0914-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Sep 13, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jeff Chen
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 32m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Fuel for a warp drive engine on “Star Trek” : ANTIMATTER
In the world of particle physics, antimatter is made up of particles that have the same mass as particles of ordinary matter, but with the opposite charge and quantum spin. Mixing matter and antimatter causes the annihilation of both, with a release of energy equal to the mass of the particles according to Einstein’s equation E=mc2.

In the “Star Trek” universe, the warp speed achieved by the warp drive engines is very much like our real-world Mach number. Just as a plane traveling at Mach 1 is moving at the speed of sound, a starship traveling at warp factor 1 is moving at the speed of light. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound, and warp factor 2 is twice the speed of light. Cool, huh …?

18. BMW of North America and others: Abbr. : LLCS
A limited liability company (LLC) is a company structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners.

The acronym BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and then moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

19. Zip around a field? : NIL
The use of the words “zip” and “zippo” to mean “nothing” dates back to the early 1900s when it was student slang for being graded zero on a test.

21. Assistant played by Bruce Lee : KATO
In “The Green Hornet” television series, Kato was famously played by Bruce Lee. The Kato role has been cited as a driving force behind the increase in popularity of martial arts in the US during the sixties.

Bruce Lee was born not far from here in San Francisco although he was raised in Hong Kong, returning to the US to attend college. Sadly, Bruce Lee died when he was only 32 years old, due to cerebral edema (a swelling of the brain) attributed to adverse reactions to the pain killing drug Equagesic.

24. “Celebrity Jeopardy!” show, briefly : SNL
“Celebrity Jeopardy!” was a regular skit on “Saturday Night Live” that aired on the show between 1996 and 2002. Comedian Will Ferrell always played the host Alex Trebek in the sketches, and other cast members played celebrity contestants.

26. Broadview ___, O. : HTS
Broadview Heights is a city in northern Ohio.

29. Become stiff : TIE ONE ON
“To tie one on” is a slang term meaning “to get drunk”, and “stiff” is slang for “drunk”.

37. Punk’s cousin : NEW WAVE
New wave and punk are genres of music.

44. Time of long journées : ETE
In French, the longest days (journées) are in summer (été).

46. Brief albums, in brief : EPS
An extended play record (EP) contains more music than a single, but less than an long play record (LP).

51. With 11-Across, biblical woman who met a bad end : LOT’S
(11A. See 51-Across : WIFE)
According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Lot’s wife looked back as she was fleeing Sodom with her family. The angels who had urged Lot to leave the city had warned him not to look back. The punishment for disobeying the command was that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

58. First spaceman’s first name : YURI
The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space when his spacecraft Vostok I made a single orbit of the Earth in 1961. Sadly, Gagarin died only seven years later in a plane crash.

59. Setting for “The Misfits” : RENO, NEVADA
“The Misfits” is a 1961 drama starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, directed by John Huston. It is noted for being the last screen appearances by both Gable and Monroe. Gable suffered a heart attack two days after the end of filming, and died ten days later. When the movie premiered in New York, Monroe attended, but was on a pass from a psychiatric hospital. She took a drug overdose and died a year and a half later. Montgomery Clift also starred in the movie. Six years later, the film was on television and his housekeeper asked him if wanted to watch it. He replied curtly, “Absolutely not”. They were the last words he spoke, as he was found dead in bed the next morning. A movie with a bit of a curse, one might say …

61. Polo competitor : IZOD
Jack Izod was a tailor of some repute over in England, producing shirts for King George V as well as other members of the Royal Family. As Izod was about to retire, he was approached for the use of his name by an American clothing manufacturer based in New York. The brand Izod of London was introduced to America in 1938.

64. Symbols of sharpness : STEEL TRAPS
Someone with a mind like a steel trap is someone able to think clearly and intelligently.

Down
1. One with promotional potential : PAWN
In the game of chess, the pawns are the weakest pieces on the board. A pawn that can make it to the opposite of the board can be “promoted” to a piece of choice, usually a queen. Using promotion of pawns, it is possible for a player to have two or more queens on the board at one time. However, standard chess sets come with only one queen per side, so a captured rook is often used as the second queen by placing it on the board upside down.

2. “___ Steps” (Christian best seller) : IN HIS
“In His Steps: What Would Jesus do?” is a novel written by Charles Monroe Sheldon and first published in 1897. “In His Steps” is one of the best-selling books in the world and has sold over 30 million copies. Sheldon wrote a sequel a few years later title “Jesus Is Here”.

3. “10” is inscribed on it : Z TILE
The game of Scrabble has been produced in many international versions, and each of these editions has its own tile distribution to suit the local language. For example, in English we have two tiles worth ten points: one “Q” and one “Z”. If you play the game in French then there are five tiles worth ten points: one “K”, one “W”, one “X”, one “Y” and one “Z”.

5. Subject of the 2012 book “Circle of Treason” : AMES
“Circle of Treason” is a book about convicted spy Aldrich Ames, written by two retired CIA officers Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille. The book is a being made into TV series that is scheduled to air in 2014.

