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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: George Barany & Victor Barocas
THEME: BCC … each of the theme answers stretches across the whole grid from left to right, with the letters “CC” blind i.e. hidden behind black squares:
1A. With 4- & 9-Across, sports news of 1919 : BLA(C)K SOX S(C)ANDAL
17A. With 18- & 19-Across, Toys “R” Us department : ELE(C)TRONI(C) GAMES
34A. With 37- & 39-Across, Fredric March’s last film : THE I(C)EMAN (C)OMETH
45A. With 47- & 48-Across, like some student activities : EXTRA(C)URRI(C)ULAR
64A. With 67- & 69-Across, role that garnered 12 consecutive unsuccessful Emmy nominations, 1985-96 : JESSI(C)A FLET(C)HER
73A. With 74- & 75-Across, “invisible” part of a distribution list … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : BLIND (C)ARBON (C)OPY
COMPLETION TIME: 20m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. With 4- & 9-Across, sports news of 1919 : BLA(C)K SOX S(C)ANDAL
In the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, eight Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the World Series for financial gain. The tale is told in “Eight Men Out”, a movie released in 1988 based on the book “8 Men Out” written by Eliot Asinof and published in 1963.
14. Part of E.N.T. : EAR
An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.
20. Figure in Raphael’s “The School of Athens” : PLATO
Plato was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was a student of the equally famous and respected Socrates, and Plato in turn was the teacher and mentor of the celebrated Aristotle.
“The School of Athens” is a painting by Raphael, thought by many to be his masterpiece. The painting is a fresco, and can be seen in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
26. Not moved from the original location : IN SITU
“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”.
30. Lib ___ (U.K. party member) : DEM
For most of the 1980s, the UK’s Liberal and Social Democratic Parties were in an alliance, and then finally merged into a party called the Liberal Democrats in 1988. The Lib Dems were the third largest party after the 2010 general election, with neither of the top two parties having sufficient seats to form a government. The Lib Dems agreed to enter into a coalition with the Conservative Party, and so Tory David Cameron is now Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is Deputy Prime Minister.
34. With 37- & 39-Across, Fredric March’s last film : THE I(C)EMAN (C)OMETH
“The Iceman Cometh” is a play written by American playwright Eugene O’Neill first performed in 1946, on Broadway. The play centers on some down-and-out men in a shabby saloon in Manhattan. The title is a reference to the “ice man”, the man who would have delivered ice to homes back in the day. The reference is to a bawdy joke that the “ice man” was having an affair with someone’s wife.
Fredric March was a stage and screen actor from Racine, Washington. March won the Best Actor Oscar twice, for performances in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in 1932 and “The Best Years of Our Lives” in 1946.
41. ___ Gallimard, protagonist of “M. Butterfly” : RENE
“M. Butterfly” is a 1988 play by David Henry Hwang, which was made into a film in 1993 starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone. The storyline is inspired by Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly”.
44. Tributary of the High Rhine : AARE
The Aar (also called the “Aare” in German) is the longest river entirely in Switzerland. A famous spot along the Aar is the Reichenbach Falls in the center of the country, actually a series of waterfalls near the city of Meiringen. These falls are celebrated in the world of literature as it was here that Sherlock Holmes fell to his supposed doom with his nemesis Professor Moriarty (in “The Adventure of the Final Problem”).
49. Third of November? : VEE
The third letter in “November” is “V”.
52. Egyptian headdress feature : 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.
60. Like “Wedding Crashers” or “Bridesmaids” : R-RATED
Not only does the 2005 romantic comedy “Wedding Crashers” star Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, but if you rent it you’ll see cameos from Democratic pundit James Carville and Republican Senator John McCain.
“Bridesmaids” is a 2011 comedy movie co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig. I wasn’t mad about this film until Chris O’Dowd turned up as a traffic cop. Wiig and O’Dowd were great together I thought, pity about the rest of the movie …
63. A current flows into it : ANODE
The two terminals of a battery are called the anode and the cathode. Electrons travel from the anode to the cathode creating an electric current.
64. With 67- & 69-Across, role that garnered 12 consecutive unsuccessful Emmy nominations, 1985-96 : JESSI(C)A FLET(C)HER
Jessica Fletcher is the lead character in the television show “Murder, She Wrote”. Jessica was played by veteran actress Angela Lansbury.
70. Brother of Moses : AARON
In the Bible and the Qur’an, Aaron was the older brother of Moses and was a prophet. Aaron became the first High Priest of the Israelites.
