0731-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 31 Jul 13, Wednesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications

CROSSWORD SETTER: H. David Goering
THEME: Keyboard Superlatives … today’s themed answers examples of names that can be typed with only letters on one side of a QWERTY keyboard. The first is the longest US place name (city, state) that is typed with only letters on the left of the keyboard, and the second is the longest US place name using only letters on the right:

20A. Southern town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the left] : SWEETWATER, TEXAS
34A. Midwest town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the right] : UNION, OHIO

52A. See 20- and 34-Across : ONE-HANDED TYPING

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 8m 35s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

14. Periodic table fig. : AT NO
The atomic number of an element is also called the proton number, and is the number of protons found in the nucleus of each atom of the element.

17. Roe source : SHAD
The shad is also known as the river herring. The eggs (roe) of the female shad are prized as a delicacy in the Eastern US.

18. Delhi language : HINDI
New Delhi is the capital city of India. New Delhi resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

19. Madeline who played Lili Von Shtupp : KAHN
In the 1974 Mel Brooks Western satire “Blazing Saddles”, Madeline Kahn played a German seductress-for-hire called Lili von Shtupp.

Madeline Kahn was an American actress best known for her comedic roles, especially those directed by Mel Brooks.

20. Southern town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the left] : SWEETWATER, TEXAS
Sweetwater, Texas was always a railroad town, from a couple of years after it was founded in 1879 until rail passenger service was discontinued in 1969. And so very importantly, Sweetwater, Texas is the city in the US with the longest name, including state, that can be typed using only letters on one side of a QWERTY keyboard.

25. Muhammad’s resting place : MEDINA
Medina is a city in western Saudi Arabia. Medina is the second holiest city in the Islamic tradition after Mecca, as it is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad.

31. Like yesterday’s bagels : STALE
The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City.

34. Midwest town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the right] : UNION, OHIO
Union, Ohio is a city located just outside Dayton. “Union, Ohio” is the longest city name in the US that can be typed out using only letters on the left side of a QWERTY keyboard.

37. Disney World conveyance : TRAM
The Magic Kingdom in Disney World, Florida receives more visitors annually than any other theme park in the whole world. The Magic Kingdom alone received about 17½ million visitors in 2012, and that’s not including the visitors to Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

45. “Death Becomes ___” : HER
“Death Becomes Her” is a dark comedy released in 1992 that stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. It’s all about two women downing a magic potion in a quest for eternal youth.

47. Female TV dog whose portrayers were all male : LASSIE
We owe the character Lassie to one Eric Knight who wrote a short story that he expanded into a novel called “Lassie Come Home”, published in 1940. “Lassie Come Home” was turned into a movie three years later, the first of a very successful franchise. The original Lassie (a female) was played by a dog called Pal, a male dog. In fact, all of the dogs that played Lassie over the years were males, because they looked better on camera, retaining a thick coat even during the summer months.

48. Where Yeltsin ruled : RUSSIA
Boris Yeltsin was elected as the first President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1991, at a time when Mikhail Gorbachev was President of the Soviet Union. When Gorbachev resigned, and the Soviet Union collapsed, Yeltsin emerged with his position intact. Yeltsin was re-elected in 1996, but his popularity declined in the late 1990s as the populace became discouraged with the country’s economic troubles and with political corruption.

56. Alaska ZIP code starter : NINE
ZIP codes were introduced in 1963. The acronym ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan, a name indicating that mail travels more efficiently when the codes are included in the postal address.

62. “___-starter” (résumé cliché) : SELF
A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

63. Some score marks : RESTS
Rests are marks on a musical score.

64. Derry derrière : ARSE
Well, the word “arse” would never make it into a crossword in the British Isles as it would be considered too rude. I have a similar reaction to the word “shag” as in “The Spy Who Shagged Me”. The film would never have been released with that name in the UK.

Derry is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, after the capital city of Belfast. “Derry” is the anglicized version of the city’s name in Irish. The city’s legal name is “Londonderry”, a contentious name that was given when the city was granted a royal charter in the 17th century.

Down
1. Mountainous expanses : MASSIFS
“Massif” is a geological term describing a section of the earth’s crust that moves upwards due to the action of tectonic plates. The whole massif retains its structure, with movement taking place at surrounding fault lines. The term “massif” is also used for a group of mountains formed by such geological action. “Massif” is French for “massive”.

2. Crosswise : ATHWART
Something going “athwart” goes transversely, crosswise, In fact, on a small boat, “a thwart” is a seat that stretches from one side to the other.

3. Result of iron deficiency, to a Brit : ANAEMIA
The term “anemia” (or “anaemia” as we write it back in Ireland) comes from a Greek word meaning “lack of blood”. Anemia is a lack of iron in the blood, or a low red blood cell count. Tiredness is a symptom of the condition.

5. Start and end of 3-Down, phonetically : SCHWAS
A “schwa” is an unstressed and toneless vowel found in a number of languages including English. Examples from our language are the “a” in “about”, the “e” in “taken” and the “i” in pencil.

6. Scheming Heep : URIAH
Uriah Heep is a sniveling insincere character in the novel “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. The character is such a “yes man” that today, if we know someone who behaves the same way, then we might call that person a “Uriah Heep”.

12. Biofuel option : ETHANOL
Ethyl alcohol is more usually known as ethanol. Ethanol is the alcohol found in intoxicating beverages, and nowadays is also used as a fuel for cars. It is also found in medical wipes and hand sanitizer, in which it acts as an antiseptic.

