0730-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 30 Jul 14, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jean O’Conor
THEME: Punny Things in the Kitchen … each of today’s themed answers is a kitchen implement, but with each clue referring to a surprising interpretation of the answer:

17A. List of user IDs? : COOKIE SHEET
22A. Undergarment fitting device? : MEASURING CUP
30A. Jailer with a key ring? : CAN OPENER
43A. Hardly an attraction for a surfer? : MICROWAVE
49A. Directors in charge of downsizing? : CUTTING BOARD
58A. Attractive but annoying date? : CHAFING DISH

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 12m 14s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Sandwich usually served with mayo : BLT
The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” that we use in English today.

10. Scott Pelley’s network : CBS
Scott Pelley is a TV journalist who currently is anchoring the “CBS Evening News”, and as such is the successor to Katie Couric.

13. Tyler of “The Lord of the Rings” : LIV
Actress and model Liv Tyler is the daughter of Steven Tyler, lead singer with Aerosmith, and Bebe Buell, a celebrated model and singer. Liv Tyler plays the Elf maiden Arwen Undómiel in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

14. April to September, for baseball : SEASON
As many of you know, I’m no sports expert. I just read that the 2014 MLB season opened on March 22nd, with a game between the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia. The first games played in North America took place on March 30th. The last games are scheduled to play on September 28th. So, doesn’t that make baseball season from March through September, at least in 2014?

15. Stadium closed in 2008 : SHEA
Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York was named after William A. Shea, the man credited with bringing National League baseball back to the city in the form of the New York Mets. Shea Stadium was dismantled (not imploded) in 2008-2009, and the site now provides additional parking for the new stadium nearby called Citi Field.

16. Like some stocks, for short : OTC
Over-the-counter (OTC)

17. List of user IDs? : COOKIE SHEET
When you visit a website, often it will leave a little piece of text information called a “cookie” on your computer. As a cookie is a text file, and not executable, it is relatively harmless. However, as browsers routinely read these text files, cookies can be used as “spyware”. Basically, the browser can read the cookie and tell a lot about your browsing habits. This can be a good thing, so when you go back to your favorite websites you will be recognized and this can help you. For example, you may have shopped at a site and you’ll find that your shopping cart still has the items you were looking at, often because the items were stored in a cookie. However, they can be “bad” as some spyware uses the cookies to detect your browsing habits and can direct the browser to do things you may not want it to do. So, I only accept cookies from sites I trust, as they do enhance my browsing experience …

26. Plains Indians : OSAGES
The Osage Nation originated in the Ohio River valley in what we now call Kentucky. They were forced to migrate west of the Mississippi by the invading Iroquois tribe. Most of the tribe members now live in Osage County, Oklahoma.

30. Jailer with a key ring? : CAN OPENER
“Can” is a slang term for “jail”.

35. The Rosetta Stone is one : STELA
Stelae (singular “stele” or “stela”) were used all over the world, sometimes as territorial markers and sometimes to commemorate military victories. In later times stelae were commonly erected as commemorative markers in graveyards or other religious sites.

Rosetta is a coastal city and port on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact of tremendous importance in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carvings on the stone are actually three translations of the same passage of prose, one in Egyptian hieroglyphics, one in Egyptian Demotic language, and one in classical Greek. The stone was discovered by the French military during Napoleon’s 1798 campaign in Egypt. Before the French could get it back to France, the stone somehow ended up in enemy hands (the British), so it is now on display in the British Museum. Ownership of the stone is very much in dispute. The French want it, and understandably, the Egyptians would like it back.

58. Attractive but annoying date? : CHAFING DISH
A “chafing dish” is a portable grate used for dishes that must be cooked over a slow heat, The heat source is often charcoal or an alcohol burner. The term “chafing” comes from the French “chauffer” meaning “to make warm”.

61. TurboTax alternative, for short : CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

TurboTax is a software- and online-based income tax preparation service. It’s what I use, and I recommend it highly …

63. ___ greens : TURNIP
The names of veggies cause me grief sometimes. What’s called a turnip here in the US, we call a swede back in Ireland. An Irishman’s turnip is a rutabaga over here. Thank goodness a potato is a potato, or I’d just give up altogether 🙂

64. Vessel that was 300 cubits long : 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.

65. Poison ___ : OAK
Two of the plants that are most painful to humans are poison oak and poison ivy. Poison oak is mainly found west of the Rocky Mountains, and poison ivy to the east.

