0330-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 30 Mar 14, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Peter A. Collins
THEME: Musical Interpretation … today’s themed answers are titles of hit songs, but one needs to use an element of position of the answer in the grid to get at the full title:

28A. With the circled letters, 1955 Bill Haley and His Comets hit? : THE CLOCK (“Rock around the Clock”)

37A. With 43-Across, 1973 Deep Purple hit? : SMOKE (“Smoke on the Water”)
43A. See 37-Across : THE WATER

66A. 1959 Dion and the Belmonts hit? : LO(A TEENAGER)VE (“A Teenager in Love”)

78A. 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit? : TIME TIME (“Time after Time”)

90D. 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit? : NOOM DAB (“Bad Moon Rising”)

95D. With 89-Down, 1968 Tammy Wynette hit? : STAND (“Stand by Your Man”)
89D. See 95-Down : YOUR MAN

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 20m 49s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Start of the United Negro College Fund slogan : A MIND …
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is a scholarship fund that was originally set up to address inequities in education resources for African Americans. The UNCF’s scholarships still go to mainly to African American students, but also to students of all ethnicities who attend historically black colleges and universities. The organization has been using the slogan “A mind is a TERRIBLE thing to waste” since 1972.

6. Old lab burners : ETNAS
“Etna” (after the volcano) is another name for a Bunsen Burner that is used in a laboratory.

11. Abbr. at the top of an email : BCC
A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

14. Something passed between the legs? : BATON
A baton might be passed between the legs of a relay race.

19. ___ Domingo : SANTO
Santo Domingo de Guzmán (often just “Santo Domingo”) is the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit what is now the Dominican Republic, in 1492. Four years later Christopher’s younger brother, Bartholomew Columbus arrived, and founded Santo Domingo, making the city the oldest, continuously-inhabited European settlement in the Americas.

25. Like Neptune among the planets in the solar system : OUTERMOST
Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun in our Solar System. The existence of Neptune was predicted as early as the 1820s by mathematics based on observations of the orbit of Uranus. The planet was actually observed in 1846.

26. ___ 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”.

27. Echelon : TIER
We use the word “echelon” (ech.) to describe a rank, particularly in the military. The term comes from French, in which language it has the same meaning, although the original meaning in Old French is “rung of a ladder”.

28. With the circled letters, 1955 Bill Haley and His Comets hit? : THE CLOCK (“Rock Around the Clock”)
The famed rock & roll singer and songwriter Bill Haley started out his career as the frontman of Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, playing country and western music. The name was changed to Bill Haley and His Comets in 1952 as the band started performing rock & roll songs. The name “Comets” was imitative of the common mispronunciation of the famous Halley’s comet (sometimes written incorrectly as “Haley’s” comet). The group recorded “Rock Around the Clock” a year later, in 1953.

33. Hall-of-Famer Ralph : KINER
Ralph Kiner is a former Major League Baseball player. He has for decades been calling the games for the New York Mets from the broadcast booth.

35. Purveyor of the Doublicious sandwich : KFC
The famous “Colonel” of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame was Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur from Henryville, Indiana. Although not really a “Colonel”, Sanders did indeed serve in the military. He enlisted in the Army as a private in 1906 at the age of 16, lying about his age. He spent the whole of his time in the Army as a soldier in Cuba. It was much later, in the 1930s, that Sanders went into the restaurant business making his specialty deep-fried chicken. By 1935 his reputation as a “character” had grown, so much so that Governor Ruby Laffoon of Kentucky gave Sanders the honorary title of “Kentucky Colonel”. Later in the fifties, Sanders developed his trademark look with the white suit, string tie, mustache and goatee. When Sanders was 65 however, his business failed and in stepped Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s. Thomas simplified the Sanders menu, cutting it back from over a hundred items to just fried chicken and salads. That was enough to launch KFC into the fast food business. Sanders sold the US franchise in 1964 for just $2 million and moved to Canada to grow KFC north of the border. He died in 1980 and is buried in Louisville, Kentucky. The Colonel’s secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices is indeed a trade secret. Apparently there is only one copy of the recipe, a handwritten piece of paper, written in pencil and signed by Colonel Sanders. Since 2009, the piece of paper has been locked in a computerized vault surrounded with motion detectors and security cameras.

