0901-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 1 Sep 14, Monday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Pyramid city close to Cairo GIZA
Giza is located on the west bank of the Nile, about 20 km southwest of Cairo. The nearby Giza Plateau is home to some of the most amazing ancient monuments on the planet, including the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx.

5. Mocking remarks JAPES
“To jape” means “to joke or quip”. The exact origins of “jape” are unclear, but it does seem to come from Old French. In the mid-1600’s “to jape” was a slang term meaning “to have sex with”. No joke!

10. “Yikes!” EGAD!
“Egad!” developed as a polite way of saying “oh God!” in the late 1600s and is an expression of fear or surprise somewhat like “good grief!”.

16. African country bordering 12-Down MALI
The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa, south of Algeria. The country’s most famous city is … Timbuktu.

17. Socialite who inspired 1950’s “Call Me Madam” PERLE MESTA
Perle Mesta was a socialite and fundraiser for the Democratic Party. She was made U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in 1949. Mesta was played by Ethel Merman in the movie titled “Call Me Madam”.

21. Sulu and Uhura, e.g., on the Enterprise SHIPMATES
Mr Sulu was of course played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat.

Lt. Nyota Uhura was the communications officer in the original “Star Trek” television series, played by Nichelle Nichols. The role was significant in that Uhura was one of the first African American characters to figure front and center in US television. In a 1968 episode, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Uhura kiss, the first inter-racial kiss to be broadcast in the US. Apparently the scene was meant to be shot twice, with and without the kiss, so that network executives could later decide which version to air. William Shatner says that he deliberately ran long on the first shoot (with the kiss) and fluffed the hurried second shoot (without the kiss), so that the network would have no choice.

23. 1957 hit covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968 SUSIE Q
The song “Susie Q” was written by, and originally released by, Dale Hawkins in 1957. It was covered By Creedence Clearwater Revival (as “Suzie Q”) in 1968.

27. ___ Dhabi ABU
Abu Dhabi is one of the seven Emirates that make up the federation known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two largest members of the UAE (geographically) are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the only two of the seven members that have veto power over UAE policy. Before 1971, the UAE was a British Protectorate, a collection of sheikdoms. The sheikdoms entered into a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, after which they became known as the Trucial States, derived from the word “truce”.

31. Like Old Norse writing RUNIC
A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

37. Pastrami and salami DELI MEATS
In the US, pastrami was originally called “pastrama”, a dish brought to America by Jewish immigrants from Romania in the second half of the the nineteenth century. The original name may have evolved from the Turkish word “pastirma” meaning “pressed”. “Pastrama” likely morphed into “pastrami” influenced by the name of the Italian sausage called salami.

Salame (note the “e” at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.

40. Vietnam War weapon NAPALM
Napalm is a incendiary compound used in weapons that is made from petroleum mixed with a thickening agent. Napalm was developed in a secret program at Harvard during WWII. It was initially used in incendiary bombs and in flamethrowers. The thickening agent in napalm causes the burning material to stick to skin causing severe burns. Because of this, the UN declared the use of napalm in civilian areas a war crime in 1980.

44. Sea of Tranquillity, for the Apollo 11 astronauts BASE
The Moon’s Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for “Sea of Tranquility”) was named in 1651 by astronomers Francesco Grimaldi and Giovanni Battista Riccioli. Famously, the first manned landing on the Moon was in the Sea of Tranquility, when the Apollo 11 Lunar Module named Eagle touched down there in 1969. However, the first man-made vehicle to reach the Sea of Tranquility arrive four years earlier. the Ranger 8 spacecraft was deliberately crashed there in 1965, sending back thousands of photographs to Earth in the last 23 minutes of its mission.

48. Car fuel additive ETHYL
The Ethyl Corporation produced the controversial anti-knock fuel additive known as Ethyl, actually tetra-ethyl lead, and we are still living with the consequences …

49. Army NCOs SSGTS
Staff sergeant (SSgt)

An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

51. Site of a church kneeler PEW
A pew is a bench in a church, usually with a high back. The original pews were raised and sometimes enclosed seats in the church used by women and important men or families. “Pew” comes from the Old French “puie” meaning “balcony, elevation”.

53. McKellen who played Magneto in the “X-Men” films IAN
Sir Ian McKellen is a marvelous English actor, someone who is comfortable playing anything from Macbeth on stage to Magneto in an “X-Men” movie. On the big screen, McKellen is very famous for playing Gandalf in “The Lord of Rings”. In the UK Sir Ian is noted for being at the forefront of the campaign for equal rights for gay people, a role he has enthusiastically embraced since the eighties.

55. One of a 1980s demographic YUPPIE
The term “yuppie” first appeared in the 1980s and is short for “young urban professional”. Yuppies are generally regarded as upper middle class or upper class men and women in their twenties or thirties.

61. Martinique et Guadeloupe ILES
In French, an island (île) is a piece of ground (terre) in the sea (mer).

The island of Martinique in the eastern Caribbean is actually a part of France, and is referred to as an “overseas department”. As such, Martinique is part of the European Union, and even uses the euro as its currency. The island is fully represented in the French National Assembly and Senate, just like any department within France. It’s sort of like the status of Hawaii within the US.

Guadeloupe is an island in the Caribbean, one of the Leeward Islands. Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France, and as such is part of the European Union.

62. Many a car on the autobahn OPEL
Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

67. Sky-blue AZURE
Lapis lazuli is a blue, semi-precious stone mined mainly in Afghanistan. Lapis Lazuli is Latin for “stone of Lazhward”, referring to the Persian name for the location where the stone was mined. Our word “azure”, a shade of blue, has the same root.

