0606-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Jun 14, Friday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Kameron Austin Collins
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 26m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Decision theory factor : RISK
Decision theory is a field of mathematics, philosophy or psychology that is concerned with the identification of risks associated with a particular decision.

10. Coolers, in brief : ACS
Room coolers are air conditioning units (ACs).

13. Indie rock band whose “The Suburbs” was the Grammys’ 2010 Album of the Year : ARCADE FIRE
Arcade Fire is an indie rock band from Montreal. The group is a bit of a family affair as two of the band’s members are husband and wife, and one is the husband’s brother.

16. British author of the so-called “London Trilogy” : MARTIN AMIS
I suppose the successful English novelist Martin Amis must have writing in his blood. He is the son of the respected author Kingsley Amis, a Booker Prize winner. Amis’s best-known novels are his so-called “London Trilogy” consisting of “Money” (1984), “London Fields” (1989) and “The Information” (1995).

17. Feature of a Norman Rockwell self-portrait : PIPE
Corncob pipes are made from cobs that have been dried for two years and are then hollowed out into the shape of a bowl. Famous smokers of corncob pipes were General Douglas MacArthur, Mark Twain, Norman Rockwell as well as Popeye and Frosty the Snowman.

18. Agitation overseas : STURM
“Sturm und Drang” translates from the German into “Storm and Stress” or perhaps “Storm and Impulse”. “Sturm und Drang” was the name given to a movement in German literature and music in the latter half of the 18th century. The writer Johann Goethe was a major proponent of the movement, which took its name from a play by Maximilian Klinger.

19. Hot, spicy brew : CHAI TEA
Chai is a drink made from spiced black tea, honey and milk, with “chai” being the Hindi word for “tea”. We often called tea “a cup of char” growing up in Ireland, with “char” being our slang word for tea, derived from “chai”.

21. ___ Records : EMI
EMI was a British music company, with the acronym originally standing for Electric and Musical Industries.

25. “Sic ’em!” : ATTACK!
“Sic ’em” is an attack order given to a dog, instructing the animal to growl, bark or even bite. The term dates back to the 1830s, with “sic” being a variation of “seek”.

26. Popular Japanese manga seen on the Cartoon Network : NARUTO
“Naruto” is a manga comic series from Japan that has been adapted into a television anime show. A censored version of the TV show (to remove gore, bad language, smoking etc.) shows on the Cartoon Network here in the US.

29. “Bonanza” setting : TAHOE
The western TV series “Bonanza” ran for 14 seasons, making it the second longest running western show on television (after “Gunsmoke”, which ran for 20 seasons). “Bonanza” is set in the area around Virginia City in Nevada, close to Lake Tahoe.

30. Language originally known as Mocha : JAVASCRIPT
JavaScript is a computer programming language that is mainly used as an integral part of web browsers. The language was developed at Netscape in the days of the Browser Wars with Microsoft. It was developed under the codename Mocha and the first official release was called LiveScript. The name was changed to JavaScript in a blatant attempt by Netscape to cache in on the reputation of Sun Microsystem’s Java language.

34. Turkish money : LIRA
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro.

35. Miscellany : ANA
An ana (plural “anas”) is a collection, perhaps of literature, that represents the character of a particular place or a person. Ana can be used as a noun or as a suffix (e.g. Americana).

36. Tochises : HEINIES
The slang term “heinie”, meaning “rear end”, is probably a contraction of “hind end”.

“Tokus” (also “tochis”) is a slang term for “buttocks”.

38. Diego Rivera’s “___ Sandías” : LAS
Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter, famous for his murals. His wife was an equally famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

41. Exotic annual off-road race : DAKAR RALLY
The Dakar Rally is an annual off-road race that has been run since 1978. The original event was started in Paris and ended in Dakar, Senegal giving the race its name. The race was moved to South America in 2009 due to security concerns in parts of Africa, but “the Dakar” retains its original name.

43. Dead reckonings? : OBITS
“Obituary” comes from the Latin “obituaris”, originally the record of the death of a person, although the literal meaning is “pertaining to death”.

48. Best-selling food writer ___ Drummond : REE
Ree Drummond is a food writer and blogger. Drummond’s blog “The Pioneer Woman” recounts her daily life on her family’s working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

54. Ryan of Hollywood : O’NEAL
Actor Ryan O’Neal got his big break in the sixties on television. He appeared in the prime-time soap opera “Peyton Place”, opposite fellow newcomer Mia Farrow. Then in 1970 he landed a starring role in the hit movie “Love Story”, which established him in Hollywood. O’Neal was an amateur boxer before he turned to acting, and established a respectable record Golden Gloves competitions

57. Writer, director and co-star of the Madea films : TYLER PERRY
Tyler Perry is an actor best known for playing “Madea”, a character that Perry plays in drag.