Aldrich Ames worked for the CIA until he was convicted in 1994 of spying for the Soviet Union. Prior to identifying Ames as a spy, the CIA was highly concerned at the high rate of disappearance of their own agents behind the Iron Curtain and they struggled for years to find the mole that they assumed must be working within their own ranks. After he was finally arrested, the CIA was criticized for not having identified Ames sooner, particularly as he was living an extravagant lifestyle relative to his apparent means. Ames is serving a life sentence in the US Penitentiary in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

6. Porter created by Burroughs : JANE
Jane Porter is the love interest in the “Tarzan” series of novels penned by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Famously, Jane was played by Maureen O’Sullivan on the big screen, opposite Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. However, in the movies Jane’s family name was changed from Porter to Parker. Also, Porter is an American in the books, and Parker is an Englishwoman in the films.

7. Winnebago relatives : OTOES
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

10. Smartphone preceded by the Pre : TREO
The Treo is a smartphone that was originally developed by a company called Handspring. Handspring was bought by Palm Inc. Subsequently, the Treo was phased out and replaced by the Palm Pre.

14. Standard breakup creation : ESSO
Standard Oil was founded by John D. Rockerfeller in 1870 and became the largest oil refining company in the world. Standard Oil was judged to be an illegal monopoly and was broken up in 1911 into 33 smaller companies. That list of 33 included Standard Oil of New Jersey, branded as Esso (from SO, the initials of Standard Oil).

23. Temptation for Luke Skywalker : THE DARK SIDE
Anakin “Ani” Skywalker is the principal character in all six of the “Star Wars” movies. His progress chronologically through the series of films is:

– Episode I: Anakin is a 9-year-old slave boy who earns the promise of Jedi training by young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
– Episode II: Anakin is 18-years-old and goes on a murdering rampage to avenge the killing of his mother.
– Episode III: Anakin is 21-years-old and a Jedi knight, but he turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. His wife Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
– Episode IV: Anakin, as Darth Vader, comes into conflict with his children, Luke Skywalker and the Princess Leia.
– Episode V: Darth Vader attempts to coax his son Luke over to the dark side, and reveals to Luke that he is his father.
– Episode VI: Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and takes on the task of bringing Darth Vader back from the Dark Side in order to save the Galaxy. Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s evil grip, dying in the process, but his spirit ends up alongside the spirits of Yoda and Obi-Wan. They all live happily ever after …

28. First capital of the Last Frontier : SITKA
The city of Sitka is located on Baranof Island and part of Chichagof Island in the Alaska Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Sitka used to be known as Redoubt Saint Michael and then New Archangel when it was ruled by the Russians. The current city name comes from a local term meaning “People on the Outside of Baranof Island”. Immediately after the purchase of Alaska by the US, Sitka served as the capital of the Alaska Territory until the seat of government was relocated north to Juneau.

“The Last Frontier” is the state nickname of Alaska.

31. Ham’s handoff : OVER
Amateur radio enthusiasts were originally called ham operators by professional telegraph operators, and the term was intended to be insulting. It came from the similar term “ham actor”, describing a person who is less than effective on the stage. But amateur operators eventually embraced the moniker and so it stuck.

32. Name associated with a mobster or a monster : NESS
Eliot Ness was the Treasury agent charged with the task of bringing down the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone. When Ness took on the job in 1930, Chicago law-enforcement agents were renowned for being corrupt, for being on the take. Ness handpicked 50 prohibition agents who he thought he could rely on, later reducing the group to a cadre of 15 and ultimately just 11 trusted men. That group of 11 earned the nickname “The Untouchables”, the agents who couldn’t be bought.

The Loch Ness monster has been talked about for centuries, but modern interest started in 1933 when a spate of sightings was reported. Those sightings don’t seem to have stopped, with photographs of what is purported to be the monster really sparking the imagination.

43. Trial lawyer who wrote “O.J.: The Last Word” : SPENCE
Trial lawyer Gerry Spence was used by NBC as a legal consultant throughout the O. J. Simpson trial. Spence also wrote a book called “O.J. the Last Word”.

Gerry Spence is a semi-retired lawyer from Laramie, Wyoming. He was associated with many high-profile cases in his career, and was rarely defeated. Spence first came into the public eye when he represented the family of Karen Silkwood, a famous whistle-blower at a plutonium production plant (and inspiration for the 1983 movie “Silkwood”). Spence was also the attorney who defended Lee Harvey Oswald in a famous mock trial that was sponsored by a UK television company. Spence lost that mock trial, but it sure did make for great television …

47. Basidium-borne body : SPORE
Spores are produced by many bacteria, fungi and non-flowering plants. A spore is a reproductive body encased in a protective shell that is highly resistant to damage, and resistant to heat in particular.

A basidium is a structure found in some fungi that has the function of producing spores.

49. Adjective on taco truck menus : ASADA
“Carne Asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

51. “Can’t Believe Your ___” (1988 Neil Young song) : LYIN’
“Can’t Believe Your Lyin'” is a track on the Neil Young album “This Note’s for You”.

