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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: Ed Sessa
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: Did not finish!
ANSWERS I MISSED: Too, too many …
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Baker’s predecessor : ABLE
There are several phonetic alphabets, including what is called the RAF (Royal Air Force) phonetic alphabet that goes back to before 1956. The RAF phonetic alphabet starts off Able, Baker, Charlie (A, B, C).
5. “The Daily Rundown” carrier : MSNBC
“The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” is a political talk show on MSNBC that is aired every weekday morning.
10. Steinbeck siren : ABRA
Abra Bacon is a character in John Steinbeck’s novel, “East of Eden”.
John Steinbeck considered “East of Eden” his magnus opus. Most of the storyline takes place near Salinas, just south of where I live here in the Bay Area. Two of the characters in the story are brothers Cal and Aron, representative of the biblical Cain and Abel.
14. Vindaloo accompaniment : NAAN
“Vindaloo” is a very spicy Indian dish, and one of my favorites.
In an Indian restaurant, naan bread is very popular. Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.
17. Brother’s keeper? : TYPEWRITER STAND
Brother is a Japanese company that is perhaps best known in North America for producing typewriters and printers. Brother started out as a manufacturer of sewing machines in in Nagoya, Japan in 1908.
22. What one should take in: Abbr. : RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII and were replaced by Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs) in 1997.
25. Muhammad, e.g. : MECCAN
Mecca is in the Makkah province of Saudi Arabia and is the holiest city in Islam. Every year several million Muslims perform the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
28. Packer in a bookstore : ANN
Ann Packer is a novelist from Stanford. California who is probably best known for her first book called “The Dive from Clausen’s Pier”.
31. Young turkey : POULT
A poult is a young fowl, like a turkey, chicken or pheasant.
42. County whose seat is La Junta : OTERO
La Junta is a municipality that is the county seat of Otero County, Colorado. Ken Kesey, the author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was born in La Junta.
43. Means of changing one’s mind : LSD
LSD (colloquially known as “acid”) is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn’t until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man …
45. Quaint letter-opening abbr. : MESSRS
The abbreviation “Messrs.” is used at the head of a list of male names, in place of “Misters”. It is an abbreviation of the French “messieurs”, the plural of “monsieur”.
48. 13th Spanish letter : EME
“Eme” is the Spanish for the letter M.
53. Big inits. in power : TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has to be one of America’s great success stories when it comes to economic development. Created in 1933, the TVA spearheaded economic development in the Tennessee Valley at the height of the Great Depression. Central to the success was the federally-funded construction of flood-control and electricity-generation facilities.
59. Strauss’s “Tausend und ___ Nacht” : EINE
“Tausend und eine nacht” translates from German as “Thousand and One Nights”. “Tausend und eine nacht” is the title of waltz composed by Johann Strauss II in 1871.
61. Many a Madrileño : SENOR
A Madrileño (female form: Madrileña) is someone from the city of Madrid, the capital of Spain (España).
Down
2. Napa Valley setting : BAY AREA
Apparently the name “Napa” comes from the Native American Patwin word “napo” meaning “house”.
4. One way to fly: Abbr. : ENE
East-northeast (ENE)
5. “Carota” and “Blue II,” for two : MIROS
Joan Miro was a Spanish artist. Miro immersed himself in Surrealism, so much so that Andre Breton, the founder of the movement, said that Miro was “the most Surrealist of us all”. Miro painted “The Tilled Field” in 1923-24, a work that is regarded as Miro’s first Surrealist masterpiece.
10. Peck, e.g.: Abbr. : AMT
A peck is a unit of dry volume, equivalent to two gallons. Four pecks then make up a bushel.
12. Tony with an Emmy : RANDALL
The actor Tony Randall was from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although Randal had a long and distinguished Hollywood career, he was best known for playing Felix Unger on the TV version of “The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon. Randall was married to his first wife for fifty years, before she passed away in 1993. A few years later, the 75-year old veteran actor married his second wife, who was 50 years his junior. The happy couple had two children together.
13. Like many sonatas’ second movements : ANDANTE
Andante is a tempo marking in a musical score and means “at a walking pace”.
28. “___ wind that bloweth …” : AN ILL
We’ve all probably heard the phrase “‘tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good”. The poet Ogden Nash made a “punny” statement about the oboe, calling the instrument “an ill wind nobody blows good”. I must say though, I disagree …
30. Legendary spring figure : NAIAD
The Naiads of Greek mythology were water nymphs, associated with fountains, wells, springs and streams. The saltwater equivalents to the freshwater Naiads were the Oceanids.
33. Pier grp. : ILA
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).
34. Bras ___ Lake (Canadian inland sea) : D’OR
Bra d’Or Lake is an inland sea in Nova Scotia, in the center of Cape Breton Island.
37. Agenda opener : ITEM ONE
“Agenda”is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.
39. What gobs take in : SALT AIR
“Gob” is a slang term for a sailor.
40. The Merry Mex of golf : TREVINO
Lee Trevino is an American golfer, of Mexican descent, and so has the nicknames “The Merry Mex” and “Supermex”. He is well known for his great sense of humor and for playing pranks on the golf course. For many years when he played he wore a Band-Aid on his arm, covering the tattoo with the name of his ex-wife.
