0514-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 May 13, Tuesday

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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: John Lieb
THEME: Upright ND Folks … each of today’s themed answers are “namedroppers”, the names of famous characters with the initials ND “dropping” through the grid i.e. oriented vertically:

12D. Status-seeking sort … or a solver of this puzzle, initially? NAMEDROPPER

5D. With 41-Down, title teen in a 2004 indie hit NAPOLEON
41D. See 5-Down DYNAMITE
20D. Amateur detective in 1967’s “The Clue in the Crossword Cipher” NANCY DREW
24D. “Song Sung Blue” singer NEIL DIAMOND

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 04m 48s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Locales for “Ocean’s Eleven” and several Bond films CASINOS
The “casino” originated in the 1700s, first describing a public room for music or dancing. The name “casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

“Ocean’s 11” is a great film from 1960, starring Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean. The original storyline is updated for the excellent 2001 remake, with George Clooney playing the lead.

8. Beirut’s land LEBANON
Beirut is the capital city of Lebanon. After WWI, Lebanon was placed under administrative control of the French and Beirut flourished as a financial center in the Middle East and as a major world tourist destination. The city was devastated in the Lebanese Civil War that raged from 1975 to 1990, but reconstruction has restored the city to much of its former glory, making it a major cultural center once again.

16. Japanese art form ORIGAMI
The Japanese word “origami” is derived from ori (folding) and kami (paper).

18. Who, What and I Don’t Know, in Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine BASEMEN
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made up the comedy duo Abbott and Costello who were immensely popular in the forties and fifties. Even when I was growing up in Ireland and knew nothing about baseball, I was rolling around the floor listening to Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First?” comedy routine. Can you name all the players?

– First Base: Who
– Second Base: What
– Third Base: I Don’t Know
– Left field: Why
– Center field: Because
– Pitcher: Tomorrow
– Catcher: Today
– Shortstop: I Don’t Care/I Don’t Give a Darn

20. Abnormal part of Voldemort’s visage NOSE
Voldemort is the main “bad guy” in the “Harry Potter” series of books. I heard J. K. Rowling, the author of the books, on the radio the other day and she tells us that “Voldemort” is supposed to be pronounced with a silent “t” on the end, so it sounds kind of French. But when the movies came out the actors went with the hard “t”, and that’s the pronunciation that seems to prevail now.

21. Concern of Freud EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The super-ego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

22. Layer of the earth between the crust and the core MANTLE
A cross-section of our planet shows that there are four main layers:

– The inner core is a solid metallic ball with a radius of about 800 miles
– The outer core is a liquid metallic layer about 1400 miles thick
– The mantle is a viscous rocky shell about 1800 miles thick
– The crust is a solid rocky shell varying in thickness from 3-30 miles

26. Marx’s “___ Kapital” DAS
“Das Kapital” (entitled “Capital” in English versions) is a book about political economy written by Karl Marx, first published in 1867. The book is in effect an analysis of capitalism, and proffers the opinion that capitalism relies on the exploitation of workers. Marx concludes that the profits from capitalist concerns come from the underpaying of labor.

32. Hawaiian garland LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

37. Talk show host DeGeneres ELLEN
Ellen DeGeneres is a very, very successful TV personality, having parlayed her career in stand-up comedy into lucrative gigs as an actress and talk show host. Back in 1997 DeGeneres chose the “Oprah Winfrey Show” to announce that she was a lesbian. Her character on “The Ellen Show” also came out as a lesbian, in a scene with her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey. Nice twist!

39. Olive ___ (Popeye’s gal) OYL
“Thimble Theater” was the precursor comic strip to the famous “Popeye” drawn by E. C. Segar. Before Popeye came into the story, the brother and sister characters Castor Oyl and Olive Oyl were the main protagonists. And then along comes a sailor …

42. X-ray units RADS
A rad is a unit used to measure radiation levels that is largely obsolete now. The rad has been superseded by the rem.

46. 13-digit library info ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who is now a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication.

49. Horse color ROAN
A roan horse has an even mixture of white and colored hairs on the body with the head, lower legs, mane and tail having a more solid color.

51. Civil War side: Abbr. CSA
The Confederate States of America (CSA) set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.

53. Sushi ingredient RICE
Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.

57. Thanksgiving staple YAM
Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the the world than they are in this country, and are especially found in Africa.

58. “Don’t have ___, man!” A COW
The phrase “don’t have a cow” originated in the fifties, a variation of the older “don’t have kittens”. The concept behind the phrase is that one shouldn’t get worked up, it’s not like one is giving birth to a cow.

59. Thurman of “Pulp Fiction” UMA
Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”.

I”m not a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. His movies are too violent for me, and the size of his ego just turns me right off. Having said that, I think “Pulp Fiction” is a remarkable film. If you can look past the violence it’s really well written. And what a legacy it has. John Travolta’s career was on the rocks and he did the film for practically no money, and it turned out be a re-launch for him. Uma Thurman became a top celebrity overnight from her role. Even Bruce Willis got some good out of it, putting an end to a string of poorly received performances.

