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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: Dana Motley
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 24m 23s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 3 … IRIS (iron!!), OGIVE (ogove), PROSES (prones)
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
6. Amscray : FLEE
Pig Latin is in effect a game. One takes the first consonant of an English word and moves it to the end of the word, and then adds the letters “ay”. So the Pig Latin for the word “nix” is “ix-n-ay” … ixnay, and for “scram” is “am-scr-ay”
14. ___ Road (W.W. II supply route) : BURMA
The Burma Road is 717 mile long route that links Burma/Myanmar to southwest China. It was built in 1937/38 and played a crucial role during WWII. At the beginning of the conflict it was used by the British to supply China who were fighting the Japanese. The road was controlled by the Japanese after they overran Burma.
19. Unisex name meaning “born again” : RENE
“René” and “Renée” are French for the adjective “reborn”, when applied to masculine and feminine nouns.
23. Form of “sum” : EST
“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”. “Sum” means “I am”, “est” means he, she is” and “erat” means “he, she was”.
24. Sound name : PUGET
Tacoma is a city on Puget Sound in the state of Washington. The city took its name from Mount Rainier that is nearby, as the peak used to be known as Mount Tahoma.
25. Tom who won a Tony for “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL
The actor Tom Ewell is best remembered for playing the male lead in the “The Seven Year Itch”, both on the Broadway stage and in the 1955 Hollywood movie. I also know Ewell as the “bad guy” in one of my favorite movies, 1949’s “Adam’s Rib”.
“The Seven Year Itch” is a 1955 movie by Billy Wilder, based on a stage play of the same name by George Axelrod. “The Seven Year Itch” stars Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Ewell as the guy with “the itch”. Perhaps the most famous scene in the film is the one with Monroe standing over a subway grate allowing the updraft to billow the skirt of her white dress above her knees. The manoeuvre was meant to cool her down, but I think it had the opposite effect on some in the audience! The phrase “seven year itch” had been used by psychologists to describe declining interest in staying monogamous after seven years of marriage.
29. The City of a Hundred Spires : PRAGUE
The beautiful city of Prague is today the capital of the Czech Republic. Prague’s prominence in Europe has come and gone over the centuries. For many years it was the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire. A 19th-century mathematician made a count of the spires within the bounds of the city, leading to Prague getting the nickname “City of a Hundred Spires”. A more recent estimate is that there are actually about 500 spires now
31. Triage determination : NEED
“Triage” is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on a battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “a sorting”.
32. Home of “NerdTV” : PBS
“NerdTV” is a technology television show produced by PBS that airs on the Internet, rather than over the airways. The show features interviews of famous and influential nerds.
35. Line of rulers : DYNASTS
A “dynast” is someone who rules by virtue of heredity.
37. Big game plans? : SAFARIS
“Safari” is a Swahili word, meaning “journey” or “expedition”.
39. Argument-ending letters : 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”.
42. Occasions for bulldogging : RODEOS
“Rodeo” is a Spanish word, which is usually translated as “round up”.
Steer wrestling, also called bulldogging, is an event at a rodeo in which a rider on a horse chases down a steer. The rider jumps down from the horse and wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns. The event isn’t a big hit with animal rights groups.
43. Hot-and-cold menu item : PIE A LA MODE
In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has come to describe a way of serving pie, usually with ice cream, or as I recall from when I lived in Upstate New York, with cheese.
45. Mathematician Cantor who founded set theory : GEORG
Georg Cantor was the mathematician who invented set theory in the 1870s, along with Richard Dedekind.
54. Kraft Nabisco Championship org. : LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women’s sports professional organization in the US.
Dinah Shore had a lot of success as a singer in the forties and fifties in the Big Band Era, and then in the sixties as a hostess of variety programs on television. Shore was also a big fan of golf, both as a player and a spectator. She founded the Colgate Dinah Shore golf tournament which is now the Kraft Nabisco Championship, one of the four majors on the LPGA Tour.
56. Classic Hitchcock set : BATES MOTEL
Bates Motel and house were constructed on the backlot of Universal Studios for the 1960 HItchcock movie “Psycho”. They are still standing, and for me are the highlight of the backlot tour that is available to visitors.
60. Rich of old films : IRENE
The actress Irene Rich worked in movies during the transition from the silent era to talkies. Rich also did a lot of work on radio where she had her own show. “The Irene Rich Show” was a series of mini-dramas in which Rich played opposite her leading man, Gale Gordon, who later played “Mr. Mooney”, Lucille Ball’s boss on “The Lucy Show”.
62. “___ Wedding” (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” episode) : TED’S
Ted Baxter was the pompous and shallow TV newsman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, played by the actor Ted Knight. Baxter was always concerned that he was going to lose his job, so in a nice twist in the storyline Baxter was the only character not to be laid off from the newsroom in the final episode of the show.
Down
1. Flat, e.g. : ABODE
“Flat” is a word more commonly used in the British Isles than here. A flat is basically an apartment or condominium. The word “flat” is Scottish in origin, in which language it meant a “floor in a house”.
5. With 4-Down, lost control : RAN
(4D. See 5-Down : AMOK)
The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had good reason for that frenzy …
8. Reagan was seen a lot in them : EIGHTIES
Ronald Reagan started out his political career as a member of the Democratic Party, but switched to the Republicans in the early fifties. He served as Governor of California for eight years, and vied unsuccessfully for the nomination for US President on two occasions. He finally succeeded in 1980 and defeated President Jimmy Carter to become the 40th US President in 1981.