36. ___ Webster, Twain’s “celebrated jumping frog” : DAN’L
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is a short story by Mark Twain, first published in 1865. It was this publication that launched Twain’s career as a writer as it brought him national attention. The title character is a frog that’s given the name “Dan’l Webster”.

37. With 43-Across, 1973 Deep Purple hit? : SMOKE (“Smoke on the Water”)
(43A. See 37-Across : THE WATER)
“Smoke on the Water” is a 1973 song released by the British rock group Deep Purple. The song is famous for its very recognizable central theme that is introduced as a guitar riff in the opening phrases. The song tells the true story of a casino burning down in Switzerland, an event that the band witnessed in 1971. The casino was in Montreux, and the “smoke on the water” was drifting over Lake Geneva.

39. Like Odin : NORSE
In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. Odin’s wife Frigg was the queen of Asgard whose name gave us our English term “Friday” (via Anglo-Saxon). Odin’s son was Thor, and his name gave us the term “Thursday”.

41. Sound engineer’s knob : FADER
A fader is a knob (or usually a slider) that gradually increases or decreases the level of an audio signal. You’ll often see audio engineers at a performance or in a recording studio sliding buttons up and down. Those are faders.

53. “Eternally nameless” thing, in Eastern religion : TAO
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

54. Bath accessories : LOOFAS
The loofah (also loofa, lufah and luffa, all Arabic words) is a vine, with fruit that’s very popular in Asia and Africa. If the fruit is allowed to mature, it can be processed to remove everything but the more rigid xylem structure (remember your high school botany class?) leaving a soft, sponge-like mass that is used as a skin polisher.

55. Dr Pepper alternative : MR PIBB
The soft drink on the market today called Pibb Xtra used to be known as Mr Pibb, and before that was called Peppo. Peppo was introduced in 1972 as a direct competitor to Dr Pepper.

58. Former Disney president Michael : OVITZ
Michael Ovitz was President of the Walt Disney Company from 1995-1997. He didn’t get on well with the company Chairman, Michael Eisner, so he was fired after just over a year. He was sent packing with a nice severance package though: $38m in cash and well over $100m in stock.

62. Olympic leap : TOE LOOP
A toe loop is a relatively simple jump in figure skating (not that I could do one!). In a toe loop, the skater uses the toe pick on the skate to lift off on a backward outside edge, landing on the same backward outside edge.

64. Ring Lardner’s “Alibi ___” : IKE
“Alibi Ike” is a short story by Ring Lardner that was made into a romantic comedy film in 1935 starring Joe E. Brown and Olivia de Havilland. Brown plays the title character, a baseball player who is always making excuses, hence his nickname. “Alibi Ike” was actually the first film to be released featuring Olivia de Havilland.

66. 1959 Dion and the Belmonts hit? : LO(A TEENAGER)VE (“A Teenager in Love”)
Dion and the Belmonts were a vocal group from the fifties who had success in the late fifties. The four singers were from the Bronx in New York, with two living on Belmont Avenue, hence the name that was chosen. Perhaps the biggest hits for Dion and the Belmonts were “A Teenager in Love” and “Where or When”.

72. Pond denizen : EFT
Newts wouldn’t be my favorite animals. They are found all over the world living on land or in water depending on the species, but always associated with water even if it is only for breeding. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental stages during their lives. They start off as larvae in water, fertilized eggs that often cling to aquatic plants. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, the first developmental form of the newt. After living some months as tadpoles swimming around in the water, they undergo another metamorphosis, sprouting legs and replacing their external gills with lungs. At this juvenile stage they are known as efts, and leave the water to live on land. A more gradual transition takes place then, as the eft takes on the lizard-like appearance of the adult newt.

