0710-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 10 Jul 13, Wednesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Venomous African snake : MAMBA
The mamba, and most famously the black mamba, is a highly venomous snake that used to be responsible for a great number of fatalities before anti-venoms became available. Mamba venom is a deadly mix of neurotoxins that attack the nervous system, and cardiotoxins that attack the heart so a bite, if left untreated, causes the lungs and the heart to shut down.

10. Former Swedish subsidiary of General Motors : SAAB
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

14. A fire sign : ARIES
(36A. A fire sign : LEO)
Each of the twelve astrological signs is associated with one of the classical elements:

– Fire signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
– Earth signs: Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo
– Air signs: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
– Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

16. Krabappel of toondom : EDNA
In “the Simpsons” television show, Bart Simpson’s teacher is one Edna Krabappel.

17. Deep-six : SCRAP
To deep-six something is to toss it, possibly overboard, or to completely destroy it. The derivation of this slang term is from “six feet deep”, not the length of a fathom but rather the traditional depth of a grave.

18. Norwegian royal name : OLAV
Of the many kings of Norway named Olaf/Olav (and there have been five), Olaf II is perhaps the most celebrated as he was canonized and made patron saint of the country. Olaf II was king from 1015 to 1028 and was known as “Olaf the Big” (or Olaf the Fat) during his reign. Today he is more commonly referred to as “Olaf the Holy”. After Olaf died he was given the title of Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, which is Latin for “Norway’s Eternal King”.

23. Chess great Mikhail : TAL
Mikhail Tal was truly a chess legend. Tal holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competition chess. And the second longest winning streak, well, that was by Tal as well.

25. Macs run it : IOS
iOS is what Apple now call their mobile operating system, previously known as iPhone OS.

26. Zion’s site : UTAH
To me, the most spectacular feature of Zion National Park, in southwestern Utah, is the magnificent Zion Canyon. The canyon cuts through red Navajo sandstone and is a truly beautiful sight.

34. ___ beef : KOBE
Kobe is a city on the island of Honshu in Japan, and yes, basketball star Kobe Bryant is named after the Japanese city. The city of Kobe is perhaps most famous for its beef.

35. A dedicator of New York’s Strawberry Fields : ONO
“Strawberry Fields” is a memorial in Central Park in New York City. The memorial is a triangular piece of land found directly across from the Dakota Apartments where Lennon lived and was murdered. At the center of the triangle of land is a circular pathway mosaic of stones with the word “Imagine” in the middle. Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, contributed over one million dollars to help pay for the memorial’s design and upkeep.

When in their teens, Paul McCartney and John Lennon would often head into the center of Liverpool together on the bus. The convenient place for them to meet was at the end of Penny Lane. Years later, Paul McCartney wrote the song “Penny Lane”, which was a big hit in 1967. “Penny Lane” was released as a double A-side record with “Strawberry Fields Forever” penned by John Lennon. Coincidentally, Strawberry Field was also a real location, not far from Penny Lane in Liverpool. Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army Children’s Home in the garden of which Lennon would play as a child. I don’t think Lennon and McCartney ever really forgot their roots …

45. Start of the title for every Oscar : BEST
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

48. Tuscaloosa team, for short : BAMA
The city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama was named in honor of Chief Tuskaloosa, head of a Muskogean-speaking tribe. The city was the capital of Alabama from 1826 to 1846.

The athletic teams of the University of Alabama (“Bama”) are nicknamed the Crimson Tide, a reference to the team colors: crimson and white.

49. French first name in fashion : YVES
Yves Saint-Laurent was a French fashion designer, actually born in Algeria. Saint-Laurent started off working as an assistant to Christian Dior at the age of 17. Dior died just four years later, and as a very young man Saint-Laurent was named head of the House of Dior. However, in 1950 Saint-Laurent was conscripted into the French Army and ended up in a military hospital after suffering a mental breakdown from the hazing inflicted on him by his fellow soldiers. His treatment included electroshock therapy and administration of sedatives and psychoactive drugs. He was released from prison, managed to pull his life back together and started his own fashion house. A remarkable story …

50. “Law & Order” spinoff, for short : SVU
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is a spin off the TV crime drama “Law & Order”. “SVU” has been on the air since 1999, and is set in New York City. Interestingly, since 2007 there has been a very successful Russian adaptation of the show that is set in Moscow.

51. Org. for Bucks and Bulls : NBA
The Bucks are an NBA basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team was formed in 1968 as an NBA expansion team.

The Chicago Bulls have won six NBA championships in the life of the franchise, all of them in the nineties. They won in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons (a so-called “three-peat”), and then again in 1996, 1997 and 1998 (a second “three-peat”).

