0706-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Jul 13, Saturday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. “Moses” novelist : ASCH
Sholem Asch was a Polish-born American novelist and dramatist who published his work in Yiddish. One of his plays was “God of Vengeance”, a highly-regarded work performed all over Europe and translated into many languages. It opened on Broadway in 1923, but the adult themes (it was set in a brothel, and featured a lesbian relationship) led to the entire cast being arrested and convicted on obscenity charges.

5. Home to Morro Castle : CUBA
Morro Castle is a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana Bay in Cuba. The castle was built by the Spanish in 1859. The name “Morro” means a rock that is visible from the sea.

9. Rigging pros : BOS’NS
A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. A boatswain is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel. He or she has charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. Boatswain is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bos’n” is also very popular.

14. Hoops nickname : SHAQ
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the heaviest players ever to have played in the NBA (weighing in at around 325 pounds). Yep, he’s a big guy … 7 foot 1 inch tall.

18. “Red pottage” in Genesis : LENTIL SOUP
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

20. Sharks’ place : SAN JOSE
The San Jose Sharks hockey team play their home games at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, a venue that we locals call “the Shark Tank”.

21. Neighbor of Telescopium : ARA
The constellation of Ara takes its name from the Latin word for “altar”.

The constellation known as Telescopium was named in the 18th century in honor of the invention of the telescope.

26. “Just ___ Love Her” (1950 hit) : SAY I
The 1950 hit “Just Say I Love Her” (or sometimes “… love him”) is an English adaptation of an old song from Naples, Italy. It was recorded in English first by Johnny Desmond, and then by others including most famously Vic Damone.

28. Granny, to Gretel : OMA
“Oma” is a informal word for “grandma” in German.

38. 1978 punk classic : I WANNA BE SEDATED
“I Wanna Be Sedated” is a 1978 song from the American punk rock band the Ramones.

“The Ramones” were an American punk rock band. The group formed in Forest Hills, New York in the mid-seventies. Arguably, the Ramones were the first punk rock group and defined the genre. Something else that’s not my cup of tea …

41. Finnair alternative : SAS
SAS was formerly known as Scandinavian Airlines System and is the flag carrier of three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Finnair is the national airline of Finland, an airline in which the Finnish government holds a majority share. Finnair has been flying since 1923 and has had not fatal accidents since 1963, making it one of the world’s oldest and safest airlines.

43. With 5-Down, bygone beverage : JOLT
(5D. See 43-Across : COLA)
Jolt Cola is a sugary beverage with a whole load of caffeine in it (hence the name “Jolt”).

46. Sort who isn’t safe around a safe : YEGG
“Yegg” is a slang word for a burglar and often for a safe-cracker. The origin of the term appears to be unknown.

50. “Women Ironing” artist : DEGAS
Edgar Degas was a French artist, famous for his paintings and sculptures. Some of Degas’ most beautiful works feature female ballet dancers, and others depict women bathing.

53. English Channel feeder : EXE
The River Exe in the south of England lies mainly in the county of Devon. It rises on Exmoor in Somerset, and passes through the city of Exeter, along the way giving its name both to the moor and the Devon city.

54. Land above, to Sonorans : EL NORTE
“El Norte” is the term many people in Central America use for the United States and Canada, “the North” in Spanish.

Sonora is the state in Mexico lying just south of the borders with Arizona and New Mexico. The Sonoran Desert straddles the US-Mexico border, covering 120,000 square miles in parts of the states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Arizona and California.

56. Honor for Harry Potter’s creator: Abbr. : OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

– Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
– Knight Commander (KBE)
– Commander (CBE)
– Officer (OBE)
– Member (MBE)

The author of the amazingly successful “Harry Potter” series of books is J. K. Rowling. Rowling wrote the first book when she was living on welfare in Edinburgh in Scotland, and in longhand. She would often write in local cafes, largely because she needed to get her baby daughter out of the house (she was a single mom), and the youngster would tend to fall asleep on walks. Within five years, the single mom on welfare became a very rich woman, and is now worth about $1 billion!

57. Acid Queen player in “Tommy” : TINA TURNER
Tina Turner is actually a stage name used by Anna Mae Bullock, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Turner has always loved Europe and moved there in the eighties. She now splits her time between her homes in England, France and Switzerland.

“Tommy” was the name given to the fourth album recorded by the British band, The Who. It was the original “rock opera”, and was adapted for both the stage and screen, both adaptations becoming huge successes.

59. 1998 Spielberg title role : RYAN
“Saving Private Ryan” is an epic 1998 movie directed by Steven Spielberg, a real “must see”. The D-Day invasion scenes were shot over a two-month period on the southeast coast of Ireland.

