1116-12 New York Times Crossword Answers 16 Nov 12, Friday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
1. Spans usually starting in the fall : TV SEASONS
In North America, a television broadcasting season typically runs from September through May of the following year and includes 20 to 26 episodes of a particular show.

10. Marilyn of R&B : MCCOO
Marilyn McCoo is best known as the lead female singer with the 5th Dimension, a group that was very successful in the sixties and seventies. McCoo married another member of the 5th Dimension, Billy Davis, Jr. and the couple are still performing, but now as a duo.

16. Lei Day “hey” : ALOHA
What’s known as May Day around the world is also called Lei Day in Hawaii. Lei Day started in the twenties and is a celebration of native Hawaiian culture.

19. Beard of botany : AWN
Awns are hair or bristle-like structures found in numerous species of plants. In some species, like barley, the awns can contain photosynthetic tissue.

20. “___ & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” (reality series) : TORI
“Tori & Dean” is a reality television show about actress Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott. The show appears on the Oxygen Network and was subtitled “Inn Love” for the first two seasons. Those first episodes followed the couple as they bought and renovated a bed & breakfast in San Diego County. Subsequent episodes were subtitled “Home Sweet Hollywood” and focus on the couple’s life in Los Angeles.

26. Millions of addresses start with it : HTTP
“http” are the first letters in most Internet link addresses. “http” stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.

28. Exams for students potentially most interested in this puzzle’s theme, in brief : LSATS
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has been around since 1948.

30. Rx order : SCRIP
When used in a medical context, “scrip” is an abbreviation for “prescription”.

There seems to some uncertainty about the origin of the symbol “Rx” that’s used for a medical prescription. One explanation is that it comes from the astrological sign for Jupiter, a symbol put on prescriptions in days of old to invoke Jupiter’s blessing to help a patient recover.

32. Yellowfin, on a menu : AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. Yellowfin tuna is one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

35. Dancer enslaved by Jabba the Hutt : OOLA
Oola was a slave-girl dancer who was eaten by a scary creature in the movie “Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the the Jedi”. Oola was played by British actor Femi Taylor.

36. Contracted muscle? : PEC
“Pecs” is the familiar term for the chest muscle, more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle.

37. Worked for a 40-Across : CADDIED
“Caddie” is a Scottish word, as one might expect given the history of the game of golf. “Caddie” is a local word derived from the French “cadet”, meaning a younger son or brother, and also a student officer in the military.

42. Brazilian calendar span : ANO
“Ano” is Portuguese for “year”.

45. The Imbaba Bridge spans it : NILE
The Imbaba Bridge is a railroad bridge that crosses the River Nile in Cairo, Egypt.

46. Cause of a bank fee, briefly : NSF
Not sufficient funds (NSF).

47. Big-headed major-league mascot : MR MET
Mr. Met is the mascot of the New York Mets. He is a guy with a large baseball as a head, and has been elected to the Mascot Hall of Fame.

52. Local govt. units : TWPS
Township (twp).

56. Means of enforcing compliance : WRIT
A writ is an order issued by some formal body (these days, usually a court) with the order being in written form. Warrants and subpoenas are examples of writs.

57. Versifier’s inspiration : ERATO
In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of Lyric Poetry.

59. Prefix with god : DEMI-
The prefix “demi-” means “half”, and so a demigod is a “half god”. A demigod in mythology is the child of parents, one of whom is a god and the other human.

61. One to emulate in an Aesop fable : ANT
In Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, the grasshopper spends the warm months singing and having a good time while the ant toils away storing food. When winter arrives, the grasshopper starts to die from hunger and begs the ant for food. The ant tells the grasshopper that he should have been more sensible instead of singing away all summer, and maybe he should dance through the winter!

68. Cows : THREATENS
The verb “to cow” means to intimidate, to scare. The exact etymology of the term seems unclear.

Down
1. One held in bondage : THRALL
“Thrall” is servitude or bondage, or a person in servitude. A “thrall” was a serf or servant in slavery in Scandinavia during the days of the Vikings.

4. Subjects of an as-yet-fruitless search, briefly : ETS
In 1952, the USAF revived its studies of reports of UFO sightings in a program called Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book ran from 1952 until it was shut down in 1969 with the conclusion that there was no threat to national security and that there were no sightings that could not be explained within the bounds of modern scientific knowledge.

6. Caballero : SENOR
“Caballero” is the Spanish for “knight, gentleman”.

7. Family in a Margaret Mitchell best seller : O’HARAS
In Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”, when Rhett Butler finally walks out on Scarlett O’Hara he utters the words “My dear, I don’t give a damn”. Most of us are more familiar with the words spoken by Clark Gable in the film adaption of the story: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

8. Company with a triangular logo : NABISCO
The National Biscuit Company was formed in 1898 with the merger of three existing bakery businesses. The company name today is Nabisco, an abbreviated form of National Biscuit Company.