68. Where Vietnam is ASIA
Vietnam is the country with the13th-largest population in the word. It covers all of the eastern coast of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

69. Roget’s listings: Abbr. SYNS
Synonym (syn.)

Peter Mark Roget was an English lexicographer. Roget was an avid maker of lists, apparently using the routine of list-making to combat depression, a condition he endured for most of his life. He published his famous thesaurus in 1852, with revisions and expansions being made years later by his son, and then in turn by his grandson.

71. 1930s art style, informally DECO
Art deco is the name given to a style of design and architecture of the 1920s that actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of art deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of Rockefeller Center also in New York City, with the address of “30 Rock”.

Down
1. Clothing chain with a “Baby” division GAP
The Gap is a San Francisco-based clothing retailer founded in 1969. The name “the Gap” is a homage to the popular sixties term “the generation gap”.

3. Like a game with equal winners and losers ZERO-SUM
A zero-sum game is one in which the gains of the winner are exactly offset by the losses of the loser. There is no net gain. So, a “win-win” situation by definition cannot be arrived at in a zero-sum game.

4. Old politico Stevenson ADLAI
Adlai Stevenson (AES) ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and in 1956. Some years after his second defeat, Stevenson served under President Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson was always noted for his eloquence and he had a famous exchange in a UN Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. Stevenson bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba. His words were “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” followed by “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”

5. “Garfield” cartoonist Davis JIM
“Garfield” is a comic strip drawn by Jim Davis since 1978. Garfield is an orange tabby cat. Davis named his hero Garfield after his own grandfather.

7. Deluxe POSH
No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that POSH stands for “Port Out, Starboard Home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers travelling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

9. ___ infection STAPH
Staphylococcus is a genus of bacteria. Under a microscope it can be seen that the individual bacteria form into clusters like bunches of grapes. “Staphylococcus” comes from the Greek word meaning “bunch of grapes”.

10. Jane Austen heroine EMMA
“Emma” is a wonderful novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1815. I had the privilege a few years ago of attending the premiere of “Emma”, a delightful musical adaptation for the stage. If you ever get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it …

12. African country bordering 16-Across ALGERIA
Algeria is a huge country, the second largest in Africa (only Sudan is larger), and the largest country on the Mediterranean. The capital of Algeria is Algiers, and the country takes its name from the city.

22. Boy Scout ___ badge MERIT
As every little boy (of my era) knows, the Scouting movement was founded by Lord Baden Powell, in 1907. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) soon followed, in 1910.

23. Uncle ___ SAM
The Uncle Sam personification of the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The “Uncle Sam” term was so widely accepted that even the Germans used it during WWII, choosing the code word “Samland” for “America” in intelligence communiques.

29. Slalom, say SKI
“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”.

32. Golden State school up the coast from L.A. UCSB
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is one of the 10 campuses in the UC system. UCSB joined the UC system in 1944, although the school was founded as a teachers’ college in 1891.

34. Old jazz icon Anita O’DAY
Anita O’Day was the stage name of the jazz singer Anita Colton. O’Day had problems with heroin and alcohol addiction leading to erratic behavior and earning her the nickname “The Jezebel of Jazz”.

36. The “P” of G.O.P. PARTY
The Republican Party has had the nickname Grand Old Party (GOP) since 1875. That said, the phrase was coined in the “Congressional Record” as “this gallant old party”. The moniker was changed to “grand old party” in 1876 in an article in the “Cincinnati Commercial”.

38. Perry of fashion ELLIS
Perry Ellis was a fashion designer from Portsmouth, Virginia. Ellis was noted for his sportswear creations.

39. Part of a joule ERG
An erg is a unit of energy or mechanical work. “Erg” comes from the Greek word “ergon” meaning “work”. A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”. Ergs and dynes are related to each other in that one erg is the amount of energy needed to move a force of one dyne over a distance of one centimeter.

James Joule was an English physicist who spent much of his life working in the family brewing business. Joule used his work in the brewery to study the relationship between heat and mechanical work. In honor of his achievements, his name is used for the unit of energy in the International System of Units (i.e. the joule).

40. Business setback recorded on Schedule C NET LOSS
The attachments to a Form 1040 income tax return are known as “schedules”. Schedule C lists the income and expenses related to self-employment.

50. Zoot ___ SUIT
A zoot suit has pants that are fairly loose fitting, except around the cuff at the bottom of the leg. The pants also have a high waist. The jacket of the suit has wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. Zoot suits were popular in the US in the thirties and forties, and were often associated with the African American, Latino American and Italian American ethnic groups. Over in the UK, the zoot suit was worn by the “Teddy boys” of the fifties and sixties. “Zoot” is probably just a slang iteration of the word “suit”.

54. Mythical strong man ATLAS
In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan who was tasked with holding up the celestial sphere on his shoulders. The Greeks observed the planets moving and the stars in fixed positions. They believed that the stars were on the surface of a single starry sphere, the celestial sphere that was supported by Atlas.

64. “___ Misérables” LES
Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables”, has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”.

65. ___ Paulo SAO
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. São Paulo is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pyramid city close to Cairo GIZA
5. Mocking remarks JAPES
10. “Yikes!” EGAD!
14. Achieved a perfect score on ACED
15. Obstinate reply I WON’T
16. African country bordering 12-Down MALI
17. Socialite who inspired 1950’s “Call Me Madam” PERLE MESTA
19. Texts, e.g.: Abbr. MSGS
20. Fossil fuel COAL
21. Sulu and Uhura, e.g., on the Enterprise SHIPMATES
23. 1957 hit covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968 SUSIE Q
25. First word in many newspaper names THE
26. “___ you for real?” ARE
27. ___ Dhabi ABU
28. Stale-smelling MUSTY
31. Like Old