0210-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 10 Feb 14, Monday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
14. “Do ___ others as …” : UNTO
The Golden Rule is also known as the ethic of reciprocity, and is a basis for the concept of human rights. A version of the rule used in the Christian tradition is attributed to Jesus: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

19. Em and Jemima : AUNTS
In “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

The Aunt Jemima brand name was taken from an old vaudeville song called “Old Aunt Jemima”. The whole Aunt Jemima image has been surrounded by controversy for many years, understandably.

28. Poet Ogden : NASH
The poet Ogden Nash is well known for his light and humorous verse. Try this one for size:

The one-L lama,
He’s a priest.
The two-L llama,
He’s a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn’t any
Three-L lllama.

30. Hawaiian medicine man : KAHUNA
Like many words in Hawaiian, the term “kahuna” has several English translations, everything from a priest to an expert in some profession. The expression “the Big Kahuna” comes from the movie “Gidget”, released in 1959. The Big Kahuna was the leader of one of the surfing gangs in the film, and was played by Cliff Robertson.

31. C.I.O.’s partner : AFL
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886, making it one of the first federations of unions in the country. Over time the AFL became dominated by craft unions, unions representing skilled workers of particular disciplines. In the early thirties, John L. Lewis led a movement within the AFL to organize workers by industry, believing this would be more effective for the members. But the craft unions refused to budge, so Lewis set up a rival federation of unions in 1932 called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The two federations became bitter rivals for over two decades until finally merging in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.

37. When flights are due in, for short : ETAS
Expected time of arrival (ETA)

43. Hotel robe material : TERRY
Terry cloth is a fabric designed to absorb lots of liquid. The fabric has relatively large loops of thread that improve the absorption properties. The larger the loop, the more thread, the better the absorption.

45. Samantha’s mother on “Bewitched” : ENDORA
In the television sitcom “Bewitched”, Endora was Samantha’s mother, with both mother, daughter and indeed granddaughter having the magical powers accorded to witches. Endora was played flamboyantly by Agnes Moorehead.

48. ___ of Sandwich : EARL
Meats placed between slices of bread was first called a sandwich in the 18th century, named after the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. The Earl was fond of eating “sandwiches” while playing cards at his club.

57. Native of 58-Across : ALEUT
(58A. The Last Frontier state : ALASKA)
The Aleuts live on the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific, and on the Commander Islands at the western end of the same island chain. The Aleutian Islands are part of the United States, and the Commander Islands are in Russia.

59. Beginning of a Flintstones cry : YABBA
“Yabba dabba doo!” is one of Fred Flintstone’s catchphrases.

I once had the privilege of spending an afternoon in the room (Bill Hanna’s den) where Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera came up with the idea of “The Flintstones” …

65. Elvis’s middle name : ARON
Elvis Aron Presley was the younger of two identical twins. His brother was stillborn, delivered 35 minutes before Elvis. The brother was named Jesse Garon Presley. So though born a twin, Elvis was raised as an only child.

68. It’s often long at Disneyland : LINE
Walt Disney came up with the idea of building Disneyland after visiting other theme parks with his daughters in the thirties and forties. He started building the park at Anaheim, California in 1954, and the facility opened just one year and one day later. The total cost of construction was $17 million. Opening day did not go smoothly, largely because over 28,000 people visited the park compared to the 11,000 people expected at the invitation-only event. The opening day went so badly that for years Disney executives referred to it as “Black Sunday”.

69. Dinner scraps : ORTS
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

Down
4. Like Hyundais or Kias : KOREAN
The Hyundai factory in Ulsan, South Korea is the largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in the world, able to produce 1.6 million vehicles each year.

Kia Motors is the second largest manufacturer of cars in South Korea, behind Hyundai (and Hyundai is a part owner in Kia now). In recent years, Kia has focused on sales into Europe, and has been remarkably successful.

5. Place to find wds. : DICT
One can find words (wds.) in a dictionary (dict.).

7. Barber’s sharpener : STROP
A strop is a strip of leather used to sharpen/whet a razor.

8. Nine-headed serpent of myth : HYDRA
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was a sea snake that had multiple heads. Heracles had to slay the Hydra of Lerna as the second of his Twelve Labors.

9. Red or pink bloom : AZALEA
Azaleas are very toxic to horses, sheep and goats, but strangely enough cause no problem for cats or dogs. And if you go to Korea you might come across “Tug Yonju”, which is azalea wine made from the plant’s blossoms.

10. Second-in-command in a kitchen : SOUS-CHEF
The “Sous-Chef de Cuisine” is the “under chef of the kitchen”, the second-in-command.

12. CPR expert : EMT
Emergency medical technician (EMT)

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. Nowadays emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.

18. Mesmerized : ENRAPT
Franz Mesmer was a German physician, the person who coined the phrase “animal magnetism”. Back then the term described a purported magnetic field that resided in the bodies of animate beings. Mesmer also lent his name to our term “mesmerize”.