60. “Two Tickets to Paradise” singer : EDDIE MONEY
Eddie Money is a musician from New York City, a rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter.

61. Domino getting played : FATS
Antoine “Fats” Domino was born and raised in New Orleans, with Creole as his first language. He made into the big time in 1949 when he recorded an early rock and roll record called “The Fat Man”. That record sold over a million copies, the first rock and roll record to achieve that milestone.

64. Gonitis target : KNEE
Gonitis is inflammation of the knee.

Down
1. 1960s TV dog : ASTRO
Astro is the pet dog on the animated television show “The Jetsons”.

7. Dog star : BENJI
Benji is the main character in a series of “Benji” movies made starting from 1974. Benji is a mixed-breed dog.

8. Composer Arensky : ANTON
Anton Arensky was a Russian composer and pianist who was active in the Romantic period.

10. Sites for system repairs, briefly : ORS
Operating rooms (ORs) in a hospital might be where one has to go to get one’s “systems” repaired.

11. Toasting option : SKOAL
Skoal is a Swedish toast, with roots in the old Norse word “skaal” meaning “cup”.

13. Parade honoree, familiarly : ST PAT
There is a fair amount known about St. Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as St. Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.

20. Parting word : SAYONARA
“Sayonara” means “farewell” in Japanese.

23. Mizzen neighbor : MAINMAST
A mizzenmast is found aft of the main mast on a vessel having more than one mast.

25. Dressage half-turn : CARACOLE
The caracole maneuver in dressage mimics an old military horseback tactic. In dressage, a caracole is a single half turn, either to the right or to the left. In days of old, a cavalryman who had two single-shot pistols would gallop into range than have his horse make a half-turn so that he could aim and fire one weapon. He would then have the horse make the same turn to the opposite side so as best to discharge the second pistol.

29. 1970s : ME DECADE
The term “‘Me’ Decade” was applied to the 1970s by novelist Tom Wolfe. His point was that the seventies was an era for the individual which compared starkly with the communal focus of the sixties, the hippy age.

30. Sots’ shots : NIPS
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning a fool. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

32. Look out for, say : ABET
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

33. Singer Lovich : LENE
Lene Lovich is a singer based in England, although she was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Lovich was popular at the height of the New Wave music movement.

34. Sparkling white : ASTI
Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

35. “Chloe” director, 2009 : ATOM EGOYAN
Atom Egoyan is a Canadian stage and film director who is perhaps best known for directing the commercial success “Chloe”. Egoyan was born in Cairo, Egypt and was given the unusual name of “Atom” as his parents wanted to mark the completion of Egypt’s first nuclear reactor.

36. “Chicago” Golden Globe winner : GERE
Richard Gere has played such great roles on the screen, and I find him to be a very interesting character off the screen. Gere has been studying Buddhism since 1978 and is a very visible supporter of the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet.

The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

37. Teaching degs. : EDDS
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

43. 2012 major-league leader in hits : JETER
Derek Jeter has played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees, and is the team’s captain. Jeter is the all-time career leader for the Yankees in hits, games played, stolen bases and at bats. He is also the all-time leader in hits by a shortstop in the whole of professional baseball.

44. Quicklime, e.g. : OXIDE
Calcium oxide is known colloquially as quicklime or burnt lime. The related calcium hydroxide is traditionally called slaked lime.

47. ___ Field (Minute Maid Park, once) : ENRON
Enron Field, as it was known, is a retractable-roof ballpark that was built next to Houston’s old Union Station. Enron paid $100 million to get its name on the field, and then when the world found out what a scam Enron actually was, the Astros bought back the contract for the name, for a mere $2.1 million. The stadium became Astros Field for a few months, until the Coke people paid $170 million for a 28-year contract to christen the stadium Minute Maid Park. A good deal for the Astros, I’d say.

49. “Wall Street” theme : GREED
The business strategy known as “corporate raiding” really is pretty ruthless and short sighted (excuse my being judgmental). The idea is to buy a large interest in a corporation, sometimes “stealthily”, by buying up a significant number of voting shares. Then, the raider uses the power of the voting rights to convince other voters to change the way the company is run, purely to increase the share price in the relatively short term. The changes often involve replacement of the management team, downsizing and even liquidation of the company, all for short term, personal gain. Corporate raider, Gordon Gekko said in the 1987 movie “Wall Street”, “greed is good”, but I wonder is he right?