62. Grand Canyon locale ARIZONA
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.

67. Alternative to a forward pass LATERAL
Forward and lateral passes are throws in several sports, including American and Canadian football.

69. Pinto and Flounder, in “Animal House” PLEDGES
The very funny 1978 movie “Animal House” has the prefix “National Lampoon’s …” because the storyline came out of tales that had already appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine. “Animal House” was to become the first in a long line of successful “National Lampoon” films. The main pledges in the movie are Tom Hulce (Pinto), who later played a magnificent “Amadeus”, and Stephen Furst (Flounder), later played a regular role on television’s “Babylon 5”.

Down
2. Yellowfin tuna AHI
Yellowfin tuna is usually marketed as “ahi”, its Hawaiian name. Yellowfin tuna is one big fish, often weighing over 300 pounds.

3. Aug. follower SEP
The month of September is the ninth month in our year, although the name “September” comes from the Latin word “septum” meaning “seventh”. September was the seventh month in the Roman calendar until the year 46 BC when Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar. The Julian system moved the start of the year from March 1st to January 1st, and shifting September to the ninth month. The Gregorian calendar that we use today was introduced in 1582.

5. With 41-Down, title teen in a 2004 indie hit NAPOLEON
(41. See 5-Down DYNAMITE)
“Napoleon Dynamite” is a comedy film released in 2004 that stars Jon Heder in the title role. The movie was a commercial success above and beyond expectations. “Napoleon Dynamite” was made on the relatively low budget of about $400,000, and yet grossed almost $45 million within a year. That said, it doesn’t sound like my kind of film, so I won’t be watching it any time soon …

8. University of New Mexico team LOBOS
Los Lobos are an American Chicano rock band, who released their first LP in 1978 and are still going strong today. The band’s name “Los Lobos” translates from Spanish as “The Wolves”.

13. Last Greek letter OMEGA
Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is the one that looks like a horseshoe. The word “omega” literally means “great O” (O-mega). Compare this with the Greek letter Omicron meaning “little O” (O-micron).

14. Boys, in Bogotá NINOS
In Spanish, young offspring (hijos) might be boys (ninos).

Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia. Noted for having many libraries and universities, Bogotá is sometimes called “The Athens of South America”.

20. Amateur detective in 1967’s “The Clue in the Crossword Cipher” NANCY DREW
I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries as a kid (I know, as a boy I “shouldn’t” have been reading girls’ books!). The Nancy Drew stories were written by a number of ghost writers, although the character was introduced by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930. Nancy Drew’s boyfriend was Ned Nickerson, a college student from Emerson.

22. Roger Bannister, notably MILER
The 4-minute barrier for the mile run was first broken in 1954 by Roger Bannister, when he finished in just over 3m 59s. The record for males now stands at 3m 43s. If you plan on running a 4-minute mile, you should probably be warned that this means you have to run the whole race at an average speed of over 15 mph (do the math!).

23. Amtrak high-speed train ACELA
The Acela Express is the fastest train routinely running in the US, getting up to 150 mph at times. The service runs between Boston and Washington D.C. via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. The brand name “Acela” was created to evoke “acceleration” and “excellence”.

24. “Song Sung Blue” singer NEIL DIAMOND
I saw Neil Diamond in concert about 15 years ago, and I must say he does put on a great show. His voice is cracking a bit, but that didn’t seem to spoil anyone’s enjoyment. I’ve also seen Diamond interviewed a few times on television, and I wouldn’t say he has the most scintillating of personalities.

29. 1983 Duran Duran hit RIO
Duran Duran is a New Wave band from Birmingham in England. Duran Duran’s success was partially driven by some well-received MTV music videos in the 1980s. The band also worked hard on their image and paid a lot of money for very fashionable clothes in which they performed. As a result, one of Duran Duran’s nicknames is “the prettiest boys in rock”.

31. Ginger ___ ALE
The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. “Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale” was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced homemade liquor.

35. Ward (off) STAVE
The word “stave” was originally the plural of “staff”, a wooden rod. To “stave off” originated with the concept of holding off with a staff. In the world of barrel-making, a stave is a narrow strip of wood that forms part of a barrel’s sides.

47. South America’s largest country BRAZIL
Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the fifth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, China and the US). Brazil was a Portuguese colony from 1500 to 1815. The official name of the country under Portuguese rule was Terra da Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross). However, European sailors used the name Terra do Brasil (Land of Brazil), a reference to the brazilwood tree that was much prized in Europe for the deep red dye that it produced.