53. HDTV brand : RCA
During WWI, the US government actively discouraged the loss of certain technologies to other countries, including allies. The developing wireless technologies were considered to be particularly important by the army and navy. The government prevented the General Electric Company from selling equipment to the British Marconi Company, and instead facilitated the purchase by GE of the American Marconi subsidiary. This purchase led to GE forming the Radio Corporation of America that we know today as RCA.

62. Paul who sang “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” : ANKA
Canadian-born Paul Anka’s big hit was in 1957, the song entitled “Diana”. Anka was the subject of a much-lauded documentary film in 1962 called “Lonely Boy”.

64. Local life forms, collectively : BIOTA
The biota of a region is the total collection of flora and fauna found there.

65. Tiny time interval: Abbr. : NSEC
“Nanosecond” is more correctly abbreviated to “ns”, and really is a tiny amount of time … one billionth of a second.

69. Old story’s beginning? : SAME
Same old, same old …

70. Buttinsky : YENTA
Yenta (also “Yente”) is actually a female Yiddish name. In Yiddish theater “yenta” came to mean a busybody.

Down
1. Boom support : MAST
On a sailboat, the boom is the spar that runs along the bottom of a sail.

3. Sorvino of “Mighty Aphrodite” : MIRA
Mira Sorvino is an American actress, winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite”. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

5. Humane org. : ASPCA
Unlike in most developed countries, there is no “umbrella” organization in the US with the goal of preventing cruelty to animals. Instead there are independent organizations set up all over the nation using the name SPCA. Having said that, there is an organization called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that was originally intended to operate across the country, but really it now focuses its efforts in New York City.

7. Leave in a hurry : BOLT
“To bolt” is to move suddenly, especially to run away. The term derives from the fast-moving bolt shot by a crossbow, the arrow.

11. Slowly, on a score : ADAGIO
An adagio is a piece of music with a slow tempo. The “adagio” marking on the score is an instruction to play the piece slowly and in a stately manner. The word adagio is Latin for “at ease”.

22. Derby blooms : ROSES
The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875, and is a race modelled on the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris (now called the “Prix de l‘Arc de Triomphe”). As such, The Kentucky Derby was run over 1½ miles, although in 1896 this was shortened to 1¼ miles. The winning horse is presented with a very elaborate blanket made of red roses.

26. Tiny Tim’s strings, for short : UKE
The ukulele originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

Tiny Tim was the stage name of American singer and ukulele player Herbert Khaury. Tiny Tim’s most famous recording by far was his novelty version of the 1926 song “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips”.

27. “Mazel ___!” : TOV
“Tov” is the Hebrew word for “good”, as in “mozel tov”, meaning “good luck”.

28. $5 bill, slangily : ABE
The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

31. Anthony Quinn title role : ZORBA
Anthony Quinn was an American actor of Mexican descent, born in Chihuahua. Quinn’s role in the 1964 movie “Zorba the Greek” perhaps marked the highpoint of his distinguished career, and earned him an Oscar nomination. Quinn was also an accomplished artist, and his work is very collectible.

“Zorba” the musical (and “Zorba the Greek” the film) were adaptations of the 1952 novel “Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis. The 1964 film version stars Anthony Quinn in the title role, and Alan Bates. It was filmed on location on the island of Crete.

36. Komodo dragon, for one : LIZARD
The large lizard called a Komodo dragon is so named because it is found on the island of Komodo (and others) in Indonesia. It can grow to a length of over 9 1/2 feet, so I guess that explains the dragon part of the name …

38. “Live at the Acropolis” musician : YANNI
“Yanni Live at the Acropolis” is an album and music video featuring the Greek New Age musician Yanni. The album and video was recorded live in 1993 at a concert in the Herodes Atticus Theatre that was built in 161 AD on the southwest slope of the Acropolis in Athens. The event was billed as a fundraising project for PBS television and the video is still used to bring in cash for the TV station. “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” is the second best-selling music video of all time, behind “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

42. They’re found at Area 51, supposedly : ETS
The famed Area 51 is a remote base in the USAF Nevada Test and Training Range. There’s no question that Area 51 is an unusual base in that frontline operational units are not deployed there. It seems that it is used for developing and testing new and classified weapons facilities for the US Military and other US agencies like the CIA. The government did not even acknowledge that Area 51 existed until 1995, and this official position fuelled a theory that the base is home to UFOs that landed on Earth.

48. Rocky a k a the Italian Stallion : BALBOA
If ever there was a movie that defines a career breakthrough for an actor, it would have to be “Rocky” for Sylvester Stallone. Stallone was a struggling actor in 1975 when a Muhammad Ali fight inspired Stallone to write a screenplay for a boxing movie, which he did in just three days. His efforts to sell the script went well but for the fact that the interested studios wanted a big name for the lead role, and Stallone was determined to be the star himself. Stallone persevered and “Rocky” was eventually made with him playing title role of Rocky Balboa. The movie won three Oscars, and “Sly” Stallone had arrived …

50. Tchaikovsky ballet birds : SWANS
“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “Swan Lake” tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina.

