0522-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 22 May 14, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Adam G. Perl
THEME: After Insertion … today’s themed answers require a little imagination to decipher. The relative position of words in the answer require us to add the word AFTER, and we have to move some words around, in order to understand the meaning of the clue:

24A. Plan B, e.g. : PILL MORNING (giving “MORNING-after PILL”)
31A. A seemingly endless series : ANOTHER ONE THING (giving “ONE THING after ANOTHER”)
41A. Rule contradicted by science? : C I BEFORE E, EXCEPT (giving “I BEFORE E, EXCEPT after C”)
50A. Note to a spy, perhaps : READING BURN (giving “BURN after READING”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 15m 49s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Pound : QUID
“Quid” is a slang term for a pound sterling (i.e. a UK pound). It’s not certain where the term comes from, but it is possibly derived somehow from the Latin phrase “quid pro quo” meaning “this for that”.

5. Twenty-one words : HIT ME
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 “ventiuna” (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”.

10. Starbuck’s orderer : AHAB
Captain Ahab is the obsessed and far from friendly captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”.

The most famous whale-hunting ship in fiction has to be Herman Melville’s Pequod, featured in his novel “Moby Dick”. The young chief mate of the Pequod is named Starbuck. Starbuck’s name was lifted and used by a Seattle-based coffee company.

14. Old station name : ESSO
The brand name Esso has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

15. Youngest Oscar winner in history : O’NEAL
Tatum O’Neal is the youngest actress to win a competitive Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award in 1974 when she was just 10 years old, for her role as Addie in “Paper Moon”. The youngest person to win an honorary Academy Award was Shirley Temple, who was only 5 years old when she was presented with an Oscar in 1934.

17. Caesarean section? : I SAW
The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BC and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

18. Billy’s mate : NANNY
Males goats are called “bucks” or “billies”, although castrated males are known as “wethers”. Female goats are called “does” or “nannies”, and young goats are referred to as “kids”.

24. Plan B, e.g. : PILL MORNING (giving “MORNING-after PILL”)
The emergency contraceptive pill is often called the “morning-after pill”.

30. 2008 TARP recipient : AIG
AIG is the American International Group, a giant insurance corporation (or I should say, “was”). After repeated bailouts by American taxpayers, the company made some serious PR blunders by spending large amounts of money on executive entertainment and middle management rewards. These included a $444,000 California retreat, an $86,000 hunting trip in England, and a $343,000 getaway to a luxury resort in Phoenix. Poor judgment, I’d say …

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was a step taken by the Bush administration to strengthen financial institutions during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. The idea was for the US government to “save” the banking sector by buying up all their bad mortgages.

38. One of just 12 in Alaska: Abbr. : RTE
There are 12 Alaska Routes, numbered Alaska Route 1 through Alaska Route 11, with the last named Alaska Route 98. Route 98 is also called the Klondike Highway and is named for the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush.

39. Pac-12 player : UTE
The Runnin’ Utes are the basketball team of the University of Utah. The team was given the nickname the Runnin’ Redskins back when Jack Gardner was the head coach from 1953 to 1971. The “Runnin'” part of the name was chosen because Gardner was famous for playing quick offenses. The “Redskins” name was later dropped in favor of the less controversial “Utes”.

Pac-12 is an abbreviation for the Pacific-12 Conference, a college athletic conference in the western US. The Pac-12 has won more NCAA National Team Championships than any other conference. The Pac-12 was founded in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Over time as it grew, the conference went by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, Pacific-10 and became the Pacific-12 in 2011.

40. Fraternity letter : TAU
Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, the letter which gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

41. Rule contradicted by science? : C I BEFORE E, EXCEPT (giving “I BEFORE E, EXCEPT after C”)
“I before E, except after C”, although with so many exceptions, I don’t think this rule is taught in schools anymore …

56. Part of a krone : ORE
The Swedish Krona is divided into 100 öres, a term derived from the Latin “aureus” meaning “gold”.

