0718-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 18 Jul 13, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Todd Gross & David Steinberg
THEME: A Kiss on the Cheek … the circled letters in the grid outline a brilliant-cut diamond, and also spell out “DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND”, This is the title of a song sung by MARILYN MONROE in the 1953 movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, which was released 60 years ago today. Note that I had to use “AP” in the square that should have an apostrophe:

20A. 23-Across singer : MARILYN MONROE
23A. Classic song from a movie celebrating its 60th anniversary on 7/18/13 : DIAMONDS ARE GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 17m 20s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. European capital ENE of Warsaw : MINSK
Minsk is the capital of Belarus, formerly known as the Belorussion Soviet Socialist Republic.

6. Guy seeking love letters? : SWM
Single white male (SWM) is a term used in personal ads.

14. Sultanate inhabitant : OMANI
Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the OAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The capital city of Muscat has a strategic location on the Gulf of Oman and has a history of invasion and unrest. Centuries of occupation by the Persians ended in 1507 when the Portuguese took the city in a bloody attack. The Portuguese held Muscat for much of the next one hundred years until finally being ousted by local Omani forces in 1648. A Yemeni tribe invaded the area in 1741 and set up a monarchy that has been in place in Oman ever since.

15. Meditation subject : TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

16. Hit 2012 animated film, with “The” : LORAX
“The Lorax” is a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss. It is an allegorical work questioning the problems created by industrialization, and in particular its impact on the environment. “The Lorax” was adapted into an animated film that was released in 2012, with Danny DeVito voicing the title character.

17. Author of sci-fi’s “War With the Newts” : CAPEK
The title of the Karel Čapek novel “Válka s mloky” has been translated as “War with the Newts” or “War with the Salamanders”.

The Czech writer Karel Čapek is perhaps best known for his play “R.U.R”, first produced in 1921. “R.U.R.” is a science fiction work and is remembered in part for introducing the world to the word “robot”. The words “automaton” and “android” were already in use, but Capek gave us “robot” from the original Czech “robota” meaning “forced labor”.

18. Music sheet abbr. : ARR
“Arr.” is short for “arranged by”, when written on a musical score.

19. Great Seal figure : EAGLE
The Great Seal of the United States is a device used to authenticate some US federal documents. The obverse (front) of the Great Seal is used as the coat of arms of the US, a design that can seen on all American passports.

20. 23-Across singer : MARILYN MONROE
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 in LA County Hospital, the child of Gladys Pearl Baker. The young girl was given the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson on her birth certificate, but her mother changed this to Norma Jeane Baker almost immediately. She and her estranged husband, Martin Edward Mortensen, had separated before Baker became pregnant so it is suggested that the Mortensen name was used just to give Norma Jeane “legitimacy”. Norma Jeane married a Jim Dougherty when she 16 years old, and took his name to become Norma Jeane Dougherty in 1932. During WWII she was discovered by a photographer and became quite a successful model. The modelling earned her a screen test, at which time it was suggested that Norma Jean change her name yet again. The first name chosen for her by studio executives was Carole Lind (after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind), but then Norma Jeane chose “Jeane Monroe” for herself, using her mother’s maiden name. It didn’t take long before the studio intervened again, suggesting that they had too many “Jeans” already. The name Marilyn Monroe was floated as it had a nice ring to it. Along with the new name, Marilyn changed from a brunette to a blonde, and a star was born …

23. Classic song from a movie celebrating its 60th anniversary on 7/18/13 : DIAMONDS ARE GIRL’S BEST FRIEND
“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” is a song from the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, and the 1953 film of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe. When Monroe sings the song in the film, it is her own voice that we are hearing. Well, almost … the soprano Marni Nixon dubs in some of the high notes for her.

24. Philip with a Hollywood star : AHN
The actor Philip Ahn is perhaps best known for playing Master Kahn, one of Caine’s teachers on the television show “kung Fu”. Ahn was the first Asian-American actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

27. State cooperation : ENTENTE
An “entente cordiale” is a friendly understanding, usually between two nations. The term, which translates from French as “cordial agreement”, was first used to describe a set of agreements between the UK and France in 1904.

33. Appeal to earnestly : ADJURE
Our word “adjure” comes from the Latin adjurare, meaning “to swear to”.

35. Home to Asia’s highest volcano : IRAN
Mount Damavand is a volcano in Iran, located about 40 miles northeast of Tehran near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand is the highest peak in the country, and highest volcano in the whole of Asia.