54. Hack : CABBY
Hackney is a location in London, and it probably gave it’s name to a “hackney”, an ordinary type of horse around 1300. By 1700 a “hackney” was a person hired to do routine work, and “hackneyed” meant “kept for hire”. This morphed into a hackney carriage, a carriage or car for hire.

56. Doily material : LACE
There was a draper in London in the seventeenth century called Doiley, and he gave his name to the lace fabric that he sold, which in turn gave its name to the ornamental mats we call doilies. I can’t stand them!

58. Brontë governess : EYRE
“Jane Eyre” is of course the novel written by Charlotte Brontë, under the pen name Currer Bell. Over the years, I’ve shared here on my blogs that the “Jane Eyre” story line is a little too dark and Gothic for my taste, but a very persuasive blog reader convinced me to look more at the romantic side of the story and give it a second chance. I watched a wonderful 4-hour television adaptation of the novel made by the BBC a while back and I have to say that because I was focused on the relationship between Jane and Rochester, I was able to push past the Gothic influences (that depress me) so I really enjoyed the story. I thoroughly recommend the 2006 BBC adaptation to fans of the novel.

60. “L’___ c’est moi” : ETAT
“L’État, c’est moi” is a French phrase, supposedly spoken by Louis XIV on his deathbed. It translates to “I am the State”, and would appear to mean that Louis considered himself to be “above his station” as it were. However, many dispute the quotation, and argue that Louis actually said on his deathbed that even though he was dying, the State would live on.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Venomous African snake : MAMBA
6. Basics : ABCS
10. Former Swedish subsidiary of General Motors : SAAB
14. A fire sign : ARIES
15. Floored it : TORE
16. Krabappel of toondom : EDNA
17. Deep-six : SCRAP
18. Norwegian royal name : OLAV
19. Polite request : MAY I?
20. “Really?!” : THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT!
23. Chess great Mikhail : TAL
24. “My man” : BRO
25. Macs run it : IOS
26. Zion’s site : UTAH
29. Far from industrious : LAZY
32. Old TV problem : SNOW
34. ___ beef : KOBE
35. A dedicator of New York’s Strawberry Fields : ONO
36. A fire sign : LEO
37. “Really” : EVERY WORD IS TRUE!
43. Batteries for remotes, perhaps : AAS
44. Commercial dealings, informally : BIZ
45. Start of the title for every Oscar : BEST
46. Armchair athlete’s channel : ESPN
48. Tuscaloosa team, for short : BAMA
49. French first name in fashion : YVES
50. “Law & Order” spinoff, for short : SVU
51. Org. for Bucks and Bulls : NBA
53. HDTV brand : RCA
55. “Really!” : WELL I’LL BE DAMNED!
62. Paul who sang “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” : ANKA
63. With skill : ABLY
64. Local life forms, collectively : BIOTA
65. Tiny time interval: Abbr. : NSEC
66. Sow’s mate : BOAR
67. Cause to swell : BLOAT
68. Teed off : SORE
69. Old story’s beginning? : SAME
70. Buttinsky : YENTA

Down
1. Boom support : MAST
2. Shoe support : ARCH
3. Sorvino of “Mighty Aphrodite” : MIRA
4. Escape conviction : BEAT THE RAP
5. Humane org. : ASPCA
6. Lots and lots : A TON
7. Leave in a hurry : BOLT
8. Like a grouch : CRABBY
9. Cut, as ties : SEVER
10. Round for the final four : SEMI
11. Slowly, on a score : ADAGIO
12. In whatever way : ANYHOW
13. Sets, as a trap : BAITS
21. Tolerates : ALLOWS
22. Derby blooms : ROSES
26. Tiny Tim’s strings, for short : UKE
27. “Mazel ___!” : TOV
28. $5 bill, slangily : ABE
30. “It’s ___-brainer!” : A NO
31. Anthony Quinn title role : ZORBA
33. “Wa-a-ay off!” : NOT BY A MILE!
36. Komodo dragon, for one : LIZARD
38. “Live at the Acropolis” musician : YANNI
39. Not too bright : DIM
40. Minister’s moniker : REV
41. Play for a sap : USE
42. They’re found at Area 51, supposedly : ETS
46. “Regardless …” : EVEN SO …
47. Gloomy sort : SULKER
48. Rocky a k a the Italian Stallion : BALBOA
50. Tchaikovsky ballet birds : SWANS
52. Spills the beans : BLABS
54. Hack : CABBY
56. Doily material : LACE
57. Exploding cigar sound : BLAM!
58. Brontë governess : EYRE
59. When shadows are short : NOON
60. “L’___ c’est moi” : ETAT
61. Flash drive filler : DATA

Return to top of page

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