1102-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 2 Nov 12, Friday

QuickLinks:
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: Derek Bowman
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 46m 03s! It took me a long time to unlock the bottom third of the grid.
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … Jeane (Keane), SOJU (soku)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

16. High-culture work : OPERA
The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”.

19. Grp. organizing booster shots : NASA
The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite towards the end of 1957, a development that shocked the establishment in the US. Within months, President Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

25. Leather variety : ELK
The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were used to seeing the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct term then is “wapiti”, the Shawnee name for the animal, which means “white rump”. It’s all very confusing …

28. Piranhas : CARIBES
The Black Spot Piranha (also “Caribe Piranha”) is a species of piranha found in the Orinoco River basin and parts of Venezuela and Colombia.

36. “Paint the Sky With Stars” singer : ENYA
Enya’s real name is Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

37. “Written in the Stars” musical : AIDA
The rock musical “Aida” is based on Giuseppe Verdi’s original opera. The modern “Aida” premiered in 1998 and is still performed today. Music is by Elton John and lyrics are by Tim Rice.

42. Neighbor of Lat. : LITH
The nation of Lithuania is a former Soviet Socialist Republic sitting on the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe.

The independent country of Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics. People from Latvia are called Letts.

47. Barrio kinsman : TIO
“Barrio” is the name given to an urban district in Spanish-speaking countries.

52. 1990s girl group member with a tongue piercing : SCARY SPICE
The five members of the English pop group the Spice Girls are:

– Scary Spice (Melanie Brown, or Mel B)
– Baby Spice (Emma Bunton, and my fave!)
– Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell)
– Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham)
– Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C)

56. ___ dixit : IPSE
“Ipse dixit” is Latin and means”he himself said it”.

63. Astrologer Dixon : JEANE
Jeane Dixon was a famous American astrologer who wrote a popular syndicated astrology column for many years.

Down
1. “1st and 10” airer : ESPN
“1st and 10” was a sports talk show that aired on ESPN (and ESPN2) from 2003 to 2011.

6. Capital along Interstate 15 : HELENA
Helena is the capital of the state of Montana, and is known as the Queen City of the Rockies. Helena’s main street has a very colorful name, namely Last Chance Gulch.

8. Topic de Freud : REVE
A topic for Freud would be a dream (“rêve” in French).

9. Hungarian city that has hosted two World Puzzle Championships : EGER
Eger is a city in the northeast of Hungary that is noted for its thermal baths and for its wine production. I don’t recall having tried any wines from Eger, although we do drink a fair amount of Hungarian wine back in Ireland. I just read that Eger wines bear a resemblance to wines from Burgundy.

The annual World Puzzle Championship was first held in New York and is a creation of Will Shortz, the puzzle editor for the New York Times.

10. “This Boy’s Life” author Wolff : TOBIAS
Tobias Wolff is an author from Birmingham, Alabama. Noted for his memoirs, Wolff’s most famous work is “This Boy’s Life”, which was adapted into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

13. Land o’ blarney : ERIN
“Éire”, is the Irish word for “Ireland”. Erin is an anglicized version of “Éire”, actually corresponding to “Éirinn”, the dative case of “Éire”.

Blarney is a town in County Cork in the south of Ireland. Blarney is home to Blarney Castle, and inside the castle is the legendary Blarney Stone. “Kissing the Blarney Stone” is a ritual engaged in by oh so many tourists (indeed, I’ve done it myself!), but it’s not a simple process. The stone is embedded in the wall of the castle, and in order to kiss it you have to sit on the edge of the parapet and lean way backwards so that your head is some two feet below your body. There is a staff member there to help you and make sure you don’t fall. The Blarney Stone has been labelled as the world’s most unhygienic tourist attraction! But once you’ve kissed it, supposedly you are endowed with the “gift of the gab”, the ability to talk eloquently and perhaps deceptively without offending. Sure, I wouldn’t know …

23. Drink brand with a polar bear mascot : ICEE
Icee is the brand name of one of those slushy drinks. Ugh …

25. Equipment for pentathletes : EPEES
The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the “modern pentathlon”. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:

– pistol shooting
– épée fencing
– 200m freestyle swimming
– show jumping
– 3 km cross-country running

26. Eraser head? : LONG E
The word “eraser” starts with a long E.

27. 1962 film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer : KID GALAHAD
“Kid Galahad” was a 1967 boxing movie starring Elvis Presley. The 1967 film was a remake of a 1937 movie of the same name starring Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.

32. Estes was his 1956 running mate : ADLAI
Adlai Stevenson ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Some years later, Stevenson served under President Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson was always noted for his eloquence and he had a famous exchange in a UN Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. Stevenson bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba. His words were “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” followed up with, “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”

Estes Kefauver was a Democratic politician from Tennessee. In 1956 Kefauver was the running mate of Adlai Stevenson. The pair of course lost to the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket.

33. Once-faddish aerobics regimen : TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, but was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s. It was introduced by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

40. Constellation animal : URSA
The constellation called Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland: the “plough”.

