0527-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 27 May 14, Tuesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: James Tuttle
THEME: Bookend … each of today’s themed answers is made from two words, each of which is often seen preceding the word BOOK:

18A. *Like software that can be freely used and altered : OPEN-SOURCE (“open book” & “sourcebook”)
26A. *Samsung or LG product : FLIP PHONE (“flip book” & “phone book”)
47A. *Tournament competition : MATCH PLAY (“matchbook” & “playbook”)
55A. *Class assignments : SCHOOLWORK (“schoolbook” & “workbook”)
3D. *Like many a heartthrob’s eyes : BABY BLUE (“baby book” & “blue book”)
38D. *Company whose logo includes the winged foot of Mercury : GOODYEAR (“good book” & “yearbook”)

37A. Shelf prop … or a hint to both parts of the answers to the six starred clues : BOOKEND

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 7m 08s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

5. Greetings from Oahu : ALOHAS
The Hawaiian word “Aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.

O’ahu has been called “The Gathering Place”, although the word “O’ahu” has no translation in Hawaiian. It seems that O’ahu is simply the name of the island. One story is that it is named after the son of the Polynesian navigator that first found the islands. The island is made up of two volcanoes, Wai’anae and Ko’olau, joined together by a broad valley, the O’ahu Plain.

11. Carrier in the Star Alliance : SAS
SAS was formerly known as Scandinavian Airlines System and is the flag carrier of three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The Star Alliance was the airline industry’s first code-sharing alliance, created in 1997. The American founding representative is United Airlines.

14. Amo, amas, ___ … : AMAT
“Amo, amas, amat: … “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”, in Latin.

15. Actor Radcliffe : DANIEL
Daniel Radcliffe is the former child-actor who played the title role in the “Harry Potter” series of films. Radcliffe is doing okay in terms of money. He earned about 1 million pounds for the first “Harry Potter” movie, and about 15 million pounds for the last.

16. The Cowboys of the Big 12 Conf. : OSU
The athletic teams of Oklahoma State University are called the Cowboys, and the Cowgirls.

17. Kemo ___ : SABE
“Kemosabe” is a term used by the Tonto character in the iconic radio and television program “The Lone Ranger”. “Kemosabe” doesn’t really mean anything outside of the show, and in fact was written as “ke-mo sah-bee” in the original radio show scripts. The term was created by longtime director of “The Lone Ranger”, Jim Jewell. To come up with the term, Jewell used the name of a boy’s camp that his father-in-law established called Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee.

18. *Like software that can be freely used and altered : OPEN-SOURCE (“open book” & “sourcebook”)
A “sourcebook” is an original book, one that is used as a source for future study.

20. One with whom your safe is not safe : YEGG
“Yegg” is a slang word for a burglar and often for a safe-cracker. The origin of the term appears to be unknown.

26. *Samsung or LG product : FLIP PHONE (“flip book” & “phone book”)
I seem to be way behind the rest of the world. I don’t have a smartphone, or a calling plan. My pay-as-you-go LG flip phone costs me about 60 dollars a year. No Internet access on my phone, but I have a Kindle that gives me that. I am happy, easily pleased …

28. Aleve alternative : TYLENOL
Tylenol is pain relieving drug, with the active ingredient acetaminophen (which we call paracetamol back in Ireland, and outside of America). Anacin does the same thing, with the active ingredients of aspirin and caffeine.

Aleve is a brand name for the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen sodium.

31. Museum docent’s offering : TOUR
Museum docents are people who serve as guides for visitors to their institutions, usually providing their services for free. The term “docent” comes from the Latin “docere” meaning “to teach”.

32. F.B.I. file, e.g. : DOSSIER
A “dossier” is a collection of papers with information about a person or subject. “Dossier” is a French term meaning “bundle of papers”. The French word comes from the word “dos” meaning “back”. It is suggested that the term “dossier” arose as there was usually a label on the back (dos) of the bundle.

36. Prez on a fiver : ABE
The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

43. Bog fuel : PEAT
When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because this decaying matter can form peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs.

45. Tiger’s home : DETROIT
The origins of the Detroit Tigers baseball team’s nickname seems a little unclear. One story is that it was taken from the Detroit Light Guard military unit who were known as “The Tigers”. The Light Guard fought with distinction during the Civil War and in the Spanish-American War. Sure enough, when the Detroit baseball team went into the Majors they were formally given permission to use “The Tigers” name by the Detroit Light Guard.

51. Fanta and Sprite : SODAS
The soft drink “Fanta” has quite an interesting history. As WWII approached, the Coca-Cola plant in Germany had trouble obtaining the ingredients it needed to continue production of the cola beverage, so the plant manager decided to create a new drink from what was available. The new beverage was built around whey (left over from cheese production) and pomace (left over after juice has been extracted from fruit). The inventor asked his colleagues to use their imagination (“Fantasie” in German) and come up with a name for the drink, so they piped up “Fanta!”

