0101-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 1 Jan 13, Tuesday

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: John Farmer
THEME: Righting a Terrible Wrong … today’s themed answers remind us of one of the great victories of the Presidency of ABRAHAM LINCOLN: the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION and the ABOLITION OF SLAVERY:

18A. With 61-Across, goal of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe : ABOLITION
61A. See 18-Across : OF SLAVERY

23A. With 51-Across, presidential order signed on January 1, 1863 : EMANCIPATION
51A. See 23-Across : PROCLAMATION

37A. With 39-Across, signer of the 23-/51-Across : ABRAHAM
39A. See 37-Across : LINCOLN

COMPLETION TIME: 07m 30s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Dacha or villa : ABODE
Dachas are usually second homes in Russia and the former Soviet Union that are located outside the city limits in rural areas. Residents/tenants of dachas are often called dachniks.

11. Equine : horse :: vulpine : ___ : FOX
“Vulpes” is the Latin for “fox”.

14. Unsophisticated sorts : RUBES
A “rube” is person lacking sophistication, often described as “a country bumpkin”. The term derives from the masculine name “Reuben”, which was considered back in the early 1800s to be a typical name used in rural areas.

15. Storm tracker : RADAR
Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system “RDF”, standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called Radio Detection And Ranging, which was shortened to the acronym RADAR.

18. With 61-Across, goal of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe : ABOLITION
61. See 18-Across : OF SLAVERY
Frederick Douglass was a leader of the abolitionist movement. Douglass had been born a slave in Maryland, and escaped to the North when he was about 20 years old. A few years later, Douglass wrote his most famous book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”. The book became a huge hit and was reprinted nine time within the first three years of its publication. Not only did Douglass champion the abolition of slavery, but he also vigorously supported women’s suffrage. He became the first African American to be nominated for the office of US Vice President when he ran alongside women’s suffragist Victoria Woodhull in 1872.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s first novel ended up being her most famous, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Stowe followed it up with an 1856 novel called “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp”.

21. Disclosure to a loan applicant: Abbr. : APR
Annual percentage rate (APR).

22. U.S. capital and environs : DC AREA
The establishment of a “ten miles square” “district” for the seat of government of the United States is called out in Article One of the US Constitution. The new “federal city” was constructed on the northern banks of the Potomac River near Georgetown, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia. The city was named “Washington” in honor of the nation’s first president. The federal district was named “Columbia” as this was a somewhat poetic name for the country that was commonly used at the time, a female personification of the nation. “Columbia” might be thought of as “Land of Columbus”.

23. With 51-Across, presidential order signed on January 1, 1863 : EMANCIPATION
51. See 23-Across : PROCLAMATION
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863 during the Civil War. The order freed slaves in Confederate territory, but did not apply to the five slave states that were not in rebellion. Slavery became illegal in the whole of the United States in December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.

27. Old Russian leaders : TSARS
The term czar (also tsar) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “Caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time.

31. Art movement for Picasso : CUBISM
In the art movement known as Cubism, objects which are the subject of a painting are broken up and reassembled in an abstract form. The pioneers of the Cubist movement were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

34. Scrooge player Alastair : SIM
Alastair Sim is one of my favorite film actors. Sim was a Scotsman who starred in a string of classic British movies, most famously playing the title role in the 1951 film “Scrooge” (released as “A Christmas Carol” in the United States). Other noted performances are in the “St. Trinian’s” series of comedies and 1954’s “An Inspector Calls”.

37. With 39-Across, signer of the 23-/51-Across : ABRAHAM
39. See 37-Across : LINCOLN
The 2012 film “Lincoln”, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, is a compelling account of the background to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment and the last four months of President Abraham Lincoln’s life. I heartily recommend “Lincoln”, one of the best films of 2012 in my opinion …

42. Jetsam locale : SEA
Flotsam and jetsam are both terms used to describe “garbage” in the ocean. Flotsam is floating wreckage from a ship or its cargo. Jetsam is similar to flotsam, except that it is part of a ship or cargo that is deliberately cast overboard, perhaps to lighten a vessel.

43. Rapper with the #1 album “Hip Hop Is Dead” : NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say …

46. ___-Detoo of “Star Wars” : ARTOO
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stands just 3 ft 8 ins tall, has been the man inside the R2-D2 droid for all six of the “Star Wars” movies.

59. TV’s Sue ___ Langdon : ANE
Sue Ane Langdon is a retired actress, a winner of Golden Globe for her supporting role in the TV show “Arnie”. Langdon also had a brief stint playing Alice Kramden, the wife of Jackie Gleason in “The Honeymooners”.

63. “Holy Toledo!” : ZOWIE
The origin of the term “Holy Toledo!” is much debated. My favorite story is that it comes from the days of Vaudeville. Back then the week before Easter, known as Holy Week, was the worst week at the box office. Old Vaudeville entertainers used to quip that any week in Toledo was Holy Week, that ticket sales were always bad. They referred to the city as “Holy Toledo”.

65. Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA
Celia Cruz was born and bred in Cuba, but spent most of her working life in the United States, playing out her salsa singing career in New Jersey. Around the world she was known as the “Queen of Salsa”.

68. Rickover known as the Father of the Nuclear Navy : HYMAN
Hyman G. Rickover was a four-star admiral in the US Navy. Rickover is known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” as he promoted and led the development of the use of nuclear reactors for marine propulsion.

Down
1. Mountain ridge : ARETE
An arete is ridge of rock defining the border between two parallel valleys that have been formed by glaciation. If the ridge between the valleys is rounded, it is called a “col”. However if it is “sharpened”, with rock falling way due to successive freezing and thawing, then it is called an “arete”. “Arête“ is the French word for “fish bone”.

3. Time’s Person of the Year for 2008 and 2012 : OBAMA
“Time” magazine started naming a “Man of the Year” in 1927, only changing the concept to “Person of the Year” in 1999. Prior to 1999, the magazine did recognize four females as “Woman of the Year”: Wallis Simpson (1936), Soong May-ling a.k.a. Madame Chiang Kai-shek (1937), Queen Elizabeth II (1952) and Corazon Aquino (1986). “Time” named a Person of the Century in 1999, choosing Albert Einstein with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi as runners-up.

5. Beginning of summer? : ESS
The first letter of the word “summer” is S (ess).

6. Fruity iced beverage : FRAPPE
A “frappé” is a frozen, fruit-flavored dessert similar to sherbet. “Frappé” is a French word that can mean “chilled”.

8. Nuptial vow : I DO
Our word “nuptial” is an adjective meaning “of marriage, of the wedding ceremony”. The term derives from “nuptiae”, the Latin for “wedding, marriage”.

9. Old-time actress Nita : NALDI
Nita Naldi was an American silent film actress who usually played a “femme fatale” type of role.

10. Knit fabric in lingerie and swimwear : TRICOT
Tricot is a knitting method, a type of warp knitting, as well as the name for the resulting knitted fabric. Tricot is very resistant to runs and is commonly used to make lingerie.

12. Tribe encountered by Lewis and Clark : OTOE
The Otoe were the first Native American tribe encountered in the West by Lewis and Clark. The explorers met with the Otoe (and Missouria) tribes in 1804 at a spot that became known as Council Bluff. The site is now a National Historic Landmark called Fort Atkinson, Nebraska as a fort was built there on Lewis’s recommendation.

13. Lucy Lawless title role : XENA
The Xena character, famously played by New Zealander 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.

21. Quarterback Troy : AIKMAN
Troy Aikman used to play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Now that he is retired from football, Aikman works as a sportscaster on the Fox network.

28. Omnia vincit ___ : AMOR
“Omnia vincit amor” is a line from Eclogue X, one of the major works of the Latin poet Virgil. We know the phrase in English as “love conquers all”.

30. LG Electronics competitor : SONY
Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. The two partners met in the Japanese Navy during WWII.

31. House in Havana : CASA
Havana is the capital city of Cuba. The city was founded by the Spanish in the early 1500s after which it became a strategic location for Spain’s exploration and conquest of the Americas. In particular, Havana was used as a stopping-off point for treasure-laden ships on the return journey to Spain.

32. Above, in Berlin : UBER
Berlin is the capital and largest city in Germany, and is the second most populous city in the European Union (after London).

35. Role for diminutive Verne Troyer in “Austin Powers” films : MINI-ME
The actor Verne Troyer is best known for playing the character Mini-Me in the “Austin Powers” series of films. Troyer suffers from a form of dwarfism, and at a height of only 2 ft 8 in is one of the shortest men in the world.

38. Artist Chagall : MARC
Marc Chagall was a Russian-French artist, one of the most successful of the 20th century. Unlike so many painters, Chagall was able to achieve wealth and notoriety for his work during his own lifetime. It did help that Chagall lived to a ripe old age though. He passed away in 1985, when he was 97 years young.

40. “99 Luftballons” singer, 1984 : NENA
Nena is a German singer (Nena became the name of her band as well), and she had a big hit with one of my favorite songs of the eighties “99 Luftballons” (and the version she recorded in English: “99 Red Balloons”). The English translation of the German title isn’t literal, with the color “red” added just so that the title had the right number of syllables for the tune. “Luftballon” is the name given to a child’s toy balloon in German.

47. German auto make : OPEL
Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

48. Jerry of stage and screen : ORBACH
Jerry Orbach was an American actor, noted for playing one of the lead detectives in “Law & Order” on television. Orbach also provided the voice for the character Lumière in the Disney feature “Beauty and the Beast”.

50. Canopy tree : BANYAN
The banyan is a fig and germinates in cracks and crevices of a host tree and then sends roots down towards the ground. The roots that head down the the host give rise to a familiar name for the banyan: the strangler fig.