Down
1. What century plants do only once : BLOOM
“Century plant” and “American aloe” are common names for the flowering plant Agave americana. The century plant lives for maybe 10-30 years (not a hundred!). It flowers only once, towards the end of a long life. It dies after flowering.

4. Sch. with a noted marching band : USC
The University of Southern California (USC) is a private school in Los Angeles. Apart from its excellent academic record, USC is known the success of its athletic program. USC athletes have won more Olympic medals than the students of any other university in the world. The USC marching band is very famous as well, and is known as the “Spirit of Troy”. The band has performed with many celebrities, and is the only college band to have two platinum records.

6. Most Cook Islanders : MAORI
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Māori are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting sometime in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities.

The Cook Islands is a grouping of 15 small islands in the South Pacific that is an associated state with New Zealand. under this arrangement, New Zealand is responsible for the defense of the Cook Islands and represents them on the world stage. Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, but they are also Cook Island nationals. The Cook Islands have their own democratically elected parliament and are self-governed.

8. “___ anything later?” : DOING
Nope …

9. “Romanian Rhapsodies” composer : ENESCO
George Enescu (aka Georges Enesco) was a Romanian composer and performer. Enescu’s most popular works are two “Romanian Rhapsodies” (1901-2) and the opera “Oedipe” (1936).

11. Gripe : BEEF
A “beef” is a complaint or a grievance. It’s not quite clear how “beef” came to have this meaning, but one suggestion is that derives from the habit of soldiers at the end of the 1800s complaining about the quality or availability of beef in their rations.

12. College Board creation : SAT
Today the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the acronym SAT.

18. Noted children’s “doctor” : SEUSS
Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Geisel was commander of the Animation Department of the USAF during WWII. He was behind many propaganda films including one called “Our Job in Japan”. Even though the film was produced specifically as propaganda, this same movie was used after the war as a basis for the short feature “Design for Death”, a study of Japanese culture released in 1947 and winner of an Oscar for best Documentary.

20. 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.

28. Peak figure: Abbr. : ELEV
Elevation (elev.)

29. ___-Coburg (former German duchy) : SAXE
Saxony was the name given at different times in history to states along the Elbe river in central Europe. As the various states broke up, they spawned many duchies that retained the name “Saxe”. The most famous of these duchies was probably Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two united duchies in Germany that ceased to exist after WWII. A notable branch of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House is the British Royal Family, as Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. King George V of the United Kingdom changed the name of the family to the House of Windsor in a politically sensible move during WWI.

31. Former Chevy subcompact : AVEO
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile that has been around since 2002. The Aveo is manufactured by GM Daewoo, the GM subsidiary in South Korea. Although the Aveo name is still used in some markets, here in North America the Aveo has been sold as the Chevrolet Sonic since 2012. By the way, GM Daewoo is the third largest manufacturer of automobiles in South Korea, after Hyundai and Kia.

32. Book before Deut. : NUM
The Book of Numbers in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles relates much of the journey of Moses and the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land. The title comes from the numbering of the people that is described in the beginning of the book.

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. The English title of Deuteronomy comes from a Greek word that translates as “second law”.

33. British record giant : EMI
EMI was a British music company, with the acronym originally standing for Electric and Musical Industries.

42. Arab kingdom native : SAUDI
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saudi family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

45. Pinocchio material : WOOD
“The Adventures of Pinocchio” is an 1883 children’s novel by Carlo Collodi, which is all about an animated puppet called Pinocchio and Geppetto, his poor woodcarver father. Pinocchio is prone to telling lies, the stress of which causes his short nose to become longer.

47. Hospital implants : STENTS
In the world of medicine and surgery, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, so that it reduces the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

50. Dress smartly, in old parlance : TOG UP
The verb “tog”, meaning to dress up, comes from the Latin “toga”, the garment worn in Ancient Rome. “Tog” can be use as an informal word for a coat or a cloak. Back in Ireland, togs are what we call swimming shorts.