Sprite is Coca-Cola’s answer to the very successful soft drink called 7 Up. Sprite was introduced in 1961, and Coca-Cola used its muscle to topple 7 Up from its dominant position in the market. Sprite has been the number-one selling lemon soda since 1978.

52. One of a pair in a fast-food logo : ARCH
The original McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald as a barbecue restaurant. The brothers then moved into fast food hamburgers, eventually selling out to one of their franchise agents, Ray Kroc. It was Ray Kroc who really led the company to its worldwide success.

53. Suffix with bass : -OON
Our modern bassoon first appeared in the 1800s and has had a place in the concert orchestra ever since.

62. Cinco de Mayo celebration : FIESTA
The celebration known as Cinco de Mayo is observed all over the US and in parts of Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is not, as some believe, Mexico’s Independence Day. Independence is celebrated on September 16, whereas Cinco de Mayo is of course celebrated on May 5th. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

64. Windy City transports : ELS
Elevated railroad (El.)

It seems that the derivation of Chicago’s nickname as the “Windy City” isn’t as obvious as I would have thought. There are two viable theories. First that the weather can be breezy, with wind blowing in off Lake Michigan. The effect of the wind is exaggerated by the grid-layout adopted by city planners after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The second theory is that “windy” means “being full of bluster”. Sportswriters from the rival city of Cincinnati were fond of calling Chicago supporters “windy” in the 1860s and 1870s, meaning that they were full of hot air in their claims that the Chicago White Stockings were superior to the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

65. “Bambi” setting : FOREST
The 1942 Disney classic “Bambi” is based on a book written by Felix Salten called “Bambi, A Life in the Woods”. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

66. Start of a conclusion : ERGO
“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.

Down
2. Thurman of “Kill Bill” : UMA
Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

“Kill Bill” is a 3-part Quentin Tarantino movie (so I haven’t seen it!). “Kill Bill” started off as one film, but as the running time was over four hours, it was split into two “volumes”, released several months apart in 2003 and 2004. There are now plans to make “Kill Bill: Volume 3”.

3. *Like many a heartthrob’s eyes : BABY BLUE (“baby book” & “blue book”)
I think we tend to associate the term “blue book” with the Kelley Blue Book that provides valuations for vehicles. The term itself dates back to the 15th century when we started calling an almanac or other publication full of information a “blue book”.

4. Pittsburgh pro : STEELER
The Pittsburgh Steelers football team were founded in 1933, making them the oldest franchise in the AFC. Back in 1933, the team was known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates name was chosen as the Pittsburgh baseball team was the Pirates. The name was changed to the Steelers in 1940, and then the Steagles in 1943 when the team merged with the Philadelphia Eagles. There was a further merger in 1944, with the Chicago Cardinal to form Card-Pitt. From 1945, the Steelers name was resurrected.

7. Baseball great Buck : O’NEIL
Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro American League.

8. Language that gave us “guru” and “pundit” : HINDI
“Guru” is a Hindi word meaning “teacher” or “priest”.

A pundit is a learned person who one might turn to for an opinion. “Pundit” is derived from the Hindi word “payndit” meaning “learned man”.

9. “The Tortoise and the Hare” storyteller : AESOP
“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

13. “Guys and Dolls” song whose title follows “Call a lawyer and …” : SUE ME
“Guys and Dolls” is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It was first produced on Broadway, in 1950, and ran for 1200 performances. The show was based on a book written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. “Guys and Dolls” was chosen as winner of a Pulitzer in 1951, but the award was cancelled as Abe Burrows was having problems with the House Un-American Activities Committee at the time.

25. Rebuke to an eavesdropper, for short : MYOB
Mind Your Own Business! (MYOB)

29. Skunk’s defense : ODOR
Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

34. Run-down : SEEDY
We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.

35. About : IN RE
The term “in re” is Latin, derived from “in” (in) and “res” (thing, matter). “In re” literally means “in the matter”, and is used to mean “in regard to”, or “in the matter of”.

37. “Little Women” woman : BETH
“Little Women” is a novel written by American author Louisa May Alcott. The quartet of little women is Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. Jo is a tomboy and the main character in the story, and is based on Alcott herself.

38. *Company whose logo includes the winged foot of Mercury : GOODYEAR (“good book” & “yearbook”)
The Goodyear tire company was founded in 1898. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who invented vulcanized rubber in 1839. Despite the Goodyear name, Charles Goodyear himself had no connection with the company.

39. Home to the Himalayas : ASIA
The magnificent Himalaya range of mountains in Asia takes its name from the Sanskrit for “abode of snow”. Geographically, the Himalayas separate the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau to the north.

41. Full of swagger, say : MACHO
A man described as “macho” shows pride in his masculinity. “Macho” is a Spanish word for “male animal”.