73. Phil who played 65-Down : SILVERS
(65D. NCO of 1950s TV : SGT BILKO)
Master Sergeant Ernie Bilko was played by Phil Silvers in his TV show that aired in the fifties. “The Phil Silvers Show” was hugely successful in reruns in the British Isles, even more so than over here in the US.

78. 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit? : TIME TIME (“Time after Time”)
If you’ve ever heard Cyndi Lauper speaking, you’d know that she was from Queens, New York. She is the daughter of divorced parents, strongly influenced by a supportive mother. She was always a free spirit, and even as young teen in the mid-sixties she dyed her hair different colors and wore outlandish fashions. She was a young woman who wanted to “find herself”, and to that end she once spent two weeks alone in the woods up in Canada, well, just with her dog.

79. Memorable series in “Psycho” : STABS
The classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense film “Psycho” released in 1960 is based on a 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The Bloch novel in turn is loosely based on actual crimes committed by murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. When “Psycho” was making its initial run in theaters, latecomers were not granted admission, a policy instigated by Hitchcock himself. He felt that anyone missing the opening scenes would not enjoy the film.

82. The continents, e.g. : SEPTET
The seven continents, in order of size, are:

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia

85. Kelly of morning TV : RIPA
When Kelly Ripa secured the co-host spot on morning television with Regis Philbin, she was still acting in “All My Children” in a role she had been playing for over ten years. After a year of holding down two jobs, she eventually gave up the acting job.

88. Rap sheet listing : PRIOR
A rap sheet is a criminal record. “Rap” is a slang term dating back to the 1700s that means “blame, responsibility” as in “to take the rap”. This usage morphed into “rap sheet” in the early 1900s.

94. Rene of “Thor” : RUSSO
The lovely and very talented actress Rene Russo is a native of Burbank, California. Russo went to highschool (with actor/director Ron Howard), but dropped out in tenth grade. At seventeen, she was given the opportunity to train as a model and within a very short time appeared on the cover of “Vogue”. As her modelling jobs slowed down in her early thirties, Russo made a career change and studied theater and acting. I am so glad she did, as Rene Russo is one of my favorite actresses …

Thor is a superhero who was introduced to us by Marvel Comics in 1962. The character is of course based on the Norse god Thor, and comes complete with a magical hammer. Like so many comic book heroes it seems, Thor has made it to the big screen. Actor Chris Hemsworth played the role in the 2011 film “Thor” directed by the great Kenneth Branagh. Branagh must have needed the cash. Thor’s father Odin is played by Anthony Hopkins. He must have needed the cash too …

96. Thumbing-the-nose gesture : SNOOK
“Cocking a snook” in general means to show disrespect by making an insulting gesture, and in particular in our culture this can be to thumb one’s nose.

98. Challenge for F.D.R. : POLIO
Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, famous for developing the first safe polio vaccine. In the fifties, especially after the 1952 epidemic, polio was the biggest health fear in the US because it killed thousands, left even more with disabilities and most of the victims were children. The situation was dire and the authorities immediately quarantined the family of any polio victim, and that quarantine was so strict that in many cases the families were not even permitted to attend the funeral of a family member who died from the disease.

Future president Franklin D. Roosevelt developed polio in 1921, when he was in his late thirties. He picked up the viral disease while on vacation in Campobello Island in Canada.

99. Mideast V.I.P. : AMIR
An emir is a prince or chieftain, most notably in the Middle East. In English, “emir” can also be written as “amir” and “ameer” (watch out for those spellings in crosswords!).

101. Meatless day in W.W. II: Abbr. : TUE
To help the war effort, the United States Food Administration (led by Herbert Hoover) introduced “Meatless Tuesdays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” for the duration of WWI. Similar campaigns were revived during WWII. Wheatless Wednesdays have fallen by the wayside but Meatless Monday is very much in vogue these days as an attempt to improve the population’s health and help reduce global warming (less methane from fewer cows).

