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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Yaakov Bendavid
THEME: All-Inspiring … each of today’s themed answers is a common phrase with an “all” sound added to the end of one word suit the clue:
23A. Prince’s pottery equipment? : THE ROYAL WHEEL (from “the royal ‘we’”)
104A. Stop proceeding in the maze when you reach the end? : DO NOT PASS GOAL (from “do not pass go”)
3D. Strategy employed by a Siberian Hansel and Gretel? : ICE CUBE TRAIL (from “ice cube tray”)
11D. Fencing coach’s pronouncement? : DUEL AS I SAY (from “do as I say”)
14D. Haymakers? : GREEN BALE PACKERS (from “Green Bay Packers”)
36D. Advice to Jonah? : GET OUT OF THE WHALE (from “get out of the way”)
58D. “Waiter, we ordered the fish!”? : I TOLD YOU SOLE! (from “I told you so”)
67D. Approach a thruway booth? : HEAD TO TOLL (from “head to toe”)
COMPLETION TIME: 32m 15s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
7. Ancient priests : DRUIDS
Druids were priests in Celtic Europe during the Iron Age.
13. Dr. Moreau’s creator : H G WELLS
“The Island of Doctor Moreau” is an 1896 novel penned by H. G. Wells. The book tells the story of a shipwrecked man who ends up on the island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau engages in vivisection and creates new beasts by combining different species.
23. Prince’s pottery equipment? : THE ROYAL WHEEL (from “the royal ‘we’”)
The royal “we” is more correctly called the majestic plural, and is the use of a plural pronoun to describe a single person in a high office. I suppose the most often quoted phrase that uses the majestic plural is, “We are not amused”, uttered by Queen Victoria.
25. Firearm company for nearly five centuries : BERETTA
Beretta is an Italian manufacturer of firearms. Beretta is an incredibly old company that has been selling firearms since 1526! The company got a big boost of sales in the US in the eighties, when it’s Beretta 92 pistol was selected by the US Army for use as its service handgun (although it was known as the “M9 pistol by the US Army”).
26. Indy entrant : RACER
The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly that was the first ever use of a rear view mirror on a motor vehicle.
27. Bygone Saudi king : FAISAL
Faisal of Saudi Arabia was the third King of Saudi Arabia. Faisal is noted for having stabilized his country’s bureaucracy and establishing a modern infrastructure that helped Saudi Arabia exploit her oil resources. The King was assassinated in 1975, gunned down by his own nephew. His assassin was beheaded for the crime, in a public square before a crowd of thousands of Saudi citizens.
28. City on Utah Lake : OREM
Orem, Utah was originally known as “Sharon” (a Biblical name), then “Provo Bench”, and in 1914 it was given the family name of a local railroad operator called “Orem”. Orem gave itself the nickname “Family City USA” and sure enough in 2010, “Forbes” rated Orem the 5th best place in the country to raise a family.
32. Lounging robes : CAFTANS
A kaftan (also “caftan”) is long robe associated for thousands of years with Islamic cultures.
35. New members of society : DEBS
Deb is short for “debutante”, which translates from French as “female beginner”.
36. Prepares for action : GIRDS
The phrase “gird your loins” dates back to Ancient Rome. The expression describes the action of lifting “one’s skirts” and tying them between the legs to allow more freedom of movement before going into battle. Nowadays, “gird your loins” is a metaphor for “prepare yourself for the worst”.
38. Madras title : SAHIB
“Sahib” is most recognized as a term of address in India, where it is used in much the same way as we use “mister” in English.
The government of India has been changing the names of cities since the end of British rule in 1947. Bombay was renamed to Mumbai in 1995 and Madras became Chennai a year later.
39. Soft cheese : BRIE
Brie is a soft cheese named after the French province of Brie where it originated.
40. Dutch city near Arnhem : EDE
Ede is a small town in the Netherlands located between the cities of Arnhem and Utrecht.
42. Manhattan area bordered by Broadway : TRIBECA
TriBeCa is a clever little abbreviation that expands into “TRI-angle BE-low CA-nal Street”. The name was developed by local residents who basically copied the naming technique used by residents of the neighboring area of SoHo, which is short for “SO-uth of HO-uston Street”.
50. 2006 Winter Olympics host : TORINO
Turin (“Torino” in Italian) is a major city in the north of Italy that sits on the Po River. Back in 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was formed, Turin was chosen as the first capital of the country .
52. Radio wave producer : PULSAR
A pulsar is a rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. As the beam is not emitted in all directions, it is only seen from Earth when at particular rotations, hence creating a cycle of pulsed gamma rays known as the lighthouse effect.