46. Dosage amt. : TSP
Teaspoon (tsp.)

47. Shot for those who have mastered English? : MASSE
In billiards, a massé shot is one in which the cue ball makes an extreme curve due to the player imparting heavy spin on the ball with his or her cue.

In my misspent youth, I’d play a little snooker. When deliberately placing side spin on the cue ball, we Irish (and British) players would simply say “I put some ‘side’ on that shot”. The term used over here in the US for the same shot is putting “english” on the ball. Ironically, the term “english” comes from the French “anglé” meaning “angled”. “Anglé” sounds exactly like the word “Anglais”, which is French for “English”. There you have it …

48. Vaccine target : POLIO
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.

54. 32-card game : SKAT
When I was a teenager in Ireland, I had a friend with a German father. The father taught us the game of Skat, and what a great game it is. Skat originated in Germany in the 1800s and is to this day the most popular card game in the country. I haven’t played it in decades, but would love to play it again …

57. Some football linemen: Abbr. : RTS
Right tackle (RT)

59. “Wow!,” in textspeak : OMG
OMG is text-speak for Oh My Gosh! Oh My Goodness! or any other G words you might think of …

60. Prefix with colonial : NEO-
Neocolonialism is a the practice of one country influencing another by using economic and political power, rather than military might.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Centers : HUBS
5. Greetings from Oahu : ALOHAS
11. Carrier in the Star Alliance : SAS
14. Amo, amas, ___ … : AMAT
15. Actor Radcliffe : DANIEL
16. The Cowboys of the Big 12 Conf. : OSU
17. Kemo ___ : SABE
18. *Like software that can be freely used and altered : OPEN-SOURCE (“open book” & “sourcebook”)
20. One with whom your safe is not safe : YEGG
22. Veiled vow? : I DO
23. Wineglass feature : STEM
24. Walk about : AMBLE
26. *Samsung or LG product : FLIP PHONE (“flip book” & “phone book”)
28. Aleve alternative : TYLENOL
30. Flew the coop : LEFT
31. Museum docent’s offering : TOUR
32. F.B.I. file, e.g. : DOSSIER
36. Prez on a fiver : ABE
37. Shelf prop … or a hint to both parts of the answers to the six starred clues : BOOKEND
38. ___-toothed : GAP
41. More cheerful around the holidays, say : MERRIER
42. Ask, as a question : POSE
43. Bog fuel : PEAT
45. Tiger’s home : DETROIT
47. *Tournament competition : MATCH PLAY (“matchbook” & “playbook”)
51. Fanta and Sprite : SODAS
52. One of a pair in a fast-food logo : ARCH
53. Suffix with bass : -OON
54. Nimble : SPRY
55. *Class assignments : SCHOOLWORK (“schoolbook” & “workbook”)
58. Many, many moons : AEON
61. Go out with : SEE
62. Cinco de Mayo celebration : FIESTA
63. Get under control : TAME
64. Windy City transports : ELS
65. “Bambi” setting : FOREST
66. Start of a conclusion : ERGO

Down
1. Owns : HAS
2. Thurman of “Kill Bill” : UMA
3. *Like many a heartthrob’s eyes : BABY BLUE (“baby book” & “blue book”)
4. Pittsburgh pro : STEELER
5. Sick as ___ : A DOG
6. Drink like 5-Down : LAP
7. Baseball great Buck : O’NEIL
8. Language that gave us “guru” and “pundit” : HINDI
9. “The Tortoise and the Hare” storyteller : AESOP
10. ___-mo : SLO
11. A bit : SORT OF
12. Mountain climber’s climb : ASCENT
13. “Guys and Dolls” song whose title follows “Call a lawyer and …” : SUE ME
19. One who walks down the aisle : USHER
21. Brig. ___ : GEN
24. Lead-in to girl : ATTA
25. Rebuke to an eavesdropper, for short : MYOB
26. Speed away, with “it” : FLOOR
27. Made a case : PLED
29. Skunk’s defense : ODOR
33. Word with bunny or bum : SKI
34. Run-down : SEEDY
35. About : IN RE
37. “Little Women” woman : BETH
38. *Company whose logo includes the winged foot of Mercury : GOODYEAR (“good book” & “yearbook”)
39. Home to the Himalayas : ASIA
40. Strokes … or ones getting stroked : PETS
41. Full of swagger, say : MACHO
42. Divide appropriately : PRORATE
43. Mail carrier’s charge : PARCEL
44. Makes a lasting impression? : ETCHES
46. Dosage amt. : TSP
47. Shot for those who have mastered English? : MASSE
48. Vaccine target : POLIO
49. Let down : LOWER
50. Win by ___ : A NOSE
54. 32-card game : SKAT
56. On leave : OFF
57. Some football linemen: Abbr. : RTS
59. “Wow!,” in textspeak : OMG
60. Prefix with colonial : NEO-

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