103. Some lawn mowers : TOROS
Toro is a manufacturer of mainly lawn mowers and snow removal equipment based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The company was started in 1914 to build tractor engines.

108. Bugs Bunny addressee : DOC
Bugs Bunny first said “What’s up, Doc?” in the 1940 cartoon short “A Wild Hare”, addressing the hunter Elmer Fudd.

109. Where to find screwdrivers and rusty nails : BARROOMS
The cocktail called a Screwdriver is a mix of fresh orange juice with vodka. Apparently the drink originated with a group of engineers in the late forties who used to spike small cans of orange juice with vodka, and then stir it in with their screwdrivers.

The cocktail called a Rusty Nail is a mixture of Drambuie and Scotch, usually served over ice. Without the ice the drink is sometimes called a Straight Up Nail. There is also a Canadian version of a Rusty Nail that uses rye whiskey instead of Scotch that’s called a Donald Sutherland, after the celebrated Canadian actor.

114. Made bats : DRIVEN MAD
The expression “bats in the belfry” meaning “mad, crazy” conjures up images of bats flying around Gothic bell towers, but actually it’s a relatively recent addition to our vernacular. The term is American in origin, and dates back only to the early 1900s. The concept is that someone who is “crazy”, with wild ideas flying around his or her head, can be described as having bats (wild ideas) flying around the belfry (head). The terms “bats” and “batty” originated at the same time, and are clearly derivative.

116. Primer pair : DICK AND JANE
The “Dick and Jane” beginning reader series of books was originally written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and first published in the 1930s. There are claims of plagiarism from an earlier pair of books published throughout the British Commonwealth that featured the characters Dick and Dora. Indeed, I grew up in the British Isles with “Dick and Dora”, and always assumed that “Dick and Jane” were somehow their American cousins!

121. More cool, in slang : ILLER
“Ill” is hip-hop slang, meaning sublime, singularly creative. Not how I use the word …

122. French thinkers? : TETES
“Tête” is the French word for “head”.

123. Wink’s partner : NOD
A nod and a wink …

124. ___ State (Mountain West Conference team) : BOISE
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl has been played annually at Boise State University since 1997. Prior to winning sponsorship from the Idaho Potato Commission, the game was known as the Humanitarian Bowl.

Down
2. Actress Tierney : MAURA
Maura Tierney is an actress from Boston, Massachusetts. Tierney is best known for playing Lisa Miller on television’s “NewsRadio” and Abby Lockhart on “ER”.

4. Some versions of Windows : NTS
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7; they’re all based on the Windows NT operating system. There is a common perception that Windows NT (WNT) takes its name from VMS, an earlier operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. “WNT” is what’s called a “Caesar cypher” of “VMS”, as you just augment the letters of VMS alphabetically by one to arrive at WNT. Bill Gates disputes this derivation of the name, and in a 1998 interview stated that the NT originally stood for N-Ten and that the marketing folks at Microsoft revised history by changing it to “New Technology”.

7. Back it up, in a way : TWERK
Twerking is a dancing move in which a woman (usually) shakes her hips up and down causing a lot of “wobbling”. It’s possible that “twerk” is a portmanteau of “twist” and “jerk”.

8. “Seduction of the Minotaur” author : NIN
Anaïs Nin was a French author, famous for her journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

11. Tea Partiers, e.g. : BLOC
The Tea Party Caucus in the US Congress is chaired by Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann. The stated focus for the caucus is fiscal responsibility and limited government, while adhering to the groups interpretation of the US Constitution. Top contributors to the caucus are health professionals, retirees, the real estate industry as well as oil and gas interests.

12. Crack filler : CAULK
The term “caulk” comes from old Norman French “cauquer”, and described the action of filling gaps with lime. “Caulk”has the same root as our word “chalk”.