62. “Goosebumps” writer : STINE
The author R. L. Stine is sometimes referred to as the Stephen King of children’s literature as he writes horror stories for young people.
65. Best Actor Tony winner for “Mark Twain Tonight!” : HOLBROOK
Hal Holbrook is an actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Although Holbrook is well known for many roles on the big and small screens, he is best known for a series of plays that he developed called “Mark Twain Tonight!”. Holbrook depicts Twain on stage giving recitations from several of Twain’s writings, varying the script for each performance. “Mark Twain Tonight!” was first performed in 1959, and Holbrook still appears in it today, well over 50 years later.
70. Pete Seeger’s genre : FOLK
The American folk singer Pete Seeger wrote and co-wrote a lot of classic songs. The list includes “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, “If I had a Hammer”, and “Turn, Turn, Turn!”
73. Mournful rings : KNELLS
The word “knell” is used for a solemn ring from a bell, often associated with death or a funeral. “Knell” comes the Old English “cnell” and is probably imitative in origin, sounding like a peal from a large bell.
75. Put back up, as a blog entry : REPOST
“Blog” is a melding of the words “Web” and “log”. This blog is a “log” of all the New York Times crosswords published, and I post them on the “Web”.
78. Kind of TV : PLASMA
Plasma televisions are so called because the screen is made up tiny cells containing electrically charged ionized gases (plasmas). Each of the cells is effectively a tiny fluorescent lamp.
79. Online health info site : WEBMD
WebMD is a website containing health information that has been online since 1996. WebMD is read by over 80 million readers a month.
80. Hard cheese : EDAM
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.
83. “Doctor Zhivago” role : LARA
Olga Ivinskaya was the mistress of the writer Boris Pasternak. Ivinskaya was the inspiration for the famous Lara character in Pasternak’s novel “Doctor Zhivago”.
84. Hails from Rocky Balboa : YOS
You might remember Rocky Balboa saying, “Yo, Adrian!” in the original Rocky movie. Adrian was Rocky’s wife played by the lovely Talia Shire, sister of director Francis Ford Coppola.
96. Semisoft cheese : GOUDA
Gouda is a cheese that originated in the Dutch city of the same name, but Gouda is produced all over the world and very little of it these days comes from the Netherlands. Gouda is often smoke-cured, given it a yellowish-brown outer skin and that characteristic smoky taste.
99. Some classical statuary : TORSOS
“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, a word that we imported into English.
101. Big name at Indy : UNSER
The Unser family seems to have racing cars in its blood. Al Unser, Sr. won the Indy 500 on four occasions. Al’s brother Jerry was the first of the Unsers to compete at Indianapolis. Al’s other brother Bobby, won the Indy three times. Al’s son, Al Junior, won the Indy twice. Al Junior’s son is also a racing driver who competes at the Indy Speedway.
107. Flamenco shout : OLE! OLE!
Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
108. Det. Bonasera on “CSI: NY” : STELLA
Stella Bonasera is a character on the TV show “CSI: NY”, portrayed by Melina Kanakaredes. Thankfully, Kanakaredes was not able to renew her contract for the show, so she was replaced by Sela Ward who plays a new lead character called Jo Danville. Sela Ward has really added to the quality of the show, in my humble opinion.
109. Dead Sea Scrolls preservers : ESSENES
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered over a period of years, between 1947 and 1956, in eleven caves on the shores of the Dead Sea. The scrolls are believed to have been written by an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although this has been called into question recently. Many of the texts are copies of writings from the Hebrew Bible.
110. “The Player” director, 1992 : ALTMAN
“The Player” is a 1992 satirical movie directed by Robert Altman that is all about life in Hollywood. The film is noted for about 60 cameo appearances by Hollywood celebrities, most of whom received no compensation. There is also a famous opening shot, a shot that lasts for 7 minutes and 47 seconds without a camera break.
Down
3. Strategy employed by a Siberian Hansel and Gretel? : ICE CUBE TRAIL (from “ice cube tray”)
“Hansel and Gretel” is a Germanic fairy tale found in the collection of the Brothers Grimm. It tells of two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, the children of a woodcutter. The youngsters are abandoned in a forest at the behest of an evil stepmother. Clever Hansel hears of the plan and leaves a trail of pebbles so that he and his sister can find their way home, which they do. But the children are abandoned again, and this time leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, the crumbs are eaten by birds and so the children do indeed become lost. But eventually they all live happily ever after …
4. Ivory alternative : CARESS
Caress is a brand of soap made by Unilever.