45. Tom of “Tomorrow” : SNYDER
Tom Snyder was a news anchor and radio/television personality who worked for NBC and CBS in the seventies and eighties. Snyder was best known for his late night appearances hosting “The Tomorrow Show” and “The Late Late Show”.

49. The “you” in the lyric “I’ll see you in my dreams” : IRENE
“Goodnight, Irene”, also known as “Irene, Goodnight”, is a lovely American folk song that was first recorded commercially back in 1932 by blues singer Lead Belly. The song made it to number one in the charts for the Weavers in 1950 and for Frank Sinatra in the same year.

51. Heat source? : MIAMI
The Miami Heat basketball team debuted in the NBA in the 1988-89 season. The franchise name was chosen in a competitive survey, with “Miami Heat” beating out “Miami Vice”.

52. Korean liquor similar to sake : SOJU
Soju is a Korean liquor traditionally made from rice, although other starches are also used these days. The name “sujo” translates literally as “burned liquor”.

53. Either director of 2010’s “True Grit” : COEN
I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the lovely Frances McDormand.

The classic 1969 western movie “True Grit” starring John Wayne was a screen adaptation of a 1968 novel by Henry Hathaway. The Coen brothers made another adaption of the novel in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges.

59. Toward the Atlantic, in Mexico : ESTE
“Este” is the Spanish word for “east”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. With 10-Across, “Down, boy!” : EASY THERE
10. See 1-Across : TIGER!
15. Something that’s hardly fitting? : SQUARE PEG
16. High-culture work : OPERA
17. Crush, say : PUPPY LOVE
18. Drive home : BAT IN
19. Grp. organizing booster shots : NASA
20. Like some sweaters : EXERCISING
22. Very insignificant : TINY
24. Have legs : LAST
25. Leather variety : ELK
28. Piranhas : CARIBES
31. No-goodnik : RAT
34. Model quality : POISE
36. “Paint the Sky With Stars” singer : ENYA
37. “Written in the Stars” musical : AIDA
38. Battle of good versus evil, e.g. : ENDLESS STRUGGLE
41. Like many batters : EGGY
42. Neighbor of Lat. : LITH
43. Place to get clean : REHAB
44. ___ legs : SEA
45. Western phenomena : SUNSETS
47. Barrio kinsman : TIO
48. Very short note : LINE
50. Bogus : SHAM
52. 1990s girl group member with a tongue piercing : SCARY SPICE
56. ___ dixit : IPSE
60. Voiced admiration : OOHED
61. They’re measured in 55-Downs : SNOWFALLS
63. Astrologer Dixon : JEANE
64. Be extremely conspicuous : SCREAM OUT
65. With 66-Across, like water that’s behind you? : UNDER
66. See 65-Across : THE BRIDGE

Down
1. “1st and 10” airer : ESPN
2. 44-Across shade : AQUA
3. Doesn’t merely snack : SUPS
4. Lecture, say : YAP AT
5. Whirl : TRY
6. Capital along Interstate 15 : HELENA
7. It forms a strong bond : EPOXY RESIN
8. Topic de Freud : REVE
9. Hungarian city that has hosted two World Puzzle Championships : EGER
10. “This Boy’s Life” author Wolff : TOBIAS
11. “Not for me” : I PASS
12. Not make a mistake on something : GET IT RIGHT
13. Land o’ blarney : ERIN
14. Was like a bell : RANG
21. Like a bell : CLEAR
23. Drink brand with a polar bear mascot : ICEE
25. Equipment for pentathletes : EPEES
26. Eraser head? : LONG E
27. 1962 film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer : KID GALAHAD
29. R&D locales: Abbr. : INSTS
30. In droves : BY THE SCORE
32. Estes was his 1956 running mate : ADLAI
33. Once-faddish aerobics regimen : TAE BO
35. Apt to artifice : SLY
37. It’s always increasing : AGE
39. Turns sharply : SLUES
40. Constellation animal : URSA
45. Tom of “Tomorrow” : SNYDER
46. What’s used for site-seeing? : THE WEB
49. The “you” in the lyric “I’ll see you in my dreams” : IRENE
51. Heat source? : MIAMI
52. Korean liquor similar to sake : SOJU
53. Either director of 2010’s “True Grit” : COEN
54. Nudge alternative : PSST
55. See 61-Across : INCH
57. Lumber : PLOD
58. Hard punch : SLUG
59. Toward the Atlantic, in Mexico : ESTE
62. A ways away : FAR

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3 thoughts on “1102-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 2 Nov 12, Friday”

  1. Maybe I'm much too late on this (syndicated), but for 49D "I'll see you in my dreams" indeed are words in the song "Good night, Irene," but the same words are also the title of the hit song by Frank Sinatra.

  2. Hi there, TAM

    You're not to late to leave a comment at all.

    Thanks for reminding us of the Sinatra song "I'll See You in My Dreams", a different song as you point out. I just heard a very nice version of it sung by English singer Joe Brown at a tribute concert for George Harrison. Very moving …

    Thanks for stopping by, TAM.

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