51. Hindu warrior king : INDRA
In Hindu mythology, Indra is the King of the gods, Lord of Heaven. He is also the God of War, Storms and Rainfall.

52. German refusals : NEINS
“Nein” is the German for “no”.

54. Rapper with the 3x platinum single “Hold On, We’re Going Home” : DRAKE
Drake is the stage name of rapper Aubrey Graham from Toronto.

55. Karmann ___, classic German sports car : GHIA
Volkswagen made the Karmann Ghia from 1955 to 1974. The original model was built on the VW Beetle chassis, was styled by the Italian automobile design house Ghia, and the bodywork was hand-built by the German coach-builder Karmann.

58. Exec in charge of $$$ : CFO
Chief financial officer (CFO)

59. ___ card : SIM
Most cell phones have SIM cards these days. SIM cards hold the personal information of the subscriber, with the acronym being short for Subscriber Identity Module.

60. Some PCs and printers : HPS
The giant multinational called HP (originally Hewlett-Packard) was founded in 1939 with an investment of $538, in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company name would have been Packard-Hewlett if Dave Packard had won a coin toss!

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Sandwich usually served with mayo : BLT
4. Like messy beds : UNMADE
10. Scott Pelley’s network : CBS
13. Tyler of “The Lord of the Rings” : LIV
14. April to September, for baseball : SEASON
15. Stadium closed in 2008 : SHEA
16. Like some stocks, for short : OTC
17. List of user IDs? : COOKIE SHEET
19. “I’m surprised to see you!” : OH HI!
21. Run some water over : RINSE OFF
22. Undergarment fitting device? : MEASURING CUP
25. Tag … or a word that can precede tag : NAME
26. Plains Indians : OSAGES
30. Jailer with a key ring? : CAN OPENER
35. The Rosetta Stone is one : STELA
36. Massachusetts or Connecticut in D.C. : AVE
37. Was livid : FUMED
39. Cowboy moniker : TEX
40. Card combinations : MELDS
43. Hardly an attraction for a surfer? : MICROWAVE
46. Impersonate : POSE AS
48. “… ducks in ___” : A ROW
49. Directors in charge of downsizing? : CUTTING BOARD
55. Elementary start : GRADE ONE
57. Textile artist, perhaps : DYER
58. Attractive but annoying date? : CHAFING DISH
61. TurboTax alternative, for short : CPA
62. Features of many late-1950s cars : FINS
63. ___ greens : TURNIP
64. Vessel that was 300 cubits long : ARK
65. Poison ___ : OAK
66. Jerks : SPASMS
67. Fish eggs : ROE

Down
1. What century plants do only once : BLOOM
2. Limber : LITHE
3. Just 2 to 13, once : TV CHANNELS
4. Sch. with a noted marching band : USC
5. Opposite of paleo- : NEO-
6. Most Cook Islanders : MAORI
7. Welcome at the door : ASK IN
8. “___ anything later?” : DOING
9. “Romanian Rhapsodies” composer : ENESCO
10. Food Network V.I.P. : CHEF
11. Gripe : BEEF
12. College Board creation : SAT
15. Patronize, as a store : SHOP AT
18. Noted children’s “doctor” : SEUSS
20. Golfer Aoki : ISAO
23. One crouching at home : UMP
24. Snorkeling spot : REEF
27. Aid for a bank heist : GETAWAY CAR
28. Peak figure: Abbr. : ELEV
29. ___-Coburg (former German duchy) : SAXE
30. Summer getaway : CAMP
31. Former Chevy subcompact : AVEO
32. Book before Deut. : NUM
33. British record giant : EMI
34. Cam button : REC
38. Bummer : DRAG
41. Some coffee orders : DECAFS
42. Arab kingdom native : SAUDI
44. Planet, e.g. : ORB
45. Pinocchio material : WOOD
47. Hospital implants : STENTS
50. Dress smartly, in old parlance : TOG UP
51. Hindu warrior king : INDRA
52. German refusals : NEINS
53. Not an original : REPRO
54. Rapper with the 3x platinum single “Hold On, We’re Going Home” : DRAKE
55. Karmann ___, classic German sports car : GHIA
56. Arrange in order : RANK
58. Exec in charge of $$$ : CFO
59. ___ card : SIM
60. Some PCs and printers : HPS

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