The Norwegian and Danish krone are divided into 100 öres.

61. One acting on impulse? : AXON
A nerve cell is more correctly called a neuron, and the long nerve fiber that is part of a neuron is called the axon.

67. Knightly wear : MAIL
That would be “chainmail”, the type of armor.

68. Start to do well? : NE’ER-
Ne’er-do-well

70. Cosmopolitan competitor : ELLE
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”.

“Cosmopolitan” magazine was first published way back in 1886! It started out life as a family magazine, then as a literary publication. “Cosmo” took its present form as a women’s magazine in the sixties.

Down
1. Role for Helen Mirren, briefly : QE II
I watched the 2006 movie “The Queen” again not too long ago. What a great film it is, and what a superb performance from Helen Mirren in the title role of Queen Elizabeth II. It must have been a difficult film for Queen Elizabeth to watch, as it rehashes the PR disaster that surrounded her following the death of Princess Diana. But, she was gracious enough to invite Helen Mirren around to the Palace for dinner after the film was released. Mirren declined however, citing filming commitments in the US. Mirren was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire back in 2003, an honor presented to her by Prince Charles. I wonder will she get another title?

2. Group of red states, for short? : USSR
The acronym CCCP stands for “Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик”, which translates from Russian as “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” i.e. the USSR.

3. Golfer Aoki : ISAO
Isao Aoki is one of Japan’s greatest golfers, now playing on the senior circuit. Aoki’s best finish in a major tournament was runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1980 US Open.

8. Snapple flavor : MANGO
Originally “Snapple” was name of just one type of juice made by a company called Unadulterated Food Products. The drink’s name was a contraction of “snappy apple”. The company’s name was changed to the Snapple Beverage Corporation in the early 1980s. Snapple was sold in 1994, and is now a brand name owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

9. Ron who played Tarzan : ELY
Ron Ely is most famous for playing the title role in the “Tarzan” TV series in the sixties. Years later, Ely hosted the 1980 and 1981 “Miss America” pageants right after longtime host Bert Parks retired, before the job was taken over by Gary Collins. And Ely is a successful mystery novelist. He wrote “Night Shadows” and “East Beach” in the mid-nineties, both of which featured his private eye Jake Sands.

10. Loser to a pair : ACE HIGH
In poker, a pair is higher than a hand with just ace high.

13. With 62-Across, dreaded one : BETE
(62A. See 13-Down : NOIRE)
“Bête noire” translates from French as “the black beast” and is used in English for something or someone that is disliked.

21. Jedi foes : SITH
The Sith are characters in the “Star Wars” universe who use the “dark side” of “the Force”, and as such are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights. The last made of the six “Star Wars” movies is called “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

23. Pet : SNIT
The exact etymology of “snit”, meaning “fit of temper”, isn’t really known. The term was first used in print in the play “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” by Clare Booth Luce, which dates back to the 1930s and is set in the American South.

25. “Malcolm X” director : LEE
“Malcolm X” is a 1992 biographical film about the African American activist Malcolm X. The movie starred Denzel Washington in the title role and was co-written and directed by Spike Lee.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little, in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. He told his own life story in the incredibly successful book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, on which he collaborated with author Alex Haley. Malcolm Little changed his name when he joined the Nation of Islam, choosing “X” to represent the African family name that he could never know.

26. Actress Charlotte : RAE
Charlotte Rae is an American actress, best known for playing the character Edna Garrett on two sitcoms from the seventies and eighties: “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”. Towards the end of the series, the Edna Garrett character operated her own gourmet food shop called “Edna’s Edibles”.

27. Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple : PARC
The “Jardin du Luxembourg” is the park surrounding the French Senate, which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace. One of the most famous sights in the park is the Medici Fountain, which was built in 1630.