Ivory soap is one of Procter & Gambles oldest products, introduced way back in 1879. Ivory soap is noted for its “purity” and also because of its property of floating in water. Despite urban myths to the contrary, the property of floating in water was developed deliberately by a chemist at the time Ivory was being formulated. The soap floats because the ingredients are mixed longer than necessary for homogenization, which introduces more air into the product.
5. Left on board : APORT
The left side of a ship used to be called the “larboard” side, but this was dropped in favor of “port” as pronunciation of “larboard” was easily confused with “starboard”, the right side of the vessel. The term “port” was chosen as it was customary to dock a ship, for loading in port, with the left side of the vessel against the dock.
6. Willy who wrote “The Conquest of Space” : LEY
Willy Ley was a German rocket scientist who did much of his work here in the US. Unlike many of his compatriots, Ley left Nazi Germany and moved the US prior to WWII, in 1935. He wrote books about space travel that were very approachable and helped popularize the concept with the general public. His book “The Conquest of Space” was published in 1949.
7. Big name in radio advice : DR LAURA
According to Dr. Laura Schlessinger herself, her radio show “preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values and ethics.”
10. Of the lower small intestine : ILEAC
The human ileum is the lowest part of the small intestine, found below the jejunum and above the cecum of the large intestine.
12. Paris seasoning : SEL
“Sel” is the French word for “salt”.
13. Like the Talmud : HEBRAIC
The Talmud is a collection of writings of thousands of rabbis and is a central text in Rabbinic Judaism, second only to the Torah.
14. Haymakers? : GREEN BALE PACKERS (from “Green Bay Packers”)
When Curly Lambeau founded his small-town football team in Green Bay in 1919, he was working for the Indian Packing Company. Lambeau went to his employers looking for sponsorship and was given $250 provided that the team was named for the company. Initially Green Bay was referred to as the Green Bay Indians, but by the time they took to the field for their first game it had changed to the Packers and Lambeau was $250 richer.
18. Biblical figure punished for hindsight? : LOT’S WIFE
According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Lot’s wife looked back as she was fleeing Sodom with her family. The angels who had urged Lot to leave the city had warned him not to look back. The punishment for disobeying the command was that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.
19. Fastened with Velcro, e.g. : SNAPLESS
The hook-and-loop fastener we now call Velcro was invented in 1941 by Georges de Mestral, a Swiss engineer. Mestral noticed that the seeds of the burdock plant (burrs or burs) stuck to his clothes. Under the microscope he found hooks on the burrs that grabbed hold of loops in his clothing. After years of development, he came up with a way of simulating the natural hook using man-made materials, and Velcro was born.
24. One of six areas on a Risk board : AFRICA
Risk is a fabulous board game, first sold in France in 1957. Risk was invented by a very successful French director of short films called Albert Lamorisse. Lamorisse called his new game “La Conquête du Monde”, which translates into English as “The Conquest of the World”. A game of Risk is a must during the holidays in our house …
36. Advice to Jonah? : GET OUT OF THE WHALE (from “get out of the way”)
The story of “Jonah’s Dilemma” can be found in the Bible. The story involves Jonah being swallowed by a whale and living inside the “big fish” for three days. I’ve never understood where the “dilemma” is in the tale, though …
37. Russian import, briefly : STOLI
Stolichnaya is a brand of Russian vodka made from wheat and rye grain. Well, “Stoli” originated in Russia, but now it’s made in Latvia, which is of course a completely different country, so you won’t see the word “Russian” on the label.
47. Grand Canyon rental : MULE
The Grand Canyon is in Arizona. The canyon continues to be carved out of layers of rock by the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and over a mile deep.
49. Deep blue : ANIL
Anil is another name for the indigo plant, as well as the name for the blue indigo dye that is obtained from it. The color of anil is relatively close to navy blue.
51. Nobel Peace Center site : OSLO
The Nobel Peace Center is an institution that opened in 2005 in Oslo, Norway. The center has exhibits outling the life Alfred Nobel as well as the lives of the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
53. Ginger Spice’s first name : GERI
Geri Halliwell was called Ginger Spice because of her red hair when she was with the Spice Girls. Halliwell was quite a bit older than the rest of the group and so sometimes she was less charitably referred to as “Old Spice”.
56. Members of la familia : TIOS
In Spanish, one’s mother’s brother (madre’s hermano) is an uncle (tio).