9. One of four in mythology?: Abbr. : SYL
There are four syllables (syl.) in the word “mythology”.

11. Yard sale? : CLOTH
Cloth is sold by the yard.

18. Fifth star in a constellation : EPSILON
In a constellation, the fifth brightest star is given the name “epsilon”. For example, Epsilon Leonis is the fifth brightest star in the constellation Leo and Epsilon Scorpii is the fifth brightest star in the constellation Scorpio. Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet.

25. ___ rock (music genre) : PROG
Progressive Rock was a subgenre of rock music that originated in the UK in the mid-sixties. Musicians composing progressive rock tended to write rock songs that included influences from other genres.

27. ___ Rivera (Los Angeles suburb) : PICO
Pico Rivera is a California city in Los Angeles County, located near Long Beach.

31. “Maverick” runner of 2008 : PALIN
When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as candidate for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she became the first Alaskan to go on the national ticket for a major party. She also became the first woman nominated for Vice President by the Republican Party.

The concept of being one’s own person, going it alone, is popularly known as being a “maverick”. In the days of open range ranching, a maverick was a steer that didn’t carry a brand. An unbranded animal was usually the result of a branded animal giving birth on the open range, with the young growing up without having being captured and claimed by an owner. The use of the name “maverick” comes from Texas rancher Samuel Maverick, who refused to brand his cattle. He stated that he did not want to inflict pain on his cattle, and so laid claim to any cattle on the range that weren’t branded. His stubborn refusal to cooperate with the neighboring ranchers gave rise to our modern description of a single-minded individual as a “maverick”.

48. Actor Morgan of “The Sixth Sense” : TREVOR
Trevor Morgan appeared as a child actor in several hit films including “The Sixth Sense”, “The Patriot” and “Jurassic Park III”.

64. One who might write an Rx for drops : ENT
An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is an ENT.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Spans usually starting in the fall : TV SEASONS
10. Marilyn of R&B : MCCOO
15. Turn in : HIT THE HAY
16. Lei Day “hey” : ALOHA
17. Cause for acquittal : REASONABLE DOUBT
19. Beard of botany : AWN
20. “___ & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” (reality series) : TORI
21. Prefix with chemical : PETRO-
22. Buckos : LADS
24. Scratches : RASPS
26. Millions of addresses start with it : HTTP
28. Exams for students potentially most interested in this puzzle’s theme, in brief : LSATS
30. Rx order : SCRIP
32. Yellowfin, on a menu : AHI
33. Wanted to undo : RUED
35. Dancer enslaved by Jabba the Hutt : OOLA
36. Contracted muscle? : PEC
37. Worked for a 40-Across : CADDIED
40. Paid driver? : GOLF PRO
42. Brazilian calendar span : ANO
43. Go through channels? : SAIL
45. The Imbaba Bridge spans it : NILE
46. Cause of a bank fee, briefly : NSF
47. Big-headed major-league mascot : MR MET
49. Far out : NEATO
52. Local govt. units : TWPS
54. Set for biking : GEARS
56. Means of enforcing compliance : WRIT
57. Versifier’s inspiration : ERATO
59. Prefix with god : DEMI
61. One to emulate in an Aesop fable : ANT
62. Show some photos, perhaps : PROVIDE EVIDENCE
65. Many ___ (quite some while) : A MOON
66. Ride in a joyride, often : STOLEN CAR
67. Prepare, as some beans : REFRY
68. Cows : THREATENS

Down
1. One held in bondage : THRALL
2. Consider : VIEW AS
3. Something applied to a suit : STANDARD OF PROOF
4. Subjects of an as-yet-fruitless search, briefly : ETS
5. On ___ streak : A HOT
6. Caballero : SENOR
7. Family in a Margaret Mitchell best seller : O’HARAS
8. Company with a triangular logo : NABISCO
9. One of four in mythology?: Abbr. : SYL
10. Arrived in time for : MADE
11. Yard sale? : CLOTH
12. Date with a judge? : COURT APPEARANCE
13. “Such a headache!” : OH BOTHER!
14. Nosebag nibble : OAT
18. Fifth star in a constellation : EPSILON
23. Formalwear accessory : STUD
25. ___ rock (music genre) : PROG
27. ___ Rivera (Los Angeles suburb) : PICO
29. Earth-shaking event : SEISM
31. “Maverick” runner of 2008 : PALIN
34. “Heavens!” : DEAR GOD!
37. Slope : CANT
38. Grilling demand : ANSWER ME!
39. Stopping point? : DIME
41. Raced : FLEW
44. “He ___ Me” (old hymn) : LEADETH
48. Actor Morgan of “The Sixth Sense” : TREVOR
50. Grocery container : TIN CAN
51. Fun-loving fishers : OTTERS
53. Not gobble, say : SAVOR
55. Prepare to be snapped : SMILE
58. Elfin : TINY
60. A good one is often carried out : IDEA
62. 40-Across’s concern : PAR
63. Fig. followed by “or so” : EST
64. One who might write an Rx for drops : ENT

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