62. Belief in human supremacy : SPECIESISM
The term “speciesism” has two common meanings. In one sense, speciesism is used in a similar way to racism and sexism, and refers to the apparent prejudice by humans against certain species of animals. In another sense, speciesism refers to the concept of human supremacism.

65. ___ Modern : TATE
The museum known as “the Tate” is actually made up of four separate galleries in England. The original Tate gallery was founded by Sir Henry Tate as the National Gallery of British Art. It is located on Millbank in London, on the site of the old Millbank Prison, and is now called Tate Britain. There is also the Tate Liverpool in the north of England located in an old warehouse, and the Tate St. Ives in the west country located in an old gas works. My favorite of the Tate galleries is the Tate Modern which lies on the banks of the Thames in London. It’s a beautiful building, a converted power station that you have to see to believe.

Down
1. Pickup line? : RAMS
Chrysler put ram hood ornaments on all of its Dodge branded vehicles starting in 1933. When the first line of Dodge trucks and vans were introduced in 1981, they were named “Ram” in honor of that hood ornament.

3. Rugby formation : SCRUM
If you’ve ever seen a rugby match, you’ll recognize the “scrum”, where the players designated as “forwards” bind together and push against the forwards on the opposing team. It’s a way of restarting the game after various types of stoppages. Scrum is short for “scrummage”, which in itself is a variation of “scrimmage”. And “scrimmage” has its roots in the word “skirmish”. If you get the chance, take a look at the Matt Damon-Morgan Freeman movie called “Invictus”, directed by Clint Eastwood. It’s all about rugby in South Africa after Nelson Mandela came to power. A powerful film …

4. Subject of Spike Lee’s “When the Levees Broke” : KATRINA
“When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” is a documentary by Spike Lee that was released in 2006. The film explores the devastation of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

6. 1962 film “___ Man Answers” : IF A
“If a Man Answers” is a 1962 comedy film starring Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. Darin and Dee were husband and wife at the time the film was made.

7. Energy : VIM
“Vim” and “punch” are words that both mean “energy” and “power”.

8. Actor Stoltz : ERIC
Eric Stoltz is an actor from Whittier, California who is best known for playing the disfigured Rocky Dennis in the 1985 movie “Mask” opposite Cher.

9. Gaga contemporary : KESHA
Ke$ha (also just Kesha) is the stage name used by singer Kesha Rose Sebert.

10. Notable Senate testifier of 1991 : ANITA HILL
Anita Hill is an attorney who is currently a professor at Brandeis University. Hill gained a lot of attention in 1991 when she accused US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Judge Thomas was confirmed anyway. Many say that Hill’s testimony during the confirmation hearings launched public awareness of the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. Within a year, complaints of harassment were up fifty percent.

11. Florida’s so-called “Waterfront Wonderland” : CAPE CORAL
Cape Coral is very much a planned community in Florida, founded in 1957. The intention of the developers was to create a Waterfront Wonderland. The result is a city with 400 miles of navigable waterways, more than any other city on the planet!

12. Password requirer, maybe : SPEAKEASY
A speakeasy is an establishment that sells alcoholic drinks illegally. Speakeasies were very big in the US in the days of Prohibition. The obvious etymology, of a speakeasy owner asking his or her customers to “speak easy” so as not to draw attention to the authorities, is thought to have originated in 1888 in McKeesport just outside Pittsburgh.

14. 10-watt, say : DIM
A 10-watt light bulb is relatively dim. Well, that would be true for a tungsten bulb anyway …

15. Old-fashioned shelter along a highway : SPITAL
“Spital” is a old term used for a shelter along a highway. “Spital” is related to the word “hospital”.

20. Phone inits. : ATT
The original AT&T Corporation was known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

28. Downer : OPIATE
Opiates are the narcotic alkaloids found in the opium poppy plant, although some synthetic versions and derivatives of the same alkaloids are also called opiates. To produce opiates, the latex sap of the opium poppy is collected and processed. The naturally-occurring drugs of morphine and codeine can both be extracted from the sap. Some synthesis is required to make derivative drugs like heroin and oxycodone.

30. South African leader beginning in 2009 : JACOB ZUMA
Jacob Zuma is the current President of South Africa, and also the President of the African National Congress (ANC). Zuma is a polygamist with six wives and twenty children.