40. Sermon follower : -ETTE
A sermonette is a short sermon.

Our word “sermon” comes from the Latin “sermonem” meaning “discourse, talk”. The literal translation of “sermonem” is “a stringing together of words”, from the Latin “serere” meaning “to join”, as in the related word “series”.

41. Man’s name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ARTE
The male name “Arte” might be pronounced “ar-tee”.

43. Pod : whale :: knot : ___ : TOAD
Here are some colorful collective nouns:

– A shrewdness of apes
– A cloud of bats
– A bench of bishops
– A clowder of cats
– A waddling of ducks
– An army of frogs
– A knot of toads

44. ___ Rida (“Right Round” rapper) : FLO
Rapper Tramar Dillard is better known as (but not by me!) rapper Flo Rida. As you might have guessed, Flo Rida was born in the state of Florida.

46. Inits. for Lowe’s or Home Depot shoppers : DIY
Back in Ireland we don’t have “hardware stores” as such, but rather DIY Centres (and that’s the spelling). DIY is an acronym standing for “Do It Yourself”.

Lucius S. Lowe opened the first Lowe’s hardware store in 1921, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Lucius only knew the one store, as it was family who expanded the company after he passed away in 1940.

Home Depot is the largest home improvement retail chain in the US, ahead of Lowe’s. Home Depot opened their first two stores in 1979. The average store size if just over 100,000 square feet. The largest Home Depot outlet in is Union, New Jersey, and it is 225,000 square feet in size. That’s a lot of nuts and bolts …

47. N. Afr. nation : ALG
Algeria is a huge country, the second largest in Africa (only Sudan is larger), and the largest country on the Mediterranean. The capital of Algeria is Algiers, and the country takes its name from the city.

51. Capital on the Mediterranean : BEIRUT
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.

59. Satyajit Ray’s “The ___ Trilogy” : APU
Satyajit Ray was a Bengali filmmaker, famous for directing “The Apu Trilogy”. These were three Bengali films that were released between 1955 and 1959. They featured music composed by Ravi Shankar, and are considered to be some of the greatest movies of all times by international critics, yet they were filmed on tiny budgets.

60. Levine of “The Voice” : ADAM
Adam Levine is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine is also one of the coaches on the reality show “The Voice”.

“The Voice” is yet another reality television show. “The Voice” is a singing competition in which the judges hear the contestants without seeing them in the first round. The judges then take on chosen contestants as coaches for the remaining rounds. “The Voice” is a highly successful worldwide franchise that originated in the Netherlands.

62. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL
Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who designed entire city districts in Helsinki. He immigrated to the United States where he became famous for his art nouveau designs. He was the father of Eero Saarinen, who was to become even more renowned in America for his designs, including the Dulles International Airport terminal, and the TWA building at JFK.

63. Item clipped on a waistband, perhaps : IPOD
The iPod is Apple’s signature line of portable media players. The iPod first hit the market in 2001 with a hard drive-based device, now known as the iPod Classic. Later models all use flash memory, allowing a smaller form factor. The smallest of the flash-based models is the iPod Shuffle, which was introduced in 2005.

64. Open-ended reference : WIKI
A wiki is a website in which users are allowed to create and edit content themselves. The term “wiki” comes from the name of the first such site, introduced in 1994 and called WikiWikiWeb. “Wiki” is a Hawaiian word for “quick”, and is used because comprehensive content is created very quickly a there are so many collaborators contributing to the site.

65. They’re elementary : ABC’S
I’m not a big fan of using apostrophes in the plurals of acronyms, and I try to hang on to my apostrophes to indicate the possessive. However, I just read that it is acceptable to use apostrophes in the plurals of some acronyms.

Down
1. Comfy slip-on : MOC
“Moc” is short for “moccasin” shoe.

The moccasin is a traditional form of footwear worn by members of many Native American tribes.

2. Kuwait V.I.P. : IMAM
An imam is a Muslim leader, often the person in charge of a mosque or perhaps a Muslim community.

The State of Kuwait sits at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, famously sharing a border to the north with Iraq. After WWI, Kuwait was a Protectorate within the British Empire and then gained independence from the UK in 1961. Iraq annexed Kuwait in 1990, which led to the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

3. Chain for car mechanics : NAPA
The National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA) is a retailers’ cooperative that supplies replacement parts for cars and trucks.

4. Dummy of old radio : SNERD
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen’s most famous character was Charlie McCarthy, but Bergen also worked with Mortimer Snerd.