58. “Waiter, we ordered the fish!”? : I TOLD YOU SOLE! (from “I told you so”)
The group of flatfish known as soles take their name from “solea”, the Latin word for “sandal”.
59. Swiss patriot : TELL
Supposedly William Tell came from Uri, a canton in the German part of Switzerland. Altdorf is the capital of Uri and is the city where William Tell shot the apple off his son’s head, at least according to legend.
60. Sherpa’s herd : YAKS
In the Tibetan language, Sherpa means “eastern people” (sher = east, pa = people). Sherpas are an ethnic group from Nepal, but the name is also used for the local guides who assist mountaineers in the Himalayas, and particularly on Mount Everest.
62. Low-budget hotels, for short : SROS
Single Room Occupancy (SRO).
66. Sail supports : BOOMS
On a sailboat, the boom is the spar that runs along the bottom of a sail.
68. “Mi casa ___ casa” : ES SU
“Mi casa es su casa” translates from Spanish as “My home is your home”.
69. Swollen glands cause : MUMPS
Mumps is a painful viral disease that causes swelling of the salivary glands. The disease is a little more serious for males than females as there can also be a swelling of the testes, which can lead to infertility.
74. Warriors’ grp. : NBA
The Golden State Warriors is our local NBA franchise out here in the San Francisco Bay Area and is based in Oakland, California. The team was founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, becoming the San Francisco Warriors when they moved to City by the Bay in 1962. They changed named again (to Golden State) when they relocated to Oakland in 1971. The statewide name reflected the fact that the team played some of their 1971-72 season games in San Diego, and as such were “California’s” team.
79. President who was an electrician by profession : WALESA
Lech Walesa worked as an electrician in the Gdansk Shipyards in Poland. Walesa was active in the trade union movement in the days when unions were not welcome behind the Iron Curtain. His efforts resulted in the founding of Solidarity, the first independent trade union in Soviet-controlled territory. For his work, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and in 1990 he became the first democratically elected President of Poland. He has lost support in Poland in recent years, but he is a very popular booking on the international speaking circuit.
90. Calif. barrio setting : EAST LA
“Barrio” is the name given to an urban district in Spanish-speaking countries.
93. Polio vaccine developer : SABIN
Albert Sabin developed the oral polio vaccine. Sabin’s vaccine was a “live” controlled vaccine. The equally famous Salk vaccine was a “killed” vaccine.
104. Dennis Quaid remake of a 1950 film noir : DOA
Both the original 1950 film “D.O.A.” starring Edmond O’Brien, and its 1988 remake starring Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, are excellent movies in my opinion. The basic storyline is that the lead character discovers he has been fatally poisoned and uses the limited time he has left in order to discover who “murdered” him.
Actor Dennis Quaid is the younger brother of fellow actor Randy Quaid. Dennis dropped out of college when he saw how successful his brother was and moved to LA to pursue his own career in acting. He has had some noted performances, including a portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in 1989’s “Great Balls of Fire”. And, he is one of Hollywood’s best golfers, playing off scratch.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Like some church matters : LAICAL
