1108-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Nov 12, Thursday

Peter Valentine’s Poetry … from the New York Times Crossword
You have to check out Peter’s compositions: poems written daily and only using words from the clues and answers of that day’s crossword!

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: Damon J. Gulczynski
THEME: Twelve Guys … this is a rebus puzzle with the word MAN occupying twelve squares
COMPLETION TIME: Did not finish!
ANSWERS I MISSED: Several in the bottom right corner 🙁

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

5. “Sweetheart” of “Jersey Shore” : SAMMI
Sammi Giancola is one of the main characters on “Jersey Shore”, a very popular reality TV show on MTV.

“Jersey Shore” is yet another reality TV series, on MTV. The first season featured a group of eight friends sharing a house on the Jersey shore, and the second season had the same cadre tanning themselves in a house down in Miami.

14. Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

16. What a Realtor may give : TOUR
Some helpful blog readers have educated me on the term “Realtor” and have pointed out why the word is capitalized. “Real estate agent” is a general, generic term. “Realtor” is the name given to a member of the trade association known as the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR has gone so far as the trademark the term “Realtor” in the US.

17. U.S. Steel was once its biggest employer : GARY
The city of Gary, Indiana is located just 25 miles from downtown Chicago and falls within the Chicago metropolitan area (also known as Chicagoland). Gary was founded by US Steel in 1906, as the company selected it as the site for a new steel plant. The name was chosen in honor of Elbert H. Gary who was the key player in setting up US Steel in 1901.

18. “N.F.L. Live” host Trey : WINGO
Trey Wingo hosts “NFL Live” on ESPN. That’s all I know …

19. Mrs. Albert Einstein : ELSA
Einstein was Elsa’s family name after she married Einstein, and also beforehand. Elsa and Albert were first cousins.

20. QB who was twice a Super Bowl M.V.P. : ELI MANNING
Even I know that Eli Manning and his older brother Peyton are both quarterbacks!

30. “A Day Without Rain” artist : 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!

31. Devilfish : MANTA
“Sea devil” is another name for the manta ray.

The manta ray is the biggest species of ray, with the largest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds.

34. Artist with whom an exiled Leon Trotsky once lived : RIVERA
Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter, famous for his murals. His wife was an equally famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

36. Head for a pub : LOO
In old sailing ships the toilet area for the regular sailors was located in the forward part (the head) of the ship, hence the term “head” that has been used since then for any toilet on board a boat.

42. “The Godfather” figures : DONS
“The Godfather” series of films is of course based on “The Godfather” novel by Mario Puzo, first published in 1969. Francis Ford Coppola worked with Puzo in partnership to adapt his novel into the screenplay for the first film, and to write the screenplays for the two sequels. Coppola holds that there are really only two films in “The Godfather” series, with “The Godfather Part III” actually being the epilogue.

47. It’s flaky : MICA
Mica is a mineral, a sheet silicate. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes’ in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

52. “Le ___” (Matisse piece) : BATEAU
“Le Bateau” is an interesting work by Henri Matisse. The 1953 picture is made from pieces of painted paper arranged to look like a boat (“bateau”). The Museum of Modern Art acquired the piece in 1961 and put it on display. Matisse’s “Le Bateau” actually hung on the wall upside down for 47 days before anyone noticed the error …

60. Even: Fr. : EGAL
“Egal” is the French word for “equal, alike”, and a word we sometimes use in English. The national motto of France is of course “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”, meaning “Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood).

64. Poshness : LUXE
“Luxe” can be used as an adjective, meaning elegant and sumptuous, posh.

66. In ___ (naturally positioned) : SITU
“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”.

67. Annual June race : LE MANS
Le Mans is a city in northwestern France. The city is famous for the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race that has been held annually since 1923. The 24-hour race uses the city’s race track, but closed city streets are also used for part of the circuit.

68. Marsh growth : SEDGE
Sedges are a family of plants that resemble grasses and rushes. Sedges are more properly called Cyperaceae.

Down
3. Mata ___ : HARI
Mata Hari was the stage name used by Margaretha Geertuida Zella, born in the Netherlands in 1876. After an unsuccessful and somewhat tragic marriage, Zella moved to Paris in 1903 where she struggled to make a living. By 1905 she was working as an exotic dancer and using the name Mata Hari. She was a successful courtesan, notably moving in various circles of high-ranking military officers. She apparently worked as a double agent, both for the French and the Germans. When Mata Hari was accused by the French of passing information to the enemy, she was tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad at the height of WW1, in 1917.

