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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Michael Sharp (aka “Rex Parker”)
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 14m 19s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
11. Streets of Rage maker : SEGA
Sega is a Japanese video game company headquartered in Tokyo. Sega actually started out 1940 in the US as Standard Games and was located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The owners moved the operation to Tokyo in 1951 and renamed the company to Service Games. The name “Sega” is a combination of the first two letters of the words “Se-rvice” and “Ga-mes”.
15. Gardening brand : MIRACLE-GRO
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 by one Orlando Scott, initially selling seed to the agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Scotts started to sell to homeowners, mainly supplying lawn seed. The company merged with the gardening company Miracle-Gro in 1955.
16. Roman 18-Across : MARS
(18A. Greek 16-Across : ARES)
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of blood-lust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.
17. Former “Weekend Update” host on “S.N.L.” : AMY POEHLER
Amy Poehler was a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2001 to 2008, notable for appearing in many great sketches, including those where she played Hillary Clinton opposite Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. Poehler also starred with Fey in the 2008 movie “Baby Mama”, and now has her own show on NBC called “Parks and Recreation”.
19. Three-time All-Star pitcher Robb : NEN
Robb Nen is a former relief pitcher, best known for as a player with the San Francisco Giants.
20. Karnak Temple deity : AMEN-RA
Amun (also Amon, Amen and “Amun-Ra”) was a god in Egyptian mythology. Amun lends his name to our word “ammonia”. This is because the Romans called the ammonium chloride that they collected near the Temple of Jupiter Amun, “sal ammoniacus” (salt of Amun).
The Karnak Temple Complex is located near Luxor on the banks of the River Nile in Egypt. The most famous structure at Karnak is the Great Temple of Amun.
22. Airport on Flushing Bay, in brief : LGA
Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, racking up three full terms in office. The famous airport that bears La Guardia’s name was built at his urging, stemming from an incident that took place while he was in office. He was taking a TWA flight to “New York” and was outraged when the plane landed at Newark Airport, in the state of New Jersey. The Mayor demanded that the flight take off again and land at a small airport in Brooklyn. A gaggle of press reporters joined him on the short hop and he gave them a story, urging New Yorkers to support the construction of a new commercial airport within the city’s limits. The new airport, in Queens, opened in 1939 as New York Municipal, often called “LaGuardia” as a nickname. The airport was officially relabeled as “LaGuardia” in 1947.
23. “My Baby No ___ Aqui” (Garth Brooks song) : ESTA
Country singer Garth Brooks retired from recording and performing in 2001, and then came out of retirement in 2009. You can go see him perform at the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
26. When the French celebrate Labor Day : MAI
“Mai” is the French for the month of “May”.
Labor Day is a federal holiday observed every year on the first Monday in September. The tradition of honoring workers with a holiday started in Boston in 1878, when a day of observance was organized by the Central Labor Union, the major trade union at the time. There was a bloody dispute in 1894 between labor unions and the railroads called the Pullman Strike, which led to the death of some workers when the US Military and US Marshals were instructed to maintain order. President Grover Cleveland submitted a “Labor Day” bill to Congress which was signed into law just six days after the end of the strike. The introduction of a federal holiday to honor the worker was a move designed to promote reconciliation between management and unions after the bitter conflict.
30. Line to Wall Street, for short : IRT
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the original private operator of the New York Subway when it opened in 1904. The city took over ownership of the system in 1940, but the lines originally operated by the IRT are still known by the IRT moniker.
31. N.B.A.’s Magic, on sports tickers : ORL
The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …
36. Critic Ebert, informally : ROG
Roger Ebert co-hosted a succession of film review television programs for over 23 years, most famously with Gene Siskel until Siskel passed away in 1999. Ebert was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in 2002, and finally succumbed to a recurrence of the disease in April 2013.
37. Element with a low atomic number that is not found naturally on Earth : BORON
Boron is the chemical element with the atomic number of 5. It lies over to the right in Group 13 of the Periodic Table of the Elements. Uncombined, elemental boron is not found naturally on Earth. The boron that is mined is found in oxide form, not as uncombined boron.
38. They cross many valleys : TRESTLES
A trestle is a frame that is used as a support, particularly for a bridge.
42. Chris with the 1978 hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” : REA
Chris Rea is a singer-songwriter and respected blues guitar player from England.