21. End of a seat seeker’s query : TAKEN
Is this seat taken?

22. Pro ___ : TEM
“Pro tempore” can be abbreviated to “pro tem” or “p.t.” “Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior.

32. Sleuth played by Lorre : MOTO
The mysterious Mr. Moto is a Japanese secret agent who appears in six novels by American author, John P. Marquand. Mr. Moto was famously played by Peter Lorre in a series of eight films released in the 1930s.

39. Weapons stockpile : ARSENAL
Our word “arsenal” comes from the Italian “arzenale”, a work adapted from the Arabic for “workshop”. There was a large wharf in Venice called the Arzenale that became associated with the storage of weapons and ammunition, and this led to our contemporary usage of “arsenal”.

43. The “pigs” in pigs in blankets : WIENERS
What we call a wiener in this country is known as a Vienna sausage in Germany. It was first produced by a butcher from Frankfurt who was living in Vienna, hence the name “Wiener”, which is German for “of Vienna”. Paradoxically, the same sausage is called a Frankfurter in Vienna, as it was created by someone from Frankfurt. It’s all very confusing …

“Pigs in a blanket” are usually hot dogs that have been wrapped and cooked in some kind of dough. Over in Scotland, the same dish is called a “kilted sausage”.

46. Org. in “Argo” : CIA
“Argo” is a 2012 movie that is based on the true story of the rescue of six diplomats hiding out during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film was directed by and stars Ben Affleck and is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, the same pair who produced the excellent “Good Night, and Good Luck”. I saw “Argo” a while back and recommend it highly, although I found the scenes of religious fervor pretty frightening …

53. Hill’s opposite : DALE
Dales are open valleys, especially in the Lowlands of Scotland and in the North of England. In the same locales, it is common to find dales flanked by “fells”, which are the mountains or hills flanking the valley.

54. Bow-toting god : EROS
Cupid is the god of desire and erotic love in Roman mythology. The Greek counterpart of Cupid is Eros.

55. ___ John’s (Domino’s competitor) : PAPA
Papa John’s is the third largest takeout and delivery pizza chain in the US, with Pizza Hut and Domino’s taking the top spots.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Term of address from a hat-tipper : MA’AM
5. Changes channels rapidly : SURFS
10. Bumps off : ICES
14. Periodic table fig. : AT NO
15. Staircase sound : CREAK
16. Learn by ___ : ROTE
17. Roe source : SHAD
18. Delhi language : HINDI
19. Madeline who played Lili Von Shtupp : KAHN
20. Southern town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the left] : SWEETWATER, TEXAS
23. Words on either side of “what” : I AM
24. Satisfied sigh : AAH!
25. Muhammad’s resting place : MEDINA
26. Pats down : FRISKS
28. Request to a barber : TRIM
30. “___ to mention …” : NOT
31. Like yesterday’s bagels : STALE
32. Stockyard bellows : MOOS
33. Get an eyeful : OGLE
34. Midwest town whose name is the longest example of 52-Across [on the right] : UNION, OHIO
37. Disney World conveyance : TRAM
40. Leaf support : STEM
41. Warming periods : THAWS
45. “Death Becomes ___” : HER
46. Oaf : CLOD
47. Female TV dog whose portrayers were all male : LASSIE
48. Where Yeltsin ruled : RUSSIA
50. Be indisposed : AIL
51. Pod item : PEA
52. See 20- and 34-Across : ONE-HANDED TYPING
56. Alaska ZIP code starter : NINE
57. Courageous one : DARER
58. Department : AREA
59. List-ending abbr. : ET AL
60. Become one on the run : ELOPE
61. Fresh-mouthed : PERT
62. “___-starter” (résumé cliché) : SELF
63. Some score marks : RESTS
64. Derry derrière : ARSE

Down
1. Mountainous expanses : MASSIFS
2. Crosswise : ATHWART
3. Result of iron deficiency, to a Brit : ANAEMIA
4. Manner of doing : MODE
5. Start and end of 3-Down, phonetically : SCHWAS
6. Scheming Heep : URIAH
7. Not buy, say : RENT
8. Lose brilliance : FADE
9. Minor battle : SKIRMISH
10. Ticked off : IRKED
11. Persuading by flattery : COAXING
12. Biofuel option : ETHANOL
13. Able to see, hear, etc. : SENSATE
21. End of a seat seeker’s query : TAKEN
22. Pro ___ : TEM
27. Candidate for urban renewal : SLUM
28. Moderated, with “down” : TONED
29. Leeway : ROOM
32. Sleuth played by Lorre : MOTO
33. Reactions to fireworks : OOHS
35. Hawaiian, e.g. : ISLANDER
36. An original eurozone member : ITALY
37. Bathroom fixtures, slangily : THRONES
38. Get back together : REUNITE
39. Weapons stockpile : ARSENAL
42. Ambitious one : ASPIRER
43. The “pigs” in pigs in blankets : WIENERS
44. Channel to the ocean : SEA GATE
46. Org. in “Argo” : CIA
47. Petrol measures : LITRES
49. Library unit : SHELF
50. Like a whiz : ADEPT
53. Hill’s opposite : DALE
54. Bow-toting god : EROS
55. ___ John’s (Domino’s competitor) : PAPA

Return to top of page

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