22. Noah’s construction : ARK
The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

26. Cattiness : SNARK
“Snark” is a term that was coined by Lewis Carroll in his fabulous 1876 nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark”. Somehow, the term “snarky” came to mean “irritable, short-tempered” in the early 1900s.

29. Not worth a ___ : SOU
A sou is an old French coin. We use the term “sou” to mean “an almost worthless amount”.

35. “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper : LEE
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was first published in 1960. The book is a mainstay in English classes all around the world and is a great ambassador for American literature, I’d say.

36. Item in the hardware department with a “+” or “-” on its head : SCREW
Screws come with slot-heads (-) and Phillips-heads (+). The Phillips-head screw and screwdriver are named for Henry F. Phillips of Portland, Oregon. Phillips didn’t invent the “+” screw head, but as a businessman he was behind its successful implementation.

40. ___ pro nobis : ORA
“Ora pro nobis” translates from Latin as “pray for us”. It is a common term used in the Roman Catholic tradition and is often shortened to “OPN”.

41. ___ Beach, S.C. : MYRTLE
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city in South Carolina. With a population of only 27,000 people, Myrtle Beach copes with about 14 million tourists annually.

47. Fortunate card to have with a queen or king in blackjack : ACE
The game of “twenty-one” was first referred to in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “veintiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

52. Cheri formerly of “S.N.L.” : OTERI
Cheri Oteri was the SNL cast member who regularly appeared with Will Farrell in the skit featuring a pair of Spartan cheerleaders.

55. Sport with clay pigeons : SKEET
There are three types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports:

– Skeet shooting
– Trap shooting
– Sporting clays

58. Proactiv target : ACNE
Proactiv is an over-the-counter medication that is applied as a treatment for acne. Proactiv’s active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Period just before dark : DUSK
5. Sprint : DASH
9. Barnyard brayers : ASSES
14. “Do ___ others as …” : UNTO
15. ___-bitty : ITTY
16. Goes like a racecar : ZOOMS
17. Item accompanying a pencil in miniature golf : SCORECARD
19. Em and Jemima : AUNTS
20. Judging component at a beauty pageant : TALENT
21. Face-to-face exams : ORALS
23. Hurled weapon : SPEAR
24. Money available for nonessentials : SPARE CASH
28. Poet Ogden : NASH
30. Hawaiian medicine man : KAHUNA
31. C.I.O.’s partner : AFL
34. Lifeguard areas : POOLS
37. When flights are due in, for short : ETAS
38. Food, warmth or a cozy bed : CREATURE COMFORT
42. See 33-Down : HAND
43. Hotel robe material : TERRY
44. Cloud’s place : SKY
45. Samantha’s mother on “Bewitched” : ENDORA
48. ___ of Sandwich : EARL
50. Stuffed figure in a cornfield : SCARECROW
53. Make sport of : TEASE
57. Native of 58-Across : ALEUT
58. The Last Frontier state : ALASKA
59. Beginning of a Flintstones cry : YABBA
62. Gym locale … or feature of 17-, 24-, 38- and 50-Across : REC CENTER
64. Premature : EARLY
65. Elvis’s middle name : ARON
66. Many a new driver : TEEN
67. High heels, e.g. : SHOES
68. It’s often long at Disneyland : LINE
69. Dinner scraps : ORTS

Down
1. Does some light housework : DUSTS
2. Take the lid off : UNCAP
3. Embezzled, e.g. : STOLE
4. Like Hyundais or Kias : KOREAN
5. Place to find wds. : DICT
6. One thing ___ time : AT A
7. Barber’s sharpener : STROP
8. Nine-headed serpent of myth : HYDRA
9. Red or pink bloom : AZALEA
10. Second-in-command in a kitchen : SOUS-CHEF
11. Junior, to Senior : SON
12. CPR expert : EMT
13. Leaky tire sound : SSS
18. Mesmerized : ENRAPT
22. Noah’s construction : ARK
24. Position between second and third, informally : SHORT
25. Hyundai and Kia : AUTOS
26. Cattiness : SNARK
27. Quickly made, as a decision : HASTY
29. Not worth a ___ : SOU
31. Symptoms of rheumatism : ACHES
32. Swiss currency : FRANC
33. With 42-Across, help out : LEND A
35. “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper : LEE
36. Item in the hardware department with a “+” or “-” on its head : SCREW
39. So darned cute : ADORABLE
40. ___ pro nobis : ORA
41. ___ Beach, S.C. : MYRTLE
46. Pass-the-baton events : RELAYS
47. Fortunate card to have with a queen or king in blackjack : ACE
49. Makeshift shelter : LEAN-TO
51. Out of town? : RURAL
52. Cheri formerly of “S.N.L.” : OTERI
54. Fall bloomer : ASTER
55. Sport with clay pigeons : SKEET
56. Makes, as wages : EARNS
58. Proactiv target : ACNE
59. “You betcha!” : YES!
60. Response to a massage : AAH
61. Preppy, party-loving, egotistical male, in modern lingo : BRO
63. Swindle : CON

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