72. Iraq war danger, for short : IED
Sadly, having spent much of my life in the border areas between southern and Northern Ireland, I am all too familiar with the devastating effects of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). No matter what one’s politics, one has to admire the bravery of soldiers who spend their careers defusing (or attempting to defuse) such devices in order to save the lives and property of others. Of course these days IEDs are very much in the news in Iraq and Afghanistan.
73. With 74- & 75-Across, “invisible” part of a distribution list … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : BLIND (C)ARBON (C)OPY
A blind carbon copy (Bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.
I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle?
Down
2. ___ column (construction piece) : LALLY
A lally column provides vertical support to horizontal beams in a building. The lally column is a hollow steel column, filled with concrete so that it resists buckling. The column takes its name from its inventor, American John Lally, who started producing them in the 1800s.
4. Organic compound with a double-bonded oxygen : KETONE
Ketones are organic compounds. Many sugars are ketones, as is the solvent acetone.
5. Isl. south of Corsica : SAR
Sardinia is an autonomous region of Italy, an island in the Mediterranean off the west coast of the country and south of the French island of Corsica. Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean (Sicily is the largest).
Corsica is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. Napoléon Bonaparte was born on Corsica, in the town of Ajaccio.
6. “___ mio” : O SOLE
“‘O sole mio” is a famous Italian song from Naples, written in 1898. The lyrics are usually sung in the original Neapolitan, as opposed to Italian. The title translates from Neapolitan into “My Sun” (and not into “O, My Sun” as one might expect). It’s a love song of course, sung by a young man declaring that there is a sun brighter than that in the sky, the sun that is his lover’s face. Awww …
7. Princess known as the Defender of the Elijans : XENA
The Xena character, famously played by actress Lucy Lawless, was introduced in a made-for-TV movie called “Hercules and the Amazon Women”. Lawless reprised the role in a series called “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. Xena became so popular that a series was built around her character, with Lawless retained for the role.
9. Composer Dominick whose name means “silver” in Italian : ARGENTO
Dominick Argento is a classical composer from York, Pennsylvania. Argento has written fourteen operas in all, the most famous probably being “Postcard from Morocco”.
12. Enzyme suffix : -ASE
Enzymes are basically catalysts, chemicals that act to increase the rate of a particular chemical reaction. For example, starches will break down into sugars over time, especially under the right conditions. However, in the presence of the enzyme amylase (found in saliva) this production of sugar happens very, very quickly.
13. “___ Miz” : LES
The 1980 musical “Les Miserables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London quite a few years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even having a cigarette. On cue they would get up and catch a dropped rifle or an actor that had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the storyline seemed to get lost …
25. Feds : G-MEN
The nickname “G-men” is short for “Government Men” and refers to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
28. Aquarium fish : TETRA
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish, native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.
31. N.F.L. record-holder for consecutive starts : FAVRE
Brett Favre is best known as the former starting-quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, and now plays for the Minnesota Vikings. Among the many NFL records held by Favre, he has thrown the most career touchdown passes, and has made the most consecutive starts.
32. Embarassing spelling mistake? : ONE R
“Embarassing” should be spelled with two Rs, not one R.
34. Fountain name : TREVI
The Trevi Fountain is a huge fountain in Rome, the largest constructed in the Baroque style. The tradition is that if one throws a coin in the fountain, one is guaranteed a return visit to the city one day. Tourists throw in an amazing 3,000 euros (over $4,000) every day. The money is collected and is used to stock a supermarket for the needy of the city.
35. Spells : HEXES
“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.
40. “Tales of the City” novelist : MAUPIN
“Tales of the City” is a series of eight novels written by Armistead Maupin. The original stories were published in serial form in a couple of San Francisco newspapers.
46. Ute or Cree : AMERIND
The Amerind peoples are the indigenous people of the Americas. “Amerind” is a portmanteau of the words “American” and “indigenous”.
51. What’s put before the carte? : A LA
“Carte” is a word sometimes used in French for a menu. Menu items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately, as opposed to “table d’hôte” which is a fixed price menu with limited choice.
53. New York’s ___ Island : STATEN
Staten Island is part of New York City and is the least populous of the city’s five boroughs. The island was originally called Staaten Eylandt by Henry Hudson and was named after the Dutch parliament, the Staaten Generaal.
55. “Backdraft” crime : ARSON
“Backdraft” is a very compelling action movie released in 1991. Directed by the great Ron Howard, the film stars Kurt Russell and Robert De Niro in a story about Chicago firefighters who are up against a dangerous arsonist. There used to be a special effects show based on “Backdraft” at Universal Studios Hollywood. We took our kids to see that show, and that turned out to be a mistake. They left it in tears having been scared out of their skins …
56. Wing it : AD LIB
“Ad libitum” is a Latin phrase meaning “at one’s pleasure”. In common usage the phrase is usually shortened to “ad lib”. On the stage the concept of an “ad lib” is very familiar. For example, an actor may substitute his or her own words for forgotten lines using an ad lib, or a director may instruct an actor to use his or her own words at a particular point in a performance to promote a sense of spontaneity.