29. Leopold’s partner in crime : LOEB
Nathaniel Leopold and Richard Loeb were two well-heeled students at the University of Chicago who famously murdered a 14-year-old boy, apparently just on a whim, to show that they could commit the perfect crime. The crime turned out to be not quite so perfect and the pair were caught and put on trial for the murder. The trial was big news, especially after the defendants engaged high-profile attorney Clarence Darrow to represent them. In fact, the court proceedings were dubbed “The Trial of the Century”. The crime itself was the inspiration for the 1929 play called “Rope” by Patrick Hamilton, which in turn was the inspiration for the 1948 Hitchcock film of the same name.

32. Whence the word “robot” : RUR
Karel Čapek was a Czech writer noted for his works of science fiction. Čapek’s 1920 play “R.U.R.” is remembered in part for introducing the world to the word “robot”. The words “automaton” and “android” were already in use, but Capek gave us “robot” from the original Czech “robota” meaning “forced labor”. The acronym “R.U.R.”, in the context of the play, stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.

33. Taxonomic suffix : -OTE
I think the reference here is to prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but I’m often wrong …

In taxonomic terms, life is divided into three main categories, the three domains called Eukaryota, Bacteria and Archaea. Eukaryotes are all organisms whose cells contain a nucleus within which genetic material is contained. The domain Eukaryota includes unicellular organisms such as protozoa, and all multicellular organisms including animals, plants and fungi. The organisms in the domains Bacteria and Archaea all lack a nucleus, and as such are known as prokaryotes.

34. Formerly : NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

35. Southern hwy. : I-TEN
I-10 is the most southerly of the interstate routes that crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I-10 stretches from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida. Various stretches of the route have been given different names, for example, the Rosa Parks Freeway, the Santa Monica Freeway, the San Bernardino Freeway and the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway.

36. Pickup spot? : NAPE
Some animals pick up their young by the nape of the neck.

42. One of the voices in “Up” : ED ASNER
“Up” is the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, featuring wonderful animation as we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy in his last film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

44. Eastern band : OBI
The sash worn as part of traditional Japanese dress is known as an obi. The obi can be tied in what is called a butterfly knot.

45. Évian, e.g. : EAU
Évian-les-Bains (or simply Évian) is in the very east of France, on the shores of Lake Geneva directly across the lake from Lausanne, Switzerland. As you might imagine, Évian is the home of Évian mineral water, the most successful business in town. I can’t stand the taste of Évian water …

47. Scam : CON GAME
The slang term “scam” meaning a swindle may come from the British slang “scamp”.

50. “Chicago” number : ROXIE
The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

52. Ray Charles hit of 1963 : NO ONE
Ray Charles came up with his stage name by dropping the family name from his real moniker, Ray Charles Robinson. His life was a wild ride, well represented in the excellent biopic called “Ray” released in 2004 and starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray Charles was married twice and fathered 12 children with nine different women. As I said, a wild ride …

53. Type of scam : GRIFT
“Grift” is money made dishonestly, especially as the result of a swindle. The term perhaps is an alteration of the the word “graft”, which can have a similar meaning.

54. Green ___ : BERET
The US Army Special Forces are known as the Green Berets because they wear … green berets. The Green Beret is also worn by the Royal Marines of the British Army. When US Army Rangers and OSS operatives were trained by the Royal Marines in Scotland during WWII, graduates of the gruelling training program were awarded green berets by their British instructors. The US soldiers, although proud of their new headgear, were not allowed to wear it as part of their uniform and had to wait until 1961 when President Kennedy authorized the green beret for exclusive use by US Special Forces.

55. “The First Wives Club” co-star, 1996 : HAWN
I remember watching the ditsy Goldie Hawn character on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. Hawn used to give great performances on the show, convincing everyone that she was the stereotypical dumb blonde. Well, what a career she was to carve out for herself!

“The First Wives Club” is a fun movie starring three great actresses: Diane Keaton, Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn. Filming took place from December 1995 to March 1996, during which period each of the lead actors celebrated their 50th birthdays.