5. 2007 horror film : SAW IV
The “Saw” franchise of movies is gruesome in the extreme. I’ve only seen a few minutes of “Saw” footage (accidentally). The stories are about imprisoned victims who are faced with having to mutilate themselves to escape. Ugh …

7. Tramp, e.g., in “Lady and the Tramp” : MONGREL
“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney, released in 1955. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date” and eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute!

9. 2009 bromance film : I LOVE YOU, MAN
“I Love You, Man” is a 2009 comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel in a “bromance”. The lovely Rashida Jones co-stars, adding some female interest.

12. Yorkshire river : OUSE
York is the biggest city on the River Ouse in Yorkshire. The name “Ouse” comes from the Celtic word “usa” meaning water.

13. Contemporary of Marcel Duchamp : MAN RAY
Man Ray was an American modernist artist who spent most of his working life in Paris. Man Ray was born in South Philadelphia in 1890, and his real name was Emmanuel Radnitzky. His family adopted the name “Ray” in response to anti-Semitic feeling that was prevalent at the time. Emmanuel was known as “Manny”, and he decided to assume the name Man Ray and use it for his work.

Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose works are associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. One of his most celebrated “works” is simply what he called “readymade” art, a urinal which he titled “Fountain”. Even though this work is considered to be “a major landmark in 20th century art”, the original that was submitted for exhibition was never actually displayed and had been lost forever. Replicas were commissioned by Duchamp, and are on display in many museums around the world. I have no further comment …

21. Dame’s lead-in? : NOTRE
Notre Dame de Paris is the spectacular Gothic cathedral that sits on the Île de la Cité, one of the islands in the middle on the River Seine in Paris. Notre Dame is home to many beautiful and significant artifacts, the most famous of which is the Crown of Thorns supposedly worn by Jesus Christ at his execution, placed in the cathedral in 1239. It’s also home to some magnificent gargoyles on the roof, and you can climb up to the roof and take a very close look at them.

25. High-hatter : SNOB
Back in the 1780s, a “snob” was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.

26. TV director Iannucci : ARMANDO
Armando Iannucci is a very talented Scottish comedian and writer. After a long and successful career in the UK, Iannucci is now working on a US project. He created the HBO political satire “Veep” which is a remake of one of his hit shows in the UK called “The Thick of It”.

28. ___-garde : AVANT
People described as being avant-garde are especially innovative. “Avant-garde” is French for “advance guard”.

29. “Olympia” and others : MANETS
Edouard Manet painted “Olympia”” in 1863. The painting caused a lot of controversy when it was first shown. Despite the grandiose title, Olympia is actually a courtesan, something that caused offence in the art appreciation circles at that time. I have been lucky enough to have seen the work (which doesn’t offend anyone anymore!) a few times in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

32. Chief justice in the Dred Scott case : TANEY
Famously, the slave Dred Scott was unsuccessful in suing for his freedom in St. Louis, Missouri in 1857.

35. Parts of a fashionable “Collezioni” : ARMANI SUITS
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the company that bears his name since 1975. Although Armani is famous for his menswear, the company makes everything from jewelry to perfume.

“Collezioni” is Italian for “collections”.

41. 9-Down co-star Jason : SEGEL
The actor Jason Segel appeared in the movies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Knocked Up” as well as “I Love You, Man”. On TV he appears as Marshall Eriksen in the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother”. Segel is an ordained minister and actually married a couple on “The Tonight Show” in 2010.

47. Wasikowska of “Alice in Wonderland,” 2010 : MIA
Mia Wasikowska is an Australian actress. Wasikowska’s breakthrough role was playing the title character in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010. The only movie I’ve seen her in though is 2011’s “Jane Eyre”, a pretty good adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë classic, I thought …

49. Editing marks : DELES
“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

54. Beatles song with the lyric “There’s one for you, nineteen for me” : TAXMAN
Back in the UK in the seventies, the UK government put in place a progressive tax that topped out at 95% for the super-rich. The band members of the Beatles fell into that tax bracket, so George Harrison wrote a song called “Taxman” which had a lyric “There’s one for you, nineteen for me”. That reference meant that the government took nineteen shillings out of every twenty that the band earned.

57. The Jonas Brothers, e.g. : TRIO
A young neighbor of mine went to see the Jonas Brothers in concert not so long ago. She came home swooning …

59. Having failed aspirations : MANQUE
Manqué is an adjective or noun that is applied to someone who failed to live up to expectations. In French “manqué” means “missed”.