5. Elton John duettist on the #1 “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” : KIKI DEE
Kiki Dee is an English singer, best known for her hit duet with Elton John from 1976 called “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”. Kiki Dee had the honor of being the first Caucasian singer to be signed by Motown.

8. Mitt Romney, e.g. : MORMON
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often abbreviated to “LDS”, is known colloquially as the Mormon Church.

Mitt Romney was born Willard Mitt Romney in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Romney’s parents named him after J. Willard Marriott (the hotel magnate) who was the father’s best friend, and after Milton “Mitt” Romney who was the father’s cousin and quarterback for the Chicago Bears.

9. Like some Scotch : BLENDED
And it wouldn’t be Scotch “whiskey”, but rather Scotch “whisky”.

11. Mythical ship : ARGO
Jason is a hero from Greek mythology, most noted for leading the quest for the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram. For his quest, Jason assembles a group of heroes who were given the name Argonauts, as they journeyed on the ship called the “Argo”. The vessel was called the “Argo” in honor of the ship’s builder, a man named Argus.

12. Goodbye, in old Rome : VALE
A valediction is an act of taking one’s leave, from the Latin “vale dicere”, to say farewell. An example of a valediction would be the words “yours truly” at the end of a letter. And of course, the valedictorian (here in the US anyway) is the student in a graduating class that is chosen to say the final words at the graduation ceremony, a farewell to the classmates.

21. Shade tree with deep-red winter buds : LINDEN
Linden trees are also called lime trees and basswood trees.

24. Something for trill-seekers? : ARIA
In music a “trill” is the rapid alternation of two tones that are very close to each other to make a vibrato sound.

25. Mr. Hamburger? : HERR
“Herr” is German for “Mister”.

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (after Berlin), and the third largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam and Antwerp).

29. Sp. title : SRTA
Señorita (Srta.) is Spanish, and mademoiselle (Mlle.) is French, for “miss”.

32. Used a prie-dieu : KNELT
Prie-dieu literally means “pray (to) God” in French. A prie-dieu is basically a padded kneeler, with an armrest in front and a shelf on which one placed books of prayer.

34. “The Expendables” co-star, 2010 : JET LI
The actor Jet Li’s real name is Li Jian Jie. Jet Li is a martial artist and international film star from Beijing, China. He played a villain in “Lethal Weapon 4”, and had a leading role in the 2000 movie “Romeo Must Die”.

“The Expendables” is an action movie released in 2010 that was co-written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars. The cast of the film includes an impressive array of action actors including Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and even Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite the cast, I found this movie to be pretty boring. That said, a sequel was released and there is another in the works, so what do I know …?

37. Latin abbr. used in math : QED
QED is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. The QED acronym stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

38. Swiss canton : URI
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.

39. Penn, e.g. : IVY
The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) was founded in 1740 by by Benjamin Franklin. Penn was the first school in the country to offer both graduate and undergraduate courses.

47. ___ Lingus : AER
Aer Lingus is my favorite airline! Well, the service isn’t that great, but when I get on board an Aer Lingus plane I feel like I am back in Ireland. Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, with “Aer Lingus” being a phonetic spelling of the Irish “aer-loingeas” meaning “air fleet”. These days Aer Lingus can only lay claim to the title of Ireland’s oldest airline as it is no longer the biggest. That honor goes to the controversial budget airline called Ryanair.

51. Sound units : BELS
In the world of acoustics, one bel is equal to ten decibels.

53. Bloody Mary, e.g. : TUDOR
The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England between the rival Houses of Lancaster and York. Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII and united the two Houses by marrying his cousin, Elizabeth of York. Henry had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, continuing the relatively short-lived Tudor dynasty. He ruled from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry VIII was the last male to lead the the House of Tudor, as his daughter Queen Elizabeth I died without issue.

Mary I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558. Mary was the only surviving child from the marriage of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Unlike her father, Mary adhered to her Roman Catholic faith and was noted for her brutal persecution of Protestants during her reign. She had almost three hundred religious dissenters burned at the stake, resulting in her gaining the nickname “Bloody Mary”. Roman Catholic rule was reversed after she died, when her half-sister Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne.

56. Duchess of ___ (Goya subject) : ALBA
María Cayetana de Silva was the 13th duchess of Alba. She was a favorite subject of the Spanish painter Francisco Goya. The duchess is the subject in the famous portrait known as “The Naked Maja”.