14. Medium for love letters? : BARK
Lovers really shouldn’t carve their initials into the bark of a tree, but it happens …

15. Card reader, for short : ATM
Automated teller machine (ATM)

17. ___ Scott Card, “Ender’s Game” writer : ORSON
Orson Scott Card is a science fiction author (mainly). Card’s most famous work is his novel “Ender’s Game” first published in 1985. “Ender’s Game” was adapted into a movie and released in 2013, with a cast that includes Harrison Ford.

18. Competitor of ZzzQuil : NYTOL
Nytol is a brand name for the drug diphenhydramine which is primarily used as an antihistamine. The drug also has a strong hypnotic effect and is used by some people as a non-prescription sleep aid.

22. Label for 28-Across : DECCA
(28A. With the circled letters, 1955 Bill Haley and His Comets hit? : THE CLOCK (“Rock Around the Clock”)
Decca Records started out in 1929 as a British record label. The US branch of Decca was opened up in 1934, but the UK and US entities went their separate ways starting in WWII.

24. Alaskan city : 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.

29. Fake : ERSATZ
Something described as “ersatz” is a copy, and usually not a good one. “Ersatz” comes from the German verb “ersetzen” meaning “to replace”.

32. Chef Lagasse : EMERIL
Emeril Lagasse is an American chef, born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved notoriety as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

36. No longer in fashion : DEMODE
“Démodé” is a French word meaning “no longer in fashion”.

38. Info for an airport greeter, for short : ETA
Expected time of arrival (ETA)

40. Victorian ___ : ERA
The Victorian era lasted the length of the Queen Victoria’s reign, from 1837 to 1901. The era was a period of great prosperity and growth, with the population of England and Wales doubling to over 30 million. Mind you, the population of Ireland halved during the same period, from 8 million to 4 million, largely due to the Great Famine.

43. The “T” of Mr. T : TERO
Mr. T’s real name is Laurence Tero Tureaud. Mr. T is famous for many things, including the wearing of excessive amounts of jewelry. He started this habit when he was working as a bouncer, wearing jewelry items that had been left behind by customers at a nightclub so that the items might be recognized and claimed. It was also as a bouncer that he adopted the name Mr. T. His catch phrase comes from the movie “Rocky III”. In the film, before he goes up against Rocky Balboa, Mr. T says, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool”. He parlayed that line into quite a bit of success. He had a reality TV show called “I Pity the Fool”, and produced a motivational video called “Be Somebody … or Be Somebody’s Fool!”.

48. Boss Tweed nemesis : NAST
William Magear Tweed was known as “Boss” Tweed. He was a 19th-century, American politician who led the Democratic Party machine in New York, headquartered in Tammany Hall. He was one of the most successful of the corrupt politicians of the day, siphoning from taxpayers (in today’s money) billions of dollars. In 1871 he was arrested, and served time in jail. He was then rearrested on civil charges and served time in debtor’s prison. He managed to escape to Spain, but was arrested once more and extradited to the United States. He died in jail in 1878.

Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. Nast was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party’s donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today. Thomas Nast drew some famous cartoons in which he depicted the Tammany Society as a vicious tiger that was killing democracy. Nast’s use of the tiger symbology caught on and was used by other cartoonists to harp at the society.

49. New York arrival of ’77 : SST
Scheduled Concorde service to New York’s JFK airport from London and Paris started in 1977. Flight times were just under 3.5 hours, which compared to 8 hours for regular commercial jets of the day.

50. BBC std. : GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich in London.

A meridian is a line of longitude, and the Prime Meridian is that line of longitude defined as 0 degrees. The Prime Meridian is also called the Greenwich Meridian as it passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in southeast London. Of course the line of longitude that is used to represent 0 degrees is an arbitrary decision. 25 nations formally decided in 1884 to use the Greenwich Meridian as 0 degrees as it was already a popular choice. That is all except the French, who abstained from the vote and used the Paris Meridian as 0 degrees on French charts for several decades.

The marvelous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is mainly funded by the UK government through a television licence fee that is levied annually on all households watching TV transmissions. Currently the fee is 145 UK pounds, about 230 US dollars.

52. Bank in need of support? : DIKE
A dike is an embankment usually made of earth and rock that is used to prevent floods.