58. ___-B : ORAL
The Oral-B toothbrush was introduced to the world in 1950, designed by a California periodontist. The first “model” was the Oral-B 60, a name given to reflect the 60 tufts in the brush. In 1969, the Oral-B was the first toothbrush to get to the moon as it was the toothbrush of choice for the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

59. “Cosmos” host ___ deGrasse Tyson : NEIL
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who is noted for his ability to communicate science to the masses. Tyson is well known for his appearances on the great PBS show “Nova”.

“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” is a 2014 science documentary TV show presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The series is a follow-on to the famous 1980 show “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” that was presented by Carl Sagan.

60. Brown competitor : YALE
Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown was founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school.

62. Tip for a writer : NIB
“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning the beak of a bird. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” meaning the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

63. Long intro? : ERE
Erelong … before long, soon.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pound : QUID
5. Twenty-one words : HIT ME
10. Starbuck’s orderer : AHAB
14. Old station name : ESSO
15. Youngest Oscar winner in history : O’NEAL
16. Part of a pound : CAGE
17. Caesarean section? : I SAW
18. Billy’s mate : NANNY
19. Make a long story short, perhaps : EDIT
20. Brand producers : IRONS
22. Trail : LAG
23. Stood out : SHONE
24. Plan B, e.g. : PILL MORNING (giving “MORNING-after PILL”)
27. Wine taster’s asset : PALATE
30. 2008 TARP recipient : AIG
31. A seemingly endless series : ANOTHER ONE THING (giving “ONE THING after ANOTHER”)
38. One of just 12 in Alaska: Abbr. : RTE
39. Pac-12 player : UTE
40. Fraternity letter : TAU
41. Rule contradicted by science? : C I BEFORE E, EXCEPT (giving “I BEFORE E, EXCEPT after C”)
48. Little application : DAB
49. Does penance : ATONES
50. Note to a spy, perhaps : READING BURN (giving “BURN after READING”)
55. One with a bag lunch? : HORSE
56. Part of a krone : ORE
57. Waiting, for the impatient, say : AGONY
61. One acting on impulse? : AXON
62. See 13-Down : NOIRE
64. Find the ___ (geometry test instruction) : AREA
65. “Open ___” : WIDE
66. Surmise : INFER
67. Knightly wear : MAIL
68. Start to do well? : NE’ER-
69. Name that’s a homophone for 13-Down : BETTE
70. Cosmopolitan competitor : ELLE

Down
1. Role for Helen Mirren, briefly : QE II
2. Group of red states, for short? : USSR
3. Golfer Aoki : ISAO
4. Learned perfectly : DOWN PAT
5. Sugar substitute? : HON
6. Together : IN ALL
7. Break time, perhaps : TEN AM
8. Snapple flavor : MANGO
9. Ron who played Tarzan : ELY
10. Loser to a pair : ACE HIGH
11. Sported : HAD ON
12. Getting on : AGING
13. With 62-Across, dreaded one : BETE
21. Jedi foes : SITH
23. Pet : SNIT
25. “Malcolm X” director : LEE
26. Actress Charlotte : RAE
27. Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple : PARC
28. Against : ANTI
29. Leopold’s partner in crime : LOEB
32. Whence the word “robot” : RUR
33. Taxonomic suffix : -OTE
34. Formerly : NEE
35. Southern hwy. : I-TEN
36. Pickup spot? : NAPE
37. They may be spilled : GUTS
42. One of the voices in “Up” : ED ASNER
43. Film technique : FADE
44. Eastern band : OBI
45. Évian, e.g. : EAU
46. Bonus, in ads : XTRA
47. Scam : CON GAME
50. “Chicago” number : ROXIE
51. Undermine : ERODE
52. Ray Charles hit of 1963 : NO ONE
53. Type of scam : GRIFT
54. Green ___ : BERET
55. “The First Wives Club” co-star, 1996 : HAWN
58. ___-B : ORAL
59. “Cosmos” host ___ deGrasse Tyson : NEIL
60. Brown competitor : YALE
62. Tip for a writer : NIB
63. Long intro? : ERE

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