Neil Young is a singer and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Young is known for his solo work, as well as his earlier recordings with Buffalo Springfield and as the fourth member of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Young is also a successful movie director, although he uses the pseudonym “Bernard Shakey” for his movie work. Included in his filmography are “Human Highway” and “Greendale”.

52. Drink said to have originated on Lesbos : OUZO
Ouzo is an aperitif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to pastis from France and also has a flavor like sambuca from Italy. Most of the ouzo produced comes from the Greek island of Lesbos, where the aperitif supposedly originated.

53. Titles for distinguished Indians : SRIS
“Sri” is a title of respect used in India. “Sri” can be translated into English as “Mr.” or “Ms.”

54. Main character in “The Paper Chase,” e.g. : ONE L
While “One L” is a name used in general for first year law students, “One L” is also the title of an autobiographical narrative by author Scott Turow, telling of his experiences as a first year student at Harvard Law School.

“The Paper Chase” is a 1973 film that led to a very enjoyable spinoff TV series of the same name that ran in the seventies and eighties. The film was based on a 1970 novel, also called “The Paper Chase”, by John Jay Osborn, Jr. The actor John Houseman does a marvelous job playing an intimidating professor teaching first-year law students at Harvard, both in the film and in television series.

55. Cousin of a congo eel : NEWT
Congo eels (also “Congo snakes”) are aquatic salamanders found in the southeastern US. For some reason, Congo eels have a lot of DNA in the nuclei of their cells, about 25 times as much as a human, which is more than almost every known animal.

60. See, in Santiago : VER
Santiago is the capital of Chile. The city was founded in 1541 by the Spanish as Santiago de Nueva Extremadura. The name was chosen in honor of Saint James and the community of Extremadura in western Spain.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Where a lot of dough gets thrown around : PIZZA JOINT
11. See 51-Across : WIFE
15. Fuel for a warp drive engine on “Star Trek” : ANTIMATTER
16. Resignation exclamation : ALAS!
17. Sleep aid, for some : WHITE NOISE
18. BMW of North America and others: Abbr. : LLCS
19. Zip around a field? : NIL
20. Makes happen : SEES TO
21. Assistant played by Bruce Lee : KATO
22. Wanting for nothing : SET
24. “Celebrity Jeopardy!” show, briefly : SNL
25. Took revenge on : GOT
26. Broadview ___, O. : HTS
29. Become stiff : TIE ONE ON
33. Get by force of will? : INHERIT
37. Punk’s cousin : NEW WAVE
38. Info about a person’s education and work history : BIODATA
39. Smooths : GREASES
40. Follows a military order : ATTACKS
41. Their habits give them away : SISTERS
42. Follows a military order : RETREATS
44. Time of long journées : ETE
45. Lets go through : OKS
46. Brief albums, in brief : EPS
48. Needing hand cream, maybe : RAW
51. With 11-Across, biblical woman who met a bad end : LOT’S
53. Board : STEP ON
56. “That gives me an idea …” : SAY
58. First spaceman’s first name : YURI
59. Setting for “The Misfits” : RENO, NEVADA
61. Polo competitor : IZOD
62. “My bad” : I SCREWED UP
63. Musical production : NOTE
64. Symbols of sharpness : STEEL TRAPS

Down
1. One with promotional potential : PAWN
2. “___ Steps” (Christian best seller) : IN HIS
3. “10” is inscribed on it : Z TILE
4. Temple imperfection : ZIT
5. Subject of the 2012 book “Circle of Treason” : AMES
6. Porter created by Burroughs : JANE
7. Winnebago relatives : OTOES
8. “Incorrect!” : IT ISN’T!
9. Babes in the woods? : NESTLINGS
10. Smartphone preceded by the Pre : TREO
11. Do the impossible, metaphorically : WALK ON WATER
12. Anxious : ILL AT EASE
13. It’s never wrong : FACT
14. Standard breakup creation : ESSO
23. Temptation for Luke Skywalker : THE DARK SIDE
25. Follow the sun? : GO WEST
27. Sniffs out : TRACES
28. First capital of the Last Frontier : SITKA
30. Like some fogs : EERIE
31. Ham’s handoff : OVER
32. Name associated with a mobster or a monster : NESS
33. Skyscraper component : I-BAR
34. Brief period of darkness? : NITE
35. Eager : HOT TO TROT
36. Event with unmarked choices : TASTE TEST
43. Trial lawyer who wrote “O.J.: The Last Word” : SPENCE
47. Basidium-borne body : SPORE
49. Adjective on taco truck menus : ASADA
50. Crumple : WAD UP
51. “Can’t Believe Your ___” (1988 Neil Young song) : LYIN’
52. Drink said to have originated on Lesbos : OUZO
53. Titles for distinguished Indians : SRIS
54. Main character in “The Paper Chase,” e.g. : ONE L
55. Cousin of a congo eel : NEWT
57. Blabbers : YAPS
60. See, in Santiago : VER

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