54. Where “hello” is “sveiks” : LATVIA
Latvia is one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics. People from Latvia are called Letts.

61. Hands on deck : TARS
A Jack Tar, or just “tar”, was a seaman in the days of the British Empire. The term probably arose due to a sailor’s various uses of tar back then, including waterproofing his clothes and using tar in his hair to slick down his ponytail.

63. Chicken ___ (Italian dish, informally) : PARM
Parmigiana is a dish from southern Italy. The original parmigiana was made with an aubergine filling, with cheese and tomato layers and then baked. Versions originating outside of Italy have replaced the aubergine with breaded cutlets of chicken or veal.

67. Former faddish exercise regimen : TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, and rather was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s. The discipline was introduced by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

69. Oktoberfest quaff : BIER
“Bier” is the German word for “beer”.

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve been there twice, and it really is a great party …

“Quaff” is both a verb and a noun. One quaffs (takes a hearty drink) of a quaff (a hearty drink).

70. John Locke, philosophically : EMPIRICIST
John Locke was the English philosopher who postulated that the mind is a blank slate (or “tabula rasa”) when we are born, and that we fill that slate with our experiences and observations.

74. Brand of pickles : VLASIC
Apparently Vlasic invented the glass-packed, shelf-stable pickle. The company adopted the stork mascot in the late sixties, with the stork originally carrying a baby. The mascot was a play on the perception that pregnant women have a higher than average appetite for pickles.

76. Description on many eBay listings : RARE
eBay was founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb as part of a computer programmer’s personal website. One of the first items purchased was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. The buyer collected broken laser pointers …

77. The “s” in Awacs: Abbr. : SYS
When the British developed radar in WWII, they also came up with an airborne system which they actually deployed during the war. In 1944 the US Navy commissioned a similar system, and so launched the first American Airborne Early Warning (AEW) system, also before the war was over. The more modern term for the technology is Airborne Warning and Control System, AWACS for short.

79. Eastern religion : SHINTO
It is perhaps best not to describe Shinto as a religion, but more as a “spirituality of the Japanese people”, a spirituality that encompasses folklore, history and mythology. Having said that, “Shinto” translates literally as “Way of the Gods”. Most people in Japan who are described as practicing Shinto, also practice Buddhism.

80. Place for a mani-pedi : SPA
Manicure & pedicure (mani-pedi)

84. Graz’s land: Abbr. : AUS
Graz is the second-largest city in Austria, after the capital Vienna. One of Graz’s sons is actor and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. I used to work for a company headquartered in Graz and had the privilege of visiting that beautiful city several times …

90. 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit? : NOOM DAB (“Bad Moon Rising”)
“Bad Moon Rising” is a song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Written by band member John Fogerty, the song was inspired by the composer watching the hurricane scene in the movie “The Devil and Daniel Webster”.

92. Quantum physics particle : BOSON
Particle physics is beyond me, but bosons are subatomic particles. They can be elementary, like for example photons, or composite, like mesons, which are composed of one quark and one antiquark. “Bosons” are named for the Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose who developed Bose-Einstein statistics along with Albert Einstein.

93. Rubber from Arabia? : ALADDIN
“Aladdin” is a famous tale in the “Arabian Nights”, also called “The Book of One Thousand and One Nights”. However, there is no evidence at all that the story was in the original collection. It is generally believed that one Antoine Galland introduced the tale when he translated the “Arabian Nights” into French in the early 1700s.

95. With 89-Down, 1968 Tammy Wynette hit? : STAND (“Stand by Your Man”)
(89A. See 95-Down : YOUR MAN)
“Stand by Your Man” is a song that was co-written and recorded by Tammy Wynette in 1968. “Stand by Your Man” was to become Wynette’s biggest hit by far.

97. “Twelfth Night” duke : ORSINO
The famous quotation about music being the food of love is from William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. The opening lines of the play, spoken by the love-smitten Duke Orsino, are:

If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.