10. Things driven on construction sites : SCREWS
There are lot screws driven into wood and metal on construction sites.
11. Anti-inflammatory product : ALEVE
Aleve is a brand name for the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen sodium.
18. Kind of wheel : ROULETTE
The name “roulette” means “little wheel” in French, and the game as we know it today did in fact originate in Paris, in 1796.
27. One of the Eastern elite : AGA
“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.
29. Straightaway : PDQ
Pretty darn quick (PDQ)
30. Manhattan choice : RYE
The cocktail called a Manhattan is made from whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. I make a version of a what’s called a Brandy Manhattan, using brandy, sweet vermouth and orange bitters.
34. Nemesis of some dodgers: Abbr. : SSS
The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).
43. Talks tediously : PROSES
“To prose” is to speak or write in dull style.
45. American company whose mascot has a Cockney accent : GEICO
GEICO was founded in 1936 with a very specific mission, to provide auto insurance for employees of the federal government and their families, hence the name Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO). GEICO is a private company, despite the word “government” in its name. The founders’ idea was to focus on government employees as they believed such a group represented a lower risk profile than the rest of the population. Nowadays any qualifying person can take out a policy with GEICO.
46. Diamond flaw : ERROR
A baseball player might make an error on the baseball diamond.
47. Diagonal rib of a vault : OGIVE
An ogive is rounded, tapered end of an object. A classic ogive is the tip of a bullet or a rocket. The ogival or pointed arch is a defining feature in Gothic architecture.
51. Early: Prefix : PALEO-
The prefix “paleo-” means “prehistoric, primitive”. It comes from the Greek word “palaios” which means “old, ancient”.
53. Exit lines? : OBIT
“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.
54. Ethnologist’s interest : LORE
An ethnologist is a scientist who compares and studies human cultures.
57. 254,000 angstroms : MIL
The angstrom is a very small unit of length, equal to one ten-billionth of a meter. As such a small unit, the angstrom is used to measure the size of atoms and molecules. The unit is named for the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Fighting : AT WAR
6. Amscray : FLEE
10. They get taken easily : SAPS
14. ___ Road (W.W. II supply route) : BURMA
15. Hospital bed feature : RAIL
16. Nail : CLAW
17. Circular side? : ONION RINGS
19. Unisex name meaning “born again” : RENE
20. Many a security point : DESK
21. Straight : ON THE LEVEL
23. Form of “sum” : EST
24. Sound name : PUGET
25. Tom who won a Tony for “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL
26. Ones keeping on their toes? : BALLERINAS
29. The City of a Hundred Spires : PRAGUE
31. Triage determination : NEED
32. Home of “NerdTV” : PBS
35. Line of rulers : DYNASTS
37. Big game plans? : SAFARIS
39. Argument-ending letters : QED
40. Short distance : STEP
42. Occasions for bulldogging : RODEOS
43. Hot-and-cold menu item : PIE A LA MODE
45. Mathematician Cantor who founded set theory : GEORG
48. Going without saying? : TACIT
49. Aid in getting back on track : MAP
52. Means of reducing worker fatigue : ERGONOMICS
54. Kraft Nabisco Championship org. : LPGA
55. Color also known as endive blue : IRIS
56. Classic Hitchcock set : BATES MOTEL
58. Quiet place to fish : COVE
59. Suffixes of 61-Across : -ITES
60. Rich of old films : IRENE
61. Contents of some ledges : ORES
62. “___ Wedding” (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” episode) : TED’S
63. Occasioned : LED TO
Down
1. Flat, e.g. : ABODE
2. Fixes flats? : TUNES
3. Hospital patient’s wear : WRISTBAND
4. See 5-Down : AMOK
5. With 4-Down, lost control : RAN
6. Feature of some western wear : FRINGE
7. Pathfinder? : LANTERN
8. Reagan was seen a lot in them : EIGHTIES
9. Word after who, what or where, but rarely when : ELSE
10. Things driven on construction sites : SCREWS
11. Anti-inflammatory product : ALEVE
12. Authorities might sit on one : PANEL
13. Wonderful : SWELL
18. Kind of wheel : ROULETTE
22. One putting the pedal to the metal : LEADFOOT
24. Summer symbol? : PLUS SIGN
27. One of the Eastern elite : AGA
28. Aviation safety statistic : NEAR MISS
29. Straightaway : PDQ
30. Manhattan choice : RYE
32. Broken into on TV? : PREEMPTED
33. Kind of lab : BIO
34. Nemesis of some dodgers: Abbr. : SSS
36. Fellow chairperson? : SEATMATE
38. Use a 24-Down : ADD
41. Like pigtails : PLAITED
43. Talks tediously : PROSES
44. Hacker’s achievement : ACCESS
45. American company whose mascot has a Cockney accent : GEICO
46. Diamond flaw : ERROR
47. Diagonal rib of a vault : OGIVE
50. One getting cuts : AGENT
51. Early: Prefix : PALEO-
53. Exit lines? : OBIT
54. Ethnologist’s interest : LORE
57. 254,000 angstroms : MIL
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This puzzle was full of really evil traps, as evidenced by the high number of mistakes one can easily generate. I had eight clues wrong…
Yes, I ran into trouble in the southwest of the grid with some errors that I couldn't spot. Fridays can be tough (but entertaining too!).