47. Bill with barbs : MAHER
Bill Maher is a stand-up comedian and political commentator. Maher has an HBO television show called “Real Time with Bill Maher” which is essentially a follow-on from the very successful “Politically Incorrect” that started out on Comedy Central.
50. Fruit giant : DOLE
James Dole lent his name to today’s Dole Food Company. James Dole was known as the Pineapple King, as he developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii and founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, the forerunner to the Dole Food Company. Dole might have had some help on the way, as he was cousin to Sanford B, Dole, President of the Republic of Hawaii from 1894 to 1900.
51. Home of the daily Hamshahri : IRAN
“Hamshahri” is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran.
52. Raiders Hall-of-Famer Jim : OTTO
Jim Otto played professional football for the Oakland Raiders.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Baker’s predecessor : ABLE
5. “The Daily Rundown” carrier : MSNBC
10. Steinbeck siren : ABRA
14. Vindaloo accompaniment : NAAN
15. Admission about a story : I LIED
16. Skillful, slangily : MEAN
17. Brother’s keeper? : TYPEWRITER STAND
20. In thing : FAD
21. In place : HOTSPOT
22. What one should take in: Abbr. : RDA
23. Engagement rings? : ARENAS
25. Muhammad, e.g. : MECCAN
27. Ready for another round : RESET
28. Packer in a bookstore : ANN
31. Young turkey : POULT
32. Strong order? : MAKE MINE A DOUBLE
35. Compliment to the chef : DELICIOUS
36. Drawers hitting the pavement? : SIDEWALK ARTISTS
42. County whose seat is La Junta : OTERO
43. Means of changing one’s mind : LSD
44. One way to catch the game : SNARE
45. Quaint letter-opening abbr. : MESSRS
47. Took the wrong way : MISLED
48. 13th Spanish letter : EME
49. Ear plug? : RADIO AD
53. Big inits. in power : TVA
54. Remark after holding someone up : SORRY FOR THE WAIT
57. War head? : ANTI-
58. Thrill : ELATE
59. Strauss’s “Tausend und ___ Nacht” : EINE
60. Backwoods agreement : YES’M
61. Many a Madrileño : SENOR
62. Walked all over : TROD
Down
1. Where to observe some workers : ANT FARM
2. Napa Valley setting : BAY AREA
3. Clipboard’s relative : LAP DESK
4. One way to fly: Abbr. : ENE
5. “Carota” and “Blue II,” for two : MIROS
6. Start of many an operation : SLIT
7. Trivial objections : NITS
8. Blast from the passed? : BEEP
9. Software box item : CD-ROM
10. Peck, e.g.: Abbr. : AMT
11. Den mother’s charge : BEAR CUB
12. Tony with an Emmy : RANDALL
13. Like many sonatas’ second movements : ANDANTE
18. Mad person’s question : WHAT, ME WORRY?
19. Leave to scrap, maybe : STEP OUTSIDE
24. Indigent individuals : NEEDERS
26. Numbered relations : COUSINS
28. “___ wind that bloweth …” : AN ILL
29. Bass parts : NECKS
30. Legendary spring figure : NAIAD
33. Pier grp. : ILA
34. Bras ___ Lake (Canadian inland sea) : D’OR
36. Rumor opener : SOME SAY
37. Agenda opener : ITEM ONE
38. They’re thirsty much of the time : DESERTS
39. What gobs take in : SALT AIR
40. The Merry Mex of golf : TREVINO
41. Feeling no pain : SEDATED
46. Jewel cases? : SAFES
47. Bill with barbs : MAHER
50. Fruit giant : DOLE
51. Home of the daily Hamshahri : IRAN
52. Raiders Hall-of-Famer Jim : OTTO
55. Coin feature : RIM
56. Unlike 38-Down : WET
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Another good example of a puzzle made impossible by purposely vague and misleading clues. A travesty. I really think Shortz is losing the plot.
Well, I can see how this puzzle could be frustrating – it did seem to be on the extreme end of using vague and obscure clues. Of course, that is the style of the Friday/Saturday puzzles. I look forward to the challenge but I did not finish one part of this one. WEB himself admitted to failure, too!! Maybe Shortz went a little too tough on the clues this week. Different strokes ….
Hi there, Ben (and "anonymous")
Yes, a puzzle that's not finished probably has to be described as frustrating to some extent. That said, this was probably my favorite crossword of the week even though I failed to complete it. I wish I'd had time to come back to it. Personally, I love the challenge of Friday and Saturday puzzles.
In the end, the answers were all "get-able".
Sometimes there are some crazy little known words, like "ogive" on Fridays puzzle, but my problem here, as with many weekend puzzles, was there was no easy fill to build upon.
Alone my wife and I floundered. Together we did it, albeit in 2+hours.
I guess the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!
Hi there, docrankin
Well, my hat's off to you and your wife for finishing. My only excuse is that I had to throw in the towel after 60 minutes as I have to publish the blog every evening before heading to bed! Would I have come up with the missing answers given time? Who knows!
Please pass on my congrats to your wife.