100. Inspector of crime fiction : MORSE
“Inspector Morse” is a series of detective novels penned by English crime writer Colin Dexter. The novels were adapted into a very successful television show that occasionally appears in the US on PBS. Morse is a very colorful character with a penchant for classical music, real ale and crosswords. So do I!!

102. One inspiring love of poetry? : ERATO
In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of Lyric Poetry.

106. “Bonne ___!” : ANNEE
“Bonne année!” is French for “Happy New Year!”

117. Hollywood special FX : CGI
Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

“Effects” as in “special effects”, or “FX”.

118. “Selena” star, to her fans : J.LO
Singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, known professionally simply as “Selena”, was murdered in 1995 by the president of her own fan club at the height of her career. In a 1997 biopic about Selena’s life, Jennifer Lopez played the title role.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Start of the United Negro College Fund slogan : A MIND …
6. Old lab burners : ETNAS
11. Abbr. at the top of an email : BCC
14. Something passed between the legs? : BATON
19. ___ Domingo : SANTO
20. Now and again? : TWICE
21. Like an ode : LAUDATORY
23. Kind of farming : SUBSISTENCE
25. Like Neptune among the planets in the solar system : OUTERMOST
26. ___ pro nobis : ORA
27. Echelon : TIER
28. With the circled letters, 1955 Bill Haley and His Comets hit? : THE CLOCK (“Rock Around the Clock”)
30. Sound of sweet nothings : COO
31. Having a beat : CADENT
33. Hall-of-Famer Ralph : KINER
35. Purveyor of the Doublicious sandwich : KFC
36. ___ Webster, Twain’s “celebrated jumping frog” : DAN’L
37. With 43-Across, 1973 Deep Purple hit? : SMOKE (“Smoke on the Water”)
39. Like Odin : NORSE
41. Sound engineer’s knob : FADER
43. See 37-Across : THE WATER
45. Brings in : EARNS
47. Some dreams : OMENS
50. Reverse, e.g. : GEAR
51. Dismissed : AXED
53. “Eternally nameless” thing, in Eastern religion : TAO
54. Bath accessories : LOOFAS
55. Dr Pepper alternative : MR PIBB
58. Former Disney president Michael : OVITZ
60. Dreamy romantic quality : STARDUST
62. Olympic leap : TOE LOOP
64. Ring Lardner’s “Alibi ___” : IKE
65. It’s put on before takeoff : SEAT BELT
66. 1959 Dion and the Belmonts hit? : LO(A TEENAGER)VE (“A Teenager in Love”)
69. Old mattress stuffing : BEDSTRAW
72. Pond denizen : EFT
73. Phil who played 65-Down : SILVERS
78. 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit? : TIME TIME (“Time after Time”)
79. Memorable series in “Psycho” : STABS
81. Dawn-to-dusk : ALL DAY
82. The continents, e.g. : SEPTET
83. “Phooey!” : BAH!
85. Kelly of morning TV : RIPA
87. Haughty affectation : AIRS
88. Rap sheet listing : PRIOR
89. Query at the start of a poker game : YOU IN?
91. Verbally assault : LAMBASTE
94. Rene of “Thor” : RUSSO
96. Thumbing-the-nose gesture : SNOOK
98. Challenge for F.D.R. : POLIO
99. Mideast V.I.P. : AMIR
101. Meatless day in W.W. II: Abbr. : TUE
103. Some lawn mowers : TOROS
105. Pertaining to religious rites : SACRAL
108. Bugs Bunny addressee : DOC
109. Where to find screwdrivers and rusty nails : BARROOMS
111. Like peas in ___ : A POD
113. Suffix with salt : -INE
114. Made bats : DRIVEN MAD
116. Primer pair : DICK AND JANE
119. Info on a magazine cover : ISSUE DATE
120. Real dear : ANGEL
121. More cool, in slang : ILLER
122. French thinkers? : TETES
123. Wink’s partner : NOD
124. ___ State (Mountain West Conference team) : BOISE
125. Runners in the cold? : NOSES