58. “___ a Rebel” : HE’S
Gene Pitney wrote the sixties hit song “He’s a Rebel”, and he intended it to be recorded by the Shirelles. The Shirelles passed on the song, and so producer Phil Spector gave the song to the Crystals. At the time the song’s recording was scheduled, the Crystals were on tour so Spector had Darlene Love perform the song in the studio, backed by the Blossoms. But when the recording was released, the song was credited to the Crystals and they had to add it to their concert repertoire. So, the Crystals had a number one hit that they didn’t even record!

61. Sch. that e-mails application decisions on Pi Day : MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) moved into its magnificent mile-long campus on the Cambridge side of the Charles River in 1906. The campus was built largely with funds donated by George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company.

The first three digits of the constant pi are 3.14, so “Pi Day” is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) every year since 1988 when it was inaugurated at the San Francisco Exploratorium. In countries where the day is usually written before the month, Pi Day is July 22nd, reflecting the more accurate approximation of pi as 22/7. Interestingly, March 14th is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. European capital ENE of Warsaw : MINSK
6. Guy seeking love letters? : SWM
9. Herolike : BRAVE
14. Sultanate inhabitant : OMANI
15. Meditation subject : TAO
16. Hit 2012 animated film, with “The” : LORAX
17. Author of sci-fi’s “War With the Newts” : CAPEK
18. Music sheet abbr. : ARR
19. Great Seal figure : EAGLE
20. 23-Across singer : MARILYN MONROE
23. Classic song from a movie celebrating its 60th anniversary on 7/18/13 : DIAMONDS ARE GIRL’S BEST FRIEND
24. Philip with a Hollywood star : AHN
27. State cooperation : ENTENTE
28. Neutral shade : ASH
31. Was very ripe : REEKED
33. Appeal to earnestly : ADJURE
35. Home to Asia’s highest volcano : IRAN
36. Gear up? : EQUIP
40. Sermon follower : -ETTE
41. Man’s name that sounds like two letters of the alphabet : ARTE
42. It may be in a bundle : NERVE
43. Pod : whale :: knot : ___ : TOAD
44. ___ Rida (“Right Round” rapper) : FLO
46. Inits. for Lowe’s or Home Depot shoppers : DIY
47. N. Afr. nation : ALG
48. Decorate flashily, informally : TART UP
51. Capital on the Mediterranean : BEIRUT
54. ___ the day : RUE
55. Lay on thick : SLATHER
59. Satyajit Ray’s “The ___ Trilogy” : APU
60. Levine of “The Voice” : ADAM
62. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL
63. Item clipped on a waistband, perhaps : IPOD
64. Open-ended reference : WIKI
65. They’re elementary : ABC’S
66. “This is horrible news!” : OH NO!
67. Like some causes : LOST
68. Total jerk : ASS
69. ___ group : USER

Down
1. Comfy slip-on : MOC
2. Kuwait V.I.P. : IMAM
3. Chain for car mechanics : NAPA
4. Dummy of old radio : SNERD
5. Elton John duettist on the #1 “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” : KIKI DEE
6. Visit overnight : STAY AT
7. Advance notice request : WARN ME
8. Mitt Romney, e.g. : MORMON
9. Like some Scotch : BLENDED
10. Engine sounds : ROARS
11. Mythical ship : ARGO
12. Goodbye, in old Rome : VALE
13. Program file suffix : EXE
21. Shade tree with deep-red winter buds : LINDEN
22. Like some books nowadays : ON TAPE
24. Something for trill-seekers? : ARIA
25. Mr. Hamburger? : HERR
26. Obsessive organizers : NEAT FREAKS
28. Features of some prized memorabilia : AUTOGRAPHS
29. Sp. title : SRTA
30. Mind : HEED
32. Used a prie-dieu : KNELT
34. “The Expendables” co-star, 2010 : JET LI
37. Latin abbr. used in math : QED
38. Swiss canton : URI
39. Penn, e.g. : IVY
45. Suffix with peril : -OUS
47. ___ Lingus : AER
48. Word with line or net : TRAWL
49. Voices, perhaps : AUDIO
50. Court claim : PLEA
51. Sound units : BELS
52. Marginally ahead : UP ONE
53. Bloody Mary, e.g. : TUDOR
56. Duchess of ___ (Goya subject) : ALBA
57. Odd behaviors : TICS
58. “___ a Rebel” : HE’S
61. Sch. that e-mails application decisions on Pi Day : MIT
63. Indicator of shortness, for short : IOU

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