57. Bygone gas brand : SOHIO
Standard Oil of Ohio was formed in 1911, and was one of the companies that resulted from the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s behemoth Standard Oil. The company used the brand name “Sohio” at service stations within Ohio, and “Boron” in other states. Sohio merged with BP in 1968.
61. Spanish appetizer : TAPA
“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”, and there is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.
66. ___ Lanka : SRI
The name Sri Lanka translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule. The lion on the country’s national flag symbolizes the fight against British colonialism.
68. “___ Beso” : ESO
“Eso Beso” is Spanish for “That Kiss”, and is the name of a hit song recorded by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. With 4- & 9-Across, sports news of 1919 : BLA(C)K SOX S(C)ANDAL
14. Part of E.N.T. : EAR
15. Stand for a sitting : EASEL
16. Part of a waste reduction strategy : REUSE
17. With 18- & 19-Across, Toys “R” Us department : ELE(C)TRONI(C) GAMES
20. Figure in Raphael’s “The School of Athens” : PLATO
22. Painter’s aid : LADDER
24. Drawer at a doctor’s office? : SYRINGE
26. Not moved from the original location : IN SITU
30. Lib ___ (U.K. party member) : DEM
31. Times or Century : FONT
33. Some French? : DES
34. With 37- & 39-Across, Fredric March’s last film : THE I(C)EMAN (C)OMETH
41. ___ Gallimard, protagonist of “M. Butterfly” : RENE
42. Something to contemplate : NAVEL
44. Tributary of the High Rhine : AARE
45. With 47- & 48-Across, like some student activities : EXTRA(C)URRI(C)ULAR
49. Third of November? : VEE
50. Like bright red cardinals : MALE
52. Egyptian headdress feature : ASP
54. Children of ___ (descendants of Jacob) : ISRAEL
56. Goldsmith, for one : ARTISAN
60. Like “Wedding Crashers” or “Bridesmaids” : R-RATED
63. A current flows into it : ANODE
64. With 67- & 69-Across, role that garnered 12 consecutive unsuccessful Emmy nominations, 1985-96 : JESSI(C)A FLET(C)HER
70. Brother of Moses : AARON
71. Beauty pageant judging criterion : POISE
72. Iraq war danger, for short : IED
73. With 74- & 75-Across, “invisible” part of a distribution list … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : BLIND (C)ARBON (C)OPY
Down
1. Urban cacophony : BEEPS
2. ___ column (construction piece) : LALLY
3. Toward the back : AREAR
4. Organic compound with a double-bonded oxygen : KETONE
5. Isl. south of Corsica : SAR
6. “___ mio” : O SOLE
7. Princess known as the Defender of the Elijans : XENA
8. Declined, as stocks : SLID
9. Composer Dominick whose name means “silver” in Italian : ARGENTO
10. Almost reaches : NEARS
11. Musical syllable before and after “da” : DUM
12. Enzyme suffix : -ASE
13. “___ Miz” : LES
21. Comparatively neat : TIDIER
23. Racket : DIN
25. Feds : G-MEN
27. Model : IDEAL
28. Aquarium fish : TETRA
29. Program presenter : USHER
31. N.F.L. record-holder for consecutive starts : FAVRE
32. Embarassing spelling mistake? : ONE R
34. Fountain name : TREVI
35. Spells : HEXES
36. Sign with an arrow : ENTER
38. Mangle : MAUL
40. “Tales of the City” novelist : MAUPIN
43. Make-up person? : LIAR
46. Ute or Cree : AMERIND
51. What’s put before the carte? : A LA
53. New York’s ___ Island : STATEN
55. “Backdraft” crime : ARSON
56. Wing it : AD LIB
57. Bygone gas brand : SOHIO
58. “Take ___ breath” : A DEEP
59. Uncool : NERDY
61. Spanish appetizer : TAPA
62. Get an ___ effort : E FOR
64. Get one’s point across? : JAB
65. Suffix with arbor or ether : -EAL
66. ___ Lanka : SRI
68. “___ Beso” : ESO
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Tapa (lid) in this case could perhaps indicate that an appetizer is eaten at the top or beginning of the meal. Just a another one of many speculations as to it's origin of use for appetizer.
Yes. Maybe I should have mentioned alternative theories.