Down
1. Org. : ASSOC
2. Actress Tierney : MAURA
3. Suffering : IN BAD SHAPE
4. Some versions of Windows : NTS
5. “Quit stalling!” : DO IT NOW!
6. Suffix with major : -ETTE
7. Back it up, in a way : TWERK
8. “Seduction of the Minotaur” author : NIN
9. Bank ID : ACCT NO
10. “Listen, pal!” : SEE HERE!
11. Tea Partiers, e.g. : BLOC
12. Crack filler : CAULK
13. Casual summer wear : CUTOFFS
14. Medium for love letters? : BARK
15. Card reader, for short : ATM
16. What fastidious people can’t be : TOO CAREFUL
17. ___ Scott Card, “Ender’s Game” writer : ORSON
18. Competitor of ZzzQuil : NYTOL
22. Label for 28-Across : DECCA
24. Alaskan city : SITKA
29. Fake : ERSATZ
32. Chef Lagasse : EMERIL
34. “To sum up …” : IN REVIEW …
36. No longer in fashion : DEMODE
38. Info for an airport greeter, for short : ETA
40. Victorian ___ : ERA
42. Summons, of a sort : DOORBELL
43. The “T” of Mr. T : TERO
44. Prefix with thermal : EXO-
46. “Long time ___” : NO SEE
48. Boss Tweed nemesis : NAST
49. New York arrival of ’77 : SST
50. BBC std. : GMT
52. Bank in need of support? : DIKE
54. Where “hello” is “sveiks” : LATVIA
56. Reinforces : BOLSTERS
57. Muff a grounder : BOOT IT
59. Something you can believe : TENET
61. Hands on deck : TARS
63. Chicken ___ (Italian dish, informally) : PARM
65. NCO of 1950s TV : SGT BILKO
67. Former faddish exercise regimen : TAE BO
68. Way off : AFAR
69. Oktoberfest quaff : BIER
70. John Locke, philosophically : EMPIRICIST
71. Out-of-the-way way : DETOUR
74. Brand of pickles : VLASIC
75. Slanted writing : EDITORIALS
76. Description on many eBay listings : RARE
77. The “s” in Awacs: Abbr. : SYS
78. Dose meas. : TSP
79. Eastern religion : SHINTO
80. Place for a mani-pedi : SPA
84. Graz’s land: Abbr. : AUS
86. Rev (up) : AMP
89. See 95-Down : YOUR MAN
90. 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit? : NOOM DAB (“Bad Moon Rising”)
92. Quantum physics particle : BOSON
93. Rubber from Arabia? : ALADDIN
95. With 89-Down, 1968 Tammy Wynette hit? : STAND (“Stand by Your Man”)
97. “Twelfth Night” duke : ORSINO
99. “___ to the list” : ADD IT
100. Inspector of crime fiction : MORSE
102. One inspiring love of poetry? : ERATO
104. “___ alive!” : SAKES
106. “Bonne ___!” : ANNEE
107. Longing looks : LEERS
109. Some queens : BEES
110. Didn’t stop in time, say : ODED
112. ___ ale : PALE
115. French scene : VUE
117. Hollywood special FX : CGI
118. “Selena” star, to her fans : J.LO

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6 thoughts on “0330-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 30 Mar 14, Sunday”

  1. Hi Bill,

    Thanks for the write-up. I always learn a lot (about my own puzzles, even!) when I read your blog.

    – Pete Collins

  2. Hi there, Pete.

    Thanks for dropping by, as always. And many thnks for another great puzzle. I've always admired the "relatively positioned answers" genre, but you've taken it to a new level here. The "ROCK around" was a very nice surprise. And of course, making all the answers popular songs was ulta-impressive. My hat is off to you!

  3. Thanks for the info about Odin. I will include that little tidbit the next time Odin makes an appearance in the crossword, and he will!

  4. I think the baton is more likely passed by a twirler than a runner. Thanks for your excellent and consistent work.

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