7. Ancient priests : DRUIDS
13. Dr. Moreau’s creator : H G WELLS
20. Go over the wall, maybe : ESCAPE
21. Fix, as a model plane : REGLUE
22. Gradual decline : EROSION
23. Prince’s pottery equipment? : THE ROYAL WHEEL (from “the royal ‘we’”)
25. Firearm company for nearly five centuries : BERETTA
26. Indy entrant : RACER
27. Bygone Saudi king : FAISAL
28. City on Utah Lake : OREM
29. Cooking meas. : TSP
30. Words of certainty : I MUST
31. Series : RUN
32. Lounging robes : CAFTANS
34. Hooter : OWL
35. New members of society : DEBS
36. Prepares for action : GIRDS
38. Madras title : SAHIB
39. Soft cheese : BRIE
40. Dutch city near Arnhem : EDE
41. Ten, for openers : DECA-
42. Manhattan area bordered by Broadway : TRIBECA
44. Boobs : OAFS
45. Certain sorority woman : THETA
47. Cat on the prowl : MOUSER
48. Soup kitchen needs : LADLES
50. 2006 Winter Olympics host : TORINO
52. Radio wave producer : PULSAR
53. Part of one’s inheritance : GENE
54. Those girls, to Juanita : ESAS
55. Public ___ : UTILITY
57. Lack of enthusiasm : TEPIDITY
61. The year 151 : CLI
62. “Goosebumps” writer : STINE
63. Jewelry material : CORAL
64. Leaves after dinner? : TEA
65. Best Actor Tony winner for “Mark Twain Tonight!” : HOLBROOK
67. Of the blood : HEMATIC
70. Pete Seeger’s genre : FOLK
71. Punch-in-the-gut sounds : OOFS
72. Have no doubt : BE SURE
73. Mournful rings : KNELLS
75. Put back up, as a blog entry : REPOST
78. Kind of TV : PLASMA
79. Online health info site : WEBMD
80. Hard cheese : EDAM
81. In hiding : HOLED UP
83. “Doctor Zhivago” role : LARA
84. Hails from Rocky Balboa : YOS
87. Makes a lap : SITS
88. Modern group-mailing tool : ELIST
89. Some barkers : SEALS
91. Eve’s counterpart : MORN
92. Commonly, once : OFT
93. Infatuated with : SWEET ON
95. “Yes, Cap’n!” : AYE
96. Semisoft cheese : GOUDA
97. Einstein’s “never” : NIE
98. Teachers love hearing them : AHAS
99. Some classical statuary : TORSOS
101. Big name at Indy : UNSER
102. Tumbler : ACROBAT
104. Stop proceeding in the maze when you reach the end? : DO NOT PASS GOAL (from “do not pass go”)
106. Kind of strength : TENSILE
107. Flamenco shout : OLE! OLE!
108. Det. Bonasera on “CSI: NY” : STELLA
109. Dead Sea Scrolls preservers : ESSENES
110. “The Player” director, 1992 : ALTMAN
111. What the weary get, in a saying : NO REST
Down
1. Not object to : LET RIDE
2. Conscience-stricken : ASHAMED
3. Strategy employed by a Siberian Hansel and Gretel? : ICE CUBE TRAIL (from “ice cube tray”)
4. Ivory alternative : CARESS
5. Left on board : APORT
6. Willy who wrote “The Conquest of Space” : LEY
7. Big name in radio advice : DR LAURA
8. VCR button : REWIND
9. Chefs hate hearing them : UGHS
10. Of the lower small intestine : ILEAC
11. Fencing coach’s pronouncement? : DUEL AS I SAY (from “do as I say”)
12. Paris seasoning : SEL
13. Like the Talmud : HEBRAIC
14. Haymakers? : GREEN BALE PACKERS (from “Green Bay Packers”)
15. Basic bait : WORMS
16. Dir. from Winston-Salem to Raleigh : ESE
17. Of the seashore : LITTORAL
18. Biblical figure punished for hindsight? : LOT’S WIFE
19. Fastened with Velcro, e.g. : SNAPLESS
24. One of six areas on a Risk board : AFRICA
28. Additional : OTHER
33. Name on pencils : FABER
36. Advice to Jonah? : GET OUT OF THE WHALE (from “get out of the way”)
37. Russian import, briefly : STOLI
39. Was an omen of : BODED
41. Place to rest : DEN
43. Reddish brown : RUST
46. What’s-___-name : HIS
47. Grand Canyon rental : MULE
49. Deep blue : ANIL
50. Georgia ___ : TECH
51. Nobel Peace Center site : OSLO
52. It can be shocking : PINK
53. Ginger Spice’s first name : GERI
56. Members of la familia : TIOS
57. Haul around : TOTE
58. “Waiter, we ordered the fish!”? : I TOLD YOU SOLE! (from “I told you so”)
59. Swiss patriot : TELL
60. Sherpa’s herd : YAKS
62. Low-budget hotels, for short : SROS
63. Italian beloved : CARA
66. Sail supports : BOOMS
67. Approach a thruway booth? : HEAD TO TOLL (from “head to toe”)
68. “Mi casa ___ casa” : ES SU
69. Swollen glands cause : MUMPS
70. Woman, in slang : FEM
72. Hallowed, old-style : BLEST
74. Warriors’ grp. : NBA
75. Strike a chord : RESONATE
76. Feats of construction : EDIFICES
77. Paisley and plaid : PATTERNS
78. Carries on steadily : PLIES
79. President who was an electrician by profession : WALESA
82. Some chemical salts : OLEATES
83. Expose, as to criticism : LAY OPEN
85. Trials : ORDEALS
86. Greet like a junkyard dog : SNARL AT
90. Calif. barrio setting : EAST LA
91. Hawker : MONGER
93. Polio vaccine developer : SABIN
94. Good-sized musical group : NONET
96. Heartiness : GUSTO
100. Leeway : ROOM
103. Sugar suffix : -OSE
104. Dennis Quaid remake of a 1950 film noir : DOA
105. Govt.-issued ID : SSN
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