62. Head of compliance? : CEE
The first letter in the word “compliance” is a “c”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Holy smokes!” : MAN OH MAN
5. “Sweetheart” of “Jersey Shore” : SAMMI
10. Direct, in a way : MAN-TO-MAN
14. Asia’s ___ Sea : ARAL
15. In conflict with : AFOUL
16. What a Realtor may give : TOUR
17. U.S. Steel was once its biggest employer : GARY
18. “N.F.L. Live” host Trey : WINGO
19. Mrs. Albert Einstein : ELSA
20. QB who was twice a Super Bowl M.V.P. : ELI MANNING
22. Hollow : VALLEY
24. How some military personnel serve : OVERSEAS
26. Unyielding : ADAMANT
30. “A Day Without Rain” artist : ENYA
31. Devilfish : MANTA
34. Artist with whom an exiled Leon Trotsky once lived : RIVERA
36. Head for a pub : LOO
37. Heroin, in slang : SCAG
38. Femmes fatales : MANEATERS
40. Part of a city street : BUS LANE
42. “The Godfather” figures : DONS
43. Long mops : MANES
45. Zigzag, e.g. : MANEUVER
46. Commonly : OFT
47. It’s flaky : MICA
48. Shades in the London sky, often : GREYS
49. Deter : DISSUADE
52. “Le ___” (Matisse piece) : BATEAU
55. Home-field advantage in football … or what the last square of the answer to this clue represents in this puzzle : TWELFTH MAN
60. Even: Fr. : EGAL
61. Trap during winter, perhaps : ICE IN
63. 2000s service site : IRAQ
64. Poshness : LUXE
65. Awkward years, for many : TEENS
66. In ___ (naturally positioned) : SITU
67. Annual June race : LE MANS
68. Marsh growth : SEDGE
69. Cheat, in slang : HOSE

Down
1. Get by : MANAGE
2. Like some surgery : ORAL
3. Mata ___ : HARI
4. Macho type : MANLY MAN
5. 2007 horror film : SAW IV
6. Walk ___ line : A FINE
7. Tramp, e.g., in “Lady and the Tramp” : MONGREL
8. Pull a face : MUG
9. 2009 bromance film : I LOVE YOU, MAN
10. Trophy sites : MANTELS
11. Ring : TOLL
12. Yorkshire river : OUSE
13. Contemporary of Marcel Duchamp : MAN RAY
21. Dame’s lead-in? : NOTRE
23. Best, in some rating systems : AAA
25. High-hatter : SNOB
26. TV director Iannucci : ARMANDO
27. Succumb to : DIE OF
28. ___-garde : AVANT
29. “Olympia” and others : MANETS
31. Guy’s private area : MAN CAVE
32. Chief justice in the Dred Scott case : TANEY
33. New ___ (modern spiritualists) : AGERS
35. Parts of a fashionable “Collezioni” : ARMANI SUITS
37. Epithet : SLUR
39. Jiffs : SECS
41. 9-Down co-star Jason : SEGEL
44. Prepared, as some mushrooms : SAUTEED
47. Wasikowska of “Alice in Wonderland,” 2010 : MIA
49. Editing marks : DELES
50. Knocking the socks off of : AWING
51. Like a copse : DENSE
52. Collar attachment : BELL
53. Flu symptom : AGUE
54. Beatles song with the lyric “There’s one for you, nineteen for me” : TAXMAN
56. Go for a bite? : FISH
57. The Jonas Brothers, e.g. : TRIO
58. Roles, figuratively : HATS
59. Having failed aspirations : MANQUE
62. Head of compliance? : CEE

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4 thoughts on “1108-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Nov 12, Thursday”

  1. "Realtor" is capitalized because it is a trademarked term use by a trade association of real estate agents.

  2. Ah!

    I did not know that fact about "Realtor". It's a term was new to me when I moved to the US almost 30 years ago. Back in Ireland we refer such people as "estate agents".

    I learn something new everyday, I really do. Thank you so much!

  3. Hello I do my puzzle 5 weeks following in the OC Register. I check your blog for the last couple answers and facts. I struggled through this one and when I saw you hadn't finished, It gave me hope!!! I don't even attempt a Friday or Saturday (yet?) and Thursday often stumps me but this one was pretty tough. How long did you work at it before conceding…?

    Keep up the fight! Illegitimus non Carborundum!

  4. Hi there, Steely.

    In the old days before I had the pressures that come with scheduled blog posts, I would let an unfinished puzzle "sit" and come back to it several times over the day. Often this tactic would allow me to eventually finish. These days I give myself a time limit of about an hour, as I meed to get the blog post done before heading to bed! My guess is that I gave this one about an hour.

    Cool use of "Latin" there by the way 🙂

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