52. Comment from a kvetcher : OY VEY!
“Oh vey” is a Yiddish expression of dismay which literally translates as “oh, pain”.

The word “kvetch” of course comes to us from Yiddish, with “kvetshn” meaning “to complain” or “squeeze”.

53. Early Great Plains residents : IOWAS
The Iowa Native American people are a Siouan nation. The Iowa speak the Chiwere language, along with the Missouria and Otoe tribes.

54. Sheeplike : OVINE
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine”, meaning “like a sheep”.

56. All-time career batting average leader : COBB
Ty Cobb was one of the richest baseball players of all times. When he retired, Cobb was a major stockholder of the Coca-Cola Corporation. By the time he passed away in 1961, Cobb had an even bigger investment in General Electric. He left an estate after his death worth about $86m (in 2008 dollars).

58. Car sticker fig. : MSRP
The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).

62. Tree in many street names : ELM
The most common street name in the US is “Second Street”. “First Street” comes in only at number three, and this is because many cities and towns forego the use of “First” and instead go with “Main” or something more historical in nature. “Elm Street” appears on the list at number fifteen.

63. When doubled, a Gabor : ZSA
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian American actress, born in Budapest as Sári Gábor (the older sister of the actress Eva). Zsa Zsa Gabor has been married a whopping nine times, including a 5-year stint with Conrad Hilton and another 5 years with the actor George Sanders. One of Gabor’s famous quips was that she was always a good housekeeper,  as after every divorce she kept the house!

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Dacha or villa : ABODE
6. Rock used to make sparks : FLINT
11. Equine : horse :: vulpine : ___ : FOX
14. Unsophisticated sorts : RUBES
15. Storm tracker : RADAR
16. Dined : ATE
17. End-of-semester doings : EXAMS
18. With 61-Across, goal of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe : ABOLITION
20. Big book : TOME
21. Disclosure to a loan applicant: Abbr. : APR
22. U.S. capital and environs : DC AREA
23. With 51-Across, presidential order signed on January 1, 1863 : EMANCIPATION
26. Hit it off with : TAKE TO
27. Old Russian leaders : TSARS
31. Art movement for Picasso : CUBISM
34. Scrooge player Alastair : SIM
36. Stockyard call : MOO
37. With 39-Across, signer of the 23-/51-Across : ABRAHAM
39. See 37-Across : LINCOLN
42. Jetsam locale : SEA
43. Rapper with the #1 album “Hip Hop Is Dead” : NAS
45. Almost : NEARLY
46. ___-Detoo of “Star Wars” : ARTOO
49. Signs of spring : ROBINS
51. See 23-Across : PROCLAMATION
56. Acquired with little or no effort : CAME BY
59. TV’s Sue ___ Langdon : ANE
60. Romance : LOVE
61. See 18-Across : OF SLAVERY
63. “Holy Toledo!” : ZOWIE
64. “It’s f-f-freezing!” : BRR
65. Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA
66. Lectern : STAND
67. Jazz style : BOP
68. Rickover known as the Father of the Nuclear Navy : HYMAN
69. Imbeciles : ASSES

Down
1. Mountain ridge : ARETE
2. Big-bosomed : BUXOM
3. Time’s Person of the Year for 2008 and 2012 : OBAMA
4. Loss of faculties : DEMENTIA
5. Beginning of summer? : ESS
6. Fruity iced beverage : FRAPPE
7. Runners of experiments : LAB RATS
8. Nuptial vow : I DO
9. Old-time actress Nita : NALDI
10. Knit fabric in lingerie and swimwear : TRICOT
11. Like a fly ball off the foul pole : FAIR
12. Tribe encountered by Lewis and Clark : OTOE
13. Lucy Lawless title role : XENA
19. Bronzes : TANS
21. Quarterback Troy : AIKMAN
24. Legal tender : CASH
25. Labor : TOIL
28. Omnia vincit ___ : AMOR
29. Move on casters : ROLL
30. LG Electronics competitor : SONY
31. House in Havana : CASA
32. Above, in Berlin : UBER
33. Misbehaver : BRAT
35. Role for diminutive Verne Troyer in “Austin Powers” films : MINI-ME
38. Artist Chagall : MARC
40. “99 Luftballons” singer, 1984 : NENA
41. Made a random selection, in a way : CAST LOTS
44. Sunny rooms : SOLARIA
47. German auto make : OPEL
48. Jerry of stage and screen : ORBACH
50. Canopy tree : BANYAN
52. Comment from a kvetcher : OY VEY!
53. Early Great Plains residents : IOWAS
54. Sheeplike : OVINE
55. Imperatives : NEEDS
56. All-time career batting average leader : COBB
57. Early Michael Jackson hairstyle : AFRO
58. Car sticker fig. : MSRP
62. Tree in many street names : ELM
63. When doubled, a Gabor : ZSA

Return to top of page

The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections
Amazon.com Widgets