48. Christianity’s ___ Creed NICENE
What is known today in the Christian tradition as the Nicene Creed, was originally adopted by the first ecumenical council when it met in 325 AD. The meeting took place in the city of Nicaea, which gave its name to this particular profession of faith. Nicaea is the Greek name of the city that is now called Iznik, and it lies in the northwest of Turkey.

52. Yemen’s capital SANA’A
Sana (also Sana’a) is the capital city of Yemen. Within the bounds of today’s metropolis is the old fortified city of Sana where people have lived for over 2,500 years. The Old City is now a World Heritage Site.

63. Alternative to .com ORG
The .org domain was one of the seven first generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial organizations, but unrestricted
– .info (informational sites, but unrestricted)
– .net (network infrastructures, but unrestricted)
– .mil (US military, restricted)
– .org (other organizations, but unrestricted)
– .gov (US government entities, restricted)
– .int (international organizations governed by treaty, restricted)

64. Scottish denial NAE
Nae is the Scottish vernacular for “no”.

65. Franken and Gore ALS
Al Franken is the junior US Senator from Minnesota. Franken won the seat in 2009 after an extremely close race, a race that he eventually won by just 312 votes. Prior to serving in the Senate, Franken was a noted satirist and writer for “Saturday Night Live”.

Al Gore was born in Washington DC, the son of Al Gore, Sr., then a US Representative for the state of Tennessee. After deferring his military service in order to attend Harvard, the younger Gore became eligible for the draft on graduation. Many of his classmates found ways of avoiding the draft, but Gore decided to serve and even took the “tougher” option of joining the army as an enlisted man. Actor Tommy Lee Jones shared a house with Gore in college and says that his buddy told him that even if he could find a way around the draft, someone with less options than him would have to go in his place and that was just wrong.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Locales for “Ocean’s Eleven” and several Bond films CASINOS
8. Beirut’s land LEBANON
15. Thousands of fans might do it THE WAVE
16. Japanese art form ORIGAMI
17. Unwrap in a hurry RIP OPEN
18. Who, What and I Don’t Know, in Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine BASEMEN
19. Neither’s partner NOR
20. Abnormal part of Voldemort’s visage NOSE
21. Concern of Freud EGO
22. Layer of the earth between the crust and the core MANTLE
25. “Just ___!” (“Be right there!”) A SEC
26. Marx’s “___ Kapital” DAS
27. Hotel amenity often near the elevator ICE
28. Make, as an income EARN
30. Sun STAR
32. Hawaiian garland LEI
33. Suffix with neur- -OTIC
34. Destruction LOSS
37. Talk show host DeGeneres ELLEN
39. Olive ___ (Popeye’s gal) OYL
41. Pool measurement DEPTH
42. X-ray units RADS
43. Refuse DENY
45. Golf standard PAR
46. 13-digit library info ISBN
49. Horse color ROAN
50. Day before EVE
51. Civil War side: Abbr. CSA
53. Sushi ingredient RICE
55. Sealed, as a driveway TARRED
57. Thanksgiving staple YAM
58. “Don’t have ___, man!” A COW
59. Thurman of “Pulp Fiction” UMA
60. Napped SNOOZED
62. Grand Canyon locale ARIZONA
66. A lifeguard’s whistle might create one TAN LINE
67. Alternative to a forward pass LATERAL
68. Cowboy seats SADDLES
69. Pinto and Flounder, in “Animal House” PLEDGES

Down
1. Middle: Abbr. CTR
2. Yellowfin tuna AHI
3. Aug. follower SEP
4. “You can’t make me!” I WON’T!
5. With 41-Down, title teen in a 2004 indie hit NAPOLEON
6. Pig out OVEREAT
7. Capitol Hill V.I.P.: Abbr. SEN
8. University of New Mexico team LOBOS
9. Wipes off ERASES
10. Cut in half BISECT
11. Ripen AGE
12. Status-seeking sort … or a solver of this puzzle, initially? NAMEDROPPER
13. Last Greek letter OMEGA
14. Boys, in Bogotá NINOS
20. Amateur detective in 1967’s “The Clue in the Crossword Cipher” NANCY DREW
22. Roger Bannister, notably MILER
23. Amtrak high-speed train ACELA
24. “Song Sung Blue” singer NEIL DIAMOND
29. 1983 Duran Duran hit RIO
31. Ginger ___ ALE
35. Ward (off) STAVE
36. Destroy, as documents SHRED
38. Suffix with shepherd -ESS
40. Virgo preceder LEO
41. See 5-Down DYNAMITE
44. Undyed NATURAL
47. South America’s largest country BRAZIL
48. Christianity’s ___ Creed NICENE
51. Anatomical sacs CYSTS
52. Yemen’s capital SANA’A
54. Secret writings CODES
56. Demolished RAZED
61. Antiquated OLD
62. Austrian peak ALP
63. Alternative to .com ORG
64. Scottish denial NAE
65. Franken and Gore ALS


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Posted by Bill Butler
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