54. Tour de France times : ETES
One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in France.

Back in the late 1800s, long-distance cycle races were used as promotional events, traditionally to help boost sales of newspapers. These races usually took place around tracks, but in 1902 the backers of the struggling sports publication “L’Auto” decided to stage a race that would take the competitors all around France. That first Tour de France took place in 1903, starting in Paris and passing through Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes and then back to Paris.

55. Sam Cooke’s “___ Little Love” : TRY A
Sam Cooke was a soul singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cooke is considered by many to have been one of the founders of the soul genre. Cooke’s impressive list of hits includes “You Send Me”, Chain Gang” and “Twistin’ the Night Away”. Cooke was only 33 years old when he died. He was shot after a drunken brawl by a motel manager in what was deemed by the courts to be a justifiable homicide.

58. British isle : AIT
Aits are little islands found in a river. Aits aren’t formed by erosion, but by the deposition of silt over time. As a result, aits often have a long and narrow shape running parallel to the banks as the sediment builds up with the flow of the water. Many of the islands in the River Thames in England have been given the name “Ait”, like Raven’s Ait in Kingston-upon-Thames, and Lot’s Ait in Brentford.

59. Subj. of the 2006 film “Bobby” : RFK
“Bobby” is a 2006 movie that is set on the day that Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. The movie is also set in the hotel in which the assassination took place. “Bobby” was written and directed by Emilio Estevez.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Moses” novelist : ASCH
5. Home to Morro Castle : CUBA
9. Rigging pros : BOS’NS
14. Hoops nickname : SHAQ
15. Its prices are determined by competition : OPEN MARKET
17. Rafts : TONS
18. “Red pottage” in Genesis : LENTIL SOUP
19. Gun : REV
20. Sharks’ place : SAN JOSE
21. Neighbor of Telescopium : ARA
22. “___ Obama” (epithet used by Rush Limbaugh) : OSAMA
24. Criticize in a small way, informally : DING
25. Circulation problem : CLOT
26. “Just ___ Love Her” (1950 hit) : SAY I
28. Granny, to Gretel : OMA
30. Central figure of a country : NATIONAL AVERAGE
38. 1978 punk classic : I WANNA BE SEDATED
39. Transcript, e.g. : PERMANENT RECORD
40. What many married couples bring in : SEPARATE INCOMES
41. Finnair alternative : SAS
42. Blowout, e.g. : SALE
43. With 5-Down, bygone beverage : JOLT
46. Sort who isn’t safe around a safe : YEGG
50. “Women Ironing” artist : DEGAS
53. English Channel feeder : EXE
54. Land above, to Sonorans : EL NORTE
56. Honor for Harry Potter’s creator: Abbr. : OBE
57. Acid Queen player in “Tommy” : TINA TURNER
59. 1998 Spielberg title role : RYAN
60. “Two Tickets to Paradise” singer : EDDIE MONEY
61. Domino getting played : FATS
62. They take up some measures : RESTS
63. Squat : NADA
64. Gonitis target : KNEE

Down
1. 1960s TV dog : ASTRO
2. Walk-ins? : SHOES
3. It may cover all the bases : CANVAS TARP
4. C.E.O.’s places : HQS
5. See 43-Across : COLA
6. Knock for a loop : UPEND
7. Dog star : BENJI
8. Composer Arensky : ANTON
9. Roll in the grass? : BALE
10. Sites for system repairs, briefly : ORS
11. Toasting option : SKOAL
12. Intro to chemistry? : NEURO-
13. Parade honoree, familiarly : ST PAT
16. What a bad ruler does : MISGOVERNS
20. Parting word : SAYONARA
23. Mizzen neighbor : MAINMAST
25. Dressage half-turn : CARACOLE
27. Put away, maybe : IN AN ASYLUM
29. 1970s : ME DECADE
30. Sots’ shots : NIPS
31. ___ bit : A WEE
32. Look out for, say : ABET
33. Singer Lovich : LENE
34. Sparkling white : ASTI
35. “Chloe” director, 2009 : ATOM EGOYAN
36. “Chicago” Golden Globe winner : GERE
37. Teaching degs. : EDDS
43. 2012 major-league leader in hits : JETER
44. Quicklime, e.g. : OXIDE
45. Furnishes : LENDS
47. ___ Field (Minute Maid Park, once) : ENRON
48. Fixin’ to : GONNA
49. “Wall Street” theme : GREED
51. Drop off : ABATE
52. What a yo-yo lacks : SENSE
54. Tour de France times : ETES
55. Sam Cooke’s “___ Little Love” : TRY A
58. British isle : AIT
59. Subj. of the 2006 film “Bobby” : RFK

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