31. Reanimation after apparent death : ANABIOSIS
“Anabiosis” is resuscitation, the restoring to life from a condition close to death. The term can also describe a state of suspended animation.

37. Kind of hotel, for short : SRO
Single Room Occupancy (SRO)

40. David Ogden ___, actor on “M*A*S*H” : STIERS
David Ogden Stiers is an actor best known for playing Major Charles Winchester III on the TV show “M*A*S*H”.

44. ___-cone : SNO
A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

50. Opera ___ : SERIA
The Italian term “opera seria” is “serious” opera, as opposed to “opera buffa”, what we call “comic” opera.

51. Land formation known for its caves : KARST
A “karst” is a geological formation in which limestone has eroded away leaving sinkholes, underground streams and caverns. The term “karst” comes from such a formation in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy called the Karst Plateau.

55. Old ___, Conn. : LYME
Old Lyme is a town in Connecticut that is named for the English town of Lyme Regis. The towns of Old Lyme and its neighbor Lyme gave their name to Lyme disease, as a number of cases of the disease were identified there in 1975.

58. Willy ___, pioneering writer on rocketry : LEY
Willy Ley was a German rocket scientist who did much of his work here in the US. Unlike many of his compatriots, Ley left Nazi Germany and moved the US prior to WWII, in 1935. He wrote books about space travel that were very approachable and helped popularize the concept with the general public. His book “The Conquest of Space” was published in 1949.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Decision theory factor : RISK
5. Athletic short? : FIVE-K
10. Coolers, in brief : ACS
13. Indie rock band whose “The Suburbs” was the Grammys’ 2010 Album of the Year : ARCADE FIRE
15. Jiffy : SNAP
16. British author of the so-called “London Trilogy” : MARTIN AMIS
17. Feature of a Norman Rockwell self-portrait : PIPE
18. Agitation overseas : STURM
19. Hot, spicy brew : CHAI TEA
21. ___ Records : EMI
22. Washboard parts : ABS
25. “Sic ’em!” : ATTACK!
26. Popular Japanese manga seen on the Cartoon Network : NARUTO
29. “Bonanza” setting : TAHOE
30. Language originally known as Mocha : JAVASCRIPT
34. Turkish money : LIRA
35. Miscellany : ANA
36. Tochises : HEINIES
38. Diego Rivera’s “___ Sandías” : LAS
39. Ceilings : CAPS
41. Exotic annual off-road race : DAKAR RALLY
43. Dead reckonings? : OBITS
45. Admits : LETS ON
46. In wait : BIDING
48. Best-selling food writer ___ Drummond : REE
49. “Bad!” : TSK!
52. Become dazedly inattentive : ZONE OUT
54. Ryan of Hollywood : O’NEAL
56. One with a password, maybe : USER
57. Writer, director and co-star of the Madea films : TYLER PERRY
61. Master’s counterpart : MISS
62. Belief in human supremacy : SPECIESISM
63. Buffoon : ASS
64. Goes on and off diets, say : YO-YOS
65. ___ Modern : TATE

Down
1. Pickup line? : RAMS
2. Furious : IRATE
3. Rugby formation : SCRUM
4. Subject of Spike Lee’s “When the Levees Broke” : KATRINA
5. Reed section? : FEN
6. 1962 film “___ Man Answers” : IF A
7. Energy : VIM
8. Actor Stoltz : ERIC
9. Gaga contemporary : KESHA
10. Notable Senate testifier of 1991 : ANITA HILL
11. Florida’s so-called “Waterfront Wonderland” : CAPE CORAL
12. Password requirer, maybe : SPEAKEASY
14. 10-watt, say : DIM
15. Old-fashioned shelter along a highway : SPITAL
20. Phone inits. : ATT
22. Proceeded like a rocket : ARCED
23. Time capsule event : BURIAL
24. Tough problem : STINKER
27. Grayish : ASH
28. Downer : OPIATE
30. South African leader beginning in 2009 : JACOB ZUMA
31. Reanimation after apparent death : ANABIOSIS
32. Insipidity : VAPIDNESS
33. Short : TERSE
37. Kind of hotel, for short : SRO
40. David Ogden ___, actor on “M*A*S*H” : STIERS
42. Colony unit : ANT NEST
44. ___-cone : SNO
47. Bold : GUTSY
50. Opera ___ : SERIA
51. Land formation known for its caves : KARST
53. Printed slip : TYPO
54. Unlock, in poetry : OPE
55. Old ___, Conn. : LYME
58. Willy ___, pioneering writer on rocketry : LEY
59. Green start? : ECO-
60. “___ for rainbow” : R IS

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