0819-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 19 Aug 13, Monday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
11. Piece of gig gear : AMP
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

14. Eve’s mate : ADAM
According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve lived in a garden “in” Eden, with Eden being geographically located by reference to four rivers including the Tigris and the Euphrates. Some scholars hypothesize that Eden was located in Mesopotamia, which encompasses much of modern-day Iraq.

18. Tiny bagel flavorers : POPPY SEEDS
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.

24. Two in craps : SNAKE EYES
Snake eyes is the slang term for a roll of two dice in which one pip turns up on each die.

If one considers earlier versions of craps, then the game has been around for a very long time and probably dates back to the Crusades. Craps may be derived from an old English game called “hazard”, also played with two dice and which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the 1300s. The American version of the game came here courtesy of the French and first set root in New Orleans where it was given the name “crapaud”, a French word meaning “toad”.

27. Christmas tree : FIR
The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

30. Spanish bears : OSOS
In Spanish, “osa” is a female bear, and “oso” is a male.

40. Keynote address presenter : ORATOR
The “keynote” is the lowest note in a musical scale, as one might imagine. The term started to be used to mean a leading idea in the late 1700s, and the expression “keynote address” dates back to 1905.

46. Happy ___ clam : AS A
Our phrase “happy as a clam” dates back to the mid-1600s. Back then it was a more lengthy expression: “happy as a clam in the mud at high tide”. The idea was that a clam would be happy in its muddy home at high tide, because no one from land could get to it and eat it.

49. Org. on a toothpaste box : ADA
The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. Today the ADA is based in Chicago, but the association was founded in Niagara Falls, New York in 1859. The ADA started out as a group of 26 dentists and now has more than 152,000 members.

50. 12-inch sandwiches : HEROS
“Hero” is another name for a submarine sandwich. The hero originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

56. Music devices with earbuds : IPODS
I just read an article on hearing loss that cites a study published in the “Journal of Pediatrics”. According to the study, 12½% of kids between 6 and 19 suffer from a loss of hearing that is directly attributable to the use of earphones set at a dangerously high volume. Personally, I love listening to all sorts of programming using earbuds. I am careful to use “in-ear” types of earphones that are designed to block out external noise so that I can listen to programming at the lowest possible volume, and don’t have to drown out external sounds. My doctor gives me a pat on the back for doing so, and has asked me to spread the word!

57. Obsolescent Kodak product : CAMERA FILM
George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company, named after the Kodak camera that he had invented four years earlier. He came up with the name of Kodak after careful consideration. Firstly he was a big fan of the letter “K”, calling it “strong, incisive”. He also wanted a word that was short, easy to pronounce and difficult to mispronounce, and a word that was clearly unique with no prior associations. “Kodak” fit the bill.

65. 12 oz. and others : WTS
Weights (wts.)

67. Some Dadaist pieces : ARPS
Hans Arp was a French artist renowned for his work with torn and pasted paper, although that wasn’t the only medium he used. Arp was the son of a French mother and German father and spoke both languages fluently. When he was speaking German he gave his name as Hans Arp, but when speaking French he called himself Jean Arp. Both “Hans” and “Jean” translate into English as “John”. In WWI Arp moved to Switzerland to avoid being called up to fight, taking advantage of Swiss neutrality. Eventually he was told to report to the German Consulate and fill out paperwork for the draft. In order to get out of fighting, Arp messed up the paperwork by writing the date in every blank space on the forms. Then he took off all of his clothes and walked with his papers over to the officials in charge. He was sent home …

Dadaism thrived during and just after WWI, and was an anti-war, anti-bourgeois and anti-art culture. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland started by a group of artists and writers who met to discuss art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire, frequently expressing disgust at the war that was raging across Europe.

Down
1. Eight-time N.B.A. All-Star ___ Ming : YAO
Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player from Shanghai who played for the Houston Rockets. At 7’6″, Yao was the tallest man playing in the NBA.

2. Upbraid : ADMONISH
“To upbraid” is “to reproach, find fault with”, and is of Swedish origin.

3. Old TV’s Captain ___ : KANGAROO
“Captain Kangaroo” is a TV series for children that CBS aired for a long, long time. The show was first broadcast in 1955, and the last show was aired nearly 30 years later in 1984. The title character was played by Bob Keeshan. Apparently Keeshan had to wear heavy makeup in the early years to make him old enough for his role. The show ran so long that Keeshan had to use makeup to look younger in the latter years.

4. Smile that’s not a warm smile : SMIRK
The Old English word “smearcian” means “to smile”, and gave us our verb “to smirk”, meaning “to smile in a self-satisfied manner”.

6. “Don’t Bring Me Down” grp. : ELO
ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. ELO’s manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

7. Fruit to bob for : APPLE
Bobbing for apples is a game played on Halloween. Participants must hold their hands behind their backs and grab apples floating in a large basin of water, using only their mouths.

8. Plumbing, largely : PIPES
“Plumbum” is the Latin for lead, explaining why the symbol of the element in the Periodic Table is “Pb”. It also explains why the original lead weight on the end of a line used to check vertical was called a “plumb line”. And, as pipes were originally made of lead, it also explains why we would call in a “plumber” if one of them was leaking.

9. “Orinoco Flow” singer : ENYA
Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career. She sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

10. Hi-___ image : RES
In the digital world, resolution of a display, television, image etc. is defined by the number of pixels that can be displayed in a standard area (say a square inch). The emphasis today is on producing larger area displays/televisions, i.e increasing the number of pixels simply by increasing the size of the screen. In the past couple of decades the emphasis was on adding more pixels within the same screen size to increase resolution. This would just be wasted effort these days as further increases in resolution cannot be perceived by the eye. Now that TVs are capable of displaying such high resolutions, broadcasters are responding by producing a video signal of higher resolution that they call high-definition television, HDTV.