45. Its first complete ed. was published in 1928 : OED
The “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) contains over 300,000 “main” entries and 59 million words in total. It is said it would take a single person 120 years to type it out in full. The longest entry for one word in the second edition of the OED is the verb “set”. When the third edition was published in 2007, the longest entry for a single word became the verb “put”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most-quoted author in the OED is William Shakespeare, with his most quoted work being “Hamlet”. The most-quoted female author is George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans).
50. T.A.’s pursuit, maybe : PHD
PhD is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”.
A T.A. is a professor’s Teaching Assistant.
58. Gadget’s rank in cartoons: Abbr. : INSP
“Inspector Gadget” is a cartoon television show about a cyborg detective.
61. Movie mogul whom Forbes magazine once named the highest-paid man in entertainment : TYLER PERRY
Tyler Perry is an actor best known for playing “Madea”, a character that he plays in drag.
Down
1. Fed concerned with forgery : T-MAN
A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (the “T” stands for Treasury).
2. “Paris, Je T’___” (2006 film) : AIME
“Paris, je t’aime” is an unusual film in that it is made up of 18 short films, each from a different director. “Paris, je t’aime” was a box office success so a sequel of sorts was made in 2008 called “New York, I Love You”. Three more films are planned in the series, set in Rio, Shanghai and Jerusalem.
3. Leader in women’s education? : BRYN
I used to live not far from Bryn-mawr (also “Brynmwar”) in Wales, the town with the highest elevation in the country. Appropriately enough, “bryn mawr” is Welsh for “big hill”. There is also a Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania (note the different capitalization) that is named after its Welsh counterpart. At the Pennsylvania location there’s a Bryn Mawr college, a private women’s school that was the first American university to offer graduate degrees to women.
7. ___ Brothers : LEHMAN
Lehman Brothers was one of the global financial services companies at the center of the recent financial crisis. Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008, the largest bankruptcy filing in American history.
11. Kind of request in a Robert Burns poem : SMA
The Scots dialect word sma’ means “small”. It famously appears in the Robert Burns poem, “To a Mouse”. The pertinent lines read:
A daimen icker in a thrave
’S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
An’ never miss’t!
which “translates” to:
An occasional ear of corn out of twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I’ll be blest with the rest of the corn,
And never miss the ear you took!
12. N.B.A. Hall-of-Famer who, with Walt Frazier, formed the Knicks’ “Rolls Royce Backcourt” : EARL MONROE
Earl Monroe is a retired professional basketball player who played for the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks.
Walt Frazier is a retired professional basketball player, captain of the New York Knicks when they won their only NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973.
21. Bacterium binder : ANTIBODY
Antibodies are y-shaped proteins that recognize antigens on foreign bodies in the body such as bacteria and viruses. The antibodies combine with those foreign bodies and neutralize them.
23. Old lab burners : ETNAS
Etna (after the volcano) is another name for the Bunsen Burnerused in the laboratory.
24. Common sushi garnish : SMELT ROE
Smelt is the name given to several types of small fish.
27. TV sketch comedy set in the “city where young people go to retire” : PORTLANDIA
“Portlandia” is a satirical sketch show that is aired on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). The show is set in Portland, Oregon and takes its name from a statue called “Portlandia” which sits above the entrance to a building in downtown Portland. The statue is a copper repoussé work, and is second in size in the US only to the Statue of Liberty.
28. They’re ordered by mathematicians : OPERATIONS
Mathematical operations (such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) are carried out in a specific order in an equation. For example, one multiplies before one adds.
29. Some French-speaking Africans : SENEGALESE
The Republic of Senegal is a country on the far western coast of Africa. For many years Senegal was a French colony, gaining independence in 1960. The capital of Senegal is Dakar, a city located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.
33. Apple’s mobile/tablet devices run on it : IOS
iOS is what Apple now call their mobile operating system, previously known as iPhone OS.
40. “Bigger & ___,” 1999 Grammy-winning comedy album by Chris Rock : BLACKER
Chris Rock is a great stand-up comedian. Interestingly, Rock cites his paternal grandfather as an influence on his performing style. Grandfather Allen Rock was a preacher.
43. It’s a downer : OPIATE
Opiates are the narcotic alkaloids found in the opium poppy plant, although some synthetic versions and derivatives of the same alkaloids are also called opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs of morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.
50. Jelly Belly flavor : PEAR
The Jelly Belly Candy Company is located not far from where I live in California. My son has toured the factory with his girlfriend and tells me its a great way to spend a few hours, if you’re in the area …
52. Fashion company with a Big Apple flagship store : DKNY
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the DKNY (Donna Karan New York) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.
56. Calder contemporary : ARP
Hans Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. He was sent home …
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist. Calder is famous for having invented the mobile sculpture, a work made up of several pieces hanging on a string in equilibrium. In effect they are what we might known as “mobiles”, operating on the same principle as mobiles that sit over cribs in a nursery.
57. Historic beginning? : PRE-
We define “prehistory” as that span of time before man started written records or had writing systems.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Dinner spread : TABLECLOTH
11. Streets of Rage maker : SEGA
15. Gardening brand : MIRACLE-GRO
16. Roman 18-Across : MARS
17. Former “Weekend Update” host on “S.N.L.” : AMY POEHLER
18. Greek 16-Across : ARES
19. Three-time All-Star pitcher Robb : NEN
20. Karnak Temple deity : AMEN-RA
22. Airport on Flushing Bay, in brief : LGA
23. “My Baby No ___ Aqui” (Garth Brooks song) : ESTA
25. Family head : DON
26. When the French celebrate Labor Day : MAI
27. Box fillers : POSTMEN
30. Line to Wall Street, for short : IRT
31. N.B.A.’s Magic, on sports tickers : ORL
32. Responded to a dentist’s request : OPENED
33. Emblem : INSIGNIA
35. ___ failure : RENAL
36. Critic Ebert, informally : ROG
37. Element with a low atomic number that is not found naturally on Earth : BORON
38. They cross many valleys : TRESTLES
40. Gracefully quit : BOW OUT
41. Time gap : LAG
42. Chris with the 1978 hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” : REA
43. Antiquity : OLDNESS
44. ___ glance : AT A
45. Its first complete ed. was published in 1928 : OED
46. Is worthwhile : PAYS
47. 0 : NIL
48. Hot : EROTIC
50. T.A.’s pursuit, maybe : PHD
53. “Sure ___!” : DOES
55. Ruin the surprise, perhaps : SNEAK A PEEK
58. Gadget’s rank in cartoons: Abbr. : INSP
59. On- and off-road : ALL-TERRAIN
60. Cruising : ASEA
61. Movie mogul whom Forbes magazine once named the highest-paid man in entertainment : TYLER PERRY
Down
1. Fed concerned with forgery : T-MAN
2. “Paris, Je T’___” (2006 film) : AIME
3. Leader in women’s education? : BRYN
4. Sitting formation : LAP
5. Prefix with sphere : ECO-
6. Slip-preventing, in a way : CLEATED
7. ___ Brothers : LEHMAN
8. View lasciviously : OGLE
9. Hot : TRENDING
10. “Ye gods!” : HORRORS!
11. Kind of request in a Robert Burns poem : SMA
12. N.B.A. Hall-of-Famer who, with Walt Frazier, formed the Knicks’ “Rolls Royce Backcourt” : EARL MONROE
13. Outgoing : GREGARIOUS
14. Hit makers, say : ASSAILANTS
21. Bacterium binder : ANTIBODY
23. Old lab burners : ETNAS
24. Common sushi garnish : SMELT ROE
27. TV sketch comedy set in the “city where young people go to retire” : PORTLANDIA
28. They’re ordered by mathematicians : OPERATIONS
29. Some French-speaking Africans : SENEGALESE
33. Apple’s mobile/tablet devices run on it : IOS
34. Red-carpet interview topics : GOWNS
36. Like some files : READ-ONLY
39. Views lasciviously : LEERS AT
40. “Bigger & ___,” 1999 Grammy-winning comedy album by Chris Rock : BLACKER
43. It’s a downer : OPIATE
49. Giveaway : TELL
50. Jelly Belly flavor : PEAR
51. Willing participant? : HEIR
52. Fashion company with a Big Apple flagship store : DKNY
54. Thermal ___ : SPA
56. Calder contemporary : ARP
57. Historic beginning? : PRE-
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