Latin phrase is “trembling madness”.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Insect segment : ABDOMEN
8. With 68- or 69-Across, what 16-, 32-, 42- and 60-Across each consists of : THREE
13. Get by : SURVIVE
14. Big name in diamonds : DE BEERS
16. Fools evaluate bodies of water? : ASSES ASSESS SEAS
18. Flier of legend : ROC
19. “___ bin ein Berliner” : ICH
20. Opposite of baja : ALTA
21. Dump, so to speak : JILT
24. “Rabbit, Run” writer : UPDIKE
27. ___ milk : SOY
28. Ocean State sch. : URI
29. Competition of sorts : BEE
30. Scrap for Fido : ORT
32. Renter finds a buyer for fish? : LESSEE SELLS EELS
39. Sign up : ENTER
40. Oospheres, say : OVA
41. Amalgam, e.g. : ALLOY
42. Musical combo designs experiments? : SESTET SETS TESTS
45. Elevs. : HTS
46. Cartoon “devil,” for short : TAZ
47. Hairy sitcom cousin : ITT
48. Puccini’s Cio-Cio-___ : SAN
51. Barber, at times : SHAVER
54. Figs. in company reports : CEOS
55. “Prik khing” cuisine : THAI
57. “Superman ___” : III
58. ___ Dhabi : ABU
60. More embarrassed forest creature screwed up? : REDDER DEER ERRED
66. Short operatic piece : ARIETTA
67. Is exhausted : RUNS OUT
68. See 8-Across : WORDS
69. See 8-Across : LETTERS

Down
1. Smart ___ whip : AS A
2. Tour ride : BUS
3. Hosp. figures : DRS
4. In-your-face : OVERT
5. Bowlful at a Japanese restaurant : MISO
6. Runner from a bomb scare, e.g. : EVACUEE
7. Super Mario Bros. letters : NES
8. “Lopez Tonight” channel : TBS
9. The Crystals’ “___ Rebel” : HE’S A
10. Moves like a tosspot : REELS
11. Lyre-holding Muse : ERATO
12. Nora Ephron work : ESSAY
14. Metric system prefix : DECI-
15. Ben-Gurion successor : ESHKOL
17. Funny Caesar : SID
21. Cartoonist Feiffer : JULES
22. “Me, Myself & ___” (2000 comedy) : IRENE
23. Isn’t upright : LISTS
25. Change in Chile : PESOS
26. Like chicory vis-à-vis coffee : ERSATZ
29. Guardian Angels’ toppers : BERETS
31. Intro to marketing? : TELE-
33. MacFarlane of “Ted” : SETH
34. Palindromic time : EVE
35. It might be served with a cinnamon stick : LATTE
36. Girl’s name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ELSIE
37. There’s a drawing of it on TV : LOTTO
38. Ways of operating: Abbr. : SYSTS
43. Gymwear item : T-SHIRT
44. “Less Than Perfect” actress, 2002-06 : SARA RUE
48. What a sucker may have : STRAW
49. “Don’t try to be ___” : A HERO
50. Rock bottom : NADIR
52. Opera that premiered in Cairo : AIDA
53. Go (for) : VIE
54. Subjected to a hex : CURST
56. Carded at a club, say : IDED
59. Wacky, as humor : BENT
61. “V” visitors, briefly : ETS
62. Schubert’s “The ___ King” : ERL
63. ___ v. Wade : ROE
64. Home of Ukr. : EUR
65. Tosspot’s affliction : DTS

Return to top of page