12. Gorgon with venomous locks : MEDUSA
In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the monstrous female creatures known as Gorgons. Anyone who gazed directly at her would turn into stone. She was eventually killed by the hero Perseus, who beheaded her. He carried her head and used its powers as a weapon, before giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield.

19. Demanding immediate attention : EXIGENT
Something exigent is urgent, coming from the Latin “exigentia” meaning “urgency”.

21. Help-wanted letters : EEO
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Commission was set up by the Civil Rights Act.

24. Calif. air hub : SFO
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the maintenance hub for United Airlines, and is the principal base for Virgin America.

31. Shaved ice treat : SNO-CONE
A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

33. W.W. II command area: Abbr. : ETO
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) was in command of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during WWII. If you’re a WWII buff like me, then I recommend you take a look at a great, made-for-TV movie starring Tom Selleck as Eisenhower called “Ike: Countdown to D-Day” that came out in 2004.

36. Magnetite and others : ORES
Iron ore comes in a number of different forms, like magnetite (the most magnetic of all minerals) and hematite (the most commonly exploited iron ore).

43. Moon jumper, in “Hey Diddle Diddle” : THE COW
The nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle” has been around at least since the mid-1700s.

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

44. Take back, as testimony : RECANT
Our term “to recant”, meaning “to retract, take back” comes directly from the Latin “recantare”, which has the same meaning. In turn, “recantare” derives from “re-” (back) and “cantare” (to chant).

45. Scents : AROMAS
Our word “aroma” is a Greek word that comes into English via Latin. A purist might want to use “aromata” as the plural of “aroma”.

48. Purchase from the iTunes Store : APP
iTunes is a very, very successful software application from Apple. It’s basically a media player that works on platforms like the iPad, iPhone and iPod. Of course it connects seamlessly to the iTunes Store, where you can spend all kinds of money.

53. Important blood line : AORTA
The blood vessel called the aorta originates in the heart and extends down into the abdomen. The aorta is the largest artery in the body.

59. W.W. II vessel : LST
LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank. LSTs were the large vessels used mainly in WWII that had doors at either ends through which tanks and other vehicles could roll off and onto beaches. The design concept persists to this day in the huge fleet of commercial roll-on/roll-off car ferries, all inspired by the LST.

61. Sgts.’ superiors : LTS
Lieutenants (lts.) can be the superiors of sergeants (sgts.).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Gabs, gabs, gabs : YAKS
5. One jumping to conclusions, say : LEAPER
11. Piece of gig gear : AMP
14. Eve’s mate : ADAM
15. Like Swiss mountains : ALPINE
16. “___ whillikers!” : GEE
17. Prefix with potent : OMNI-
18. Tiny bagel flavorers : POPPY SEEDS
20. Fairy tale bullies : OGRES
22. Pasture : LEA
23. Delete with a cross : X OUT
24. Two in craps : SNAKE EYES
26. Cycle after wash : RINSE
27. Christmas tree : FIR
28. Laudatory poem : ODE
29. Makeshift bookmark : DOG-EAR
30. Spanish bears : OSOS
32. Put bubbles in : AERATE
35. Ones getting all A’s : HONOR STUDENTS
40. Keynote address presenter : ORATOR
41. Adjust, as sails : TRIM
43. Like stencils and missing persons : TRACED
46. Happy ___ clam : AS A
49. Org. on a toothpaste box : ADA
50. 12-inch sandwiches : HEROS
51. Room decoration with a pattern : WALLPAPER
54. Subj. concerned with booms, crashes and panics : ECON
55. Sack : BAG
56. Music devices with earbuds : IPODS
57. Obsolescent Kodak product : CAMERA FILM
60. See 62-Across : ROLL
62. With 60-Across, doing great … or where to find 18-, 24-, 35-, 51- and 57-Across? : ON A
63. Ultimatum words : OR ELSE
64. “There’s nothing ___!” : TO IT
65. 12 oz. and others : WTS
66. Special Forces caps : BERETS
67. Some Dadaist pieces : ARPS

Down
1. Eight-time N.B.A. All-Star ___ Ming : YAO
2. Upbraid : ADMONISH
3. Old TV’s Captain ___ : KANGAROO
4. Smile that’s not a warm smile : SMIRK
5. Fell off the wagon, say : LAPSED
6. “Don’t Bring Me Down” grp. : ELO
7. Fruit to bob for : APPLE
8. Plumbing, largely : PIPES
9. “Orinoco Flow” singer : ENYA
10. Hi-___ image : RES
11. Early toddlerhood : AGE ONE
12. Gorgon with venomous locks : MEDUSA
13. Keep bothering : PESTER
19. Demanding immediate attention : EXIGENT
21. Help-wanted letters : EEO
24. Calif. air hub : SFO
25. It makes bread rise : YEAST
26. Learning by recitation : ROTE
29. Mom’s mate : DAD
31. Shaved ice treat : SNO-CONE
33. W.W. II command area: Abbr. : ETO
34. Opposite of urban : RURAL
36. Magnetite and others : ORES
37. “Totally awesome!” : RAD!
38. Hidden exit : TRAPDOOR
39. Lose forward traction : SIDESLIP
42. Spoil : MAR
43. Moon jumper, in “Hey Diddle Diddle” : THE COW
44. Take back, as testimony : RECANT
45. Scents : AROMAS
47. Smears with gunk : SLIMES
48. Purchase from the iTunes Store : APP
51. Cracker : WAFER
52. Nimble : AGILE
53. Important blood line : AORTA
55. Unadorned : BARE
58. ___ blind : ROB
59. W.W. II vessel : LST
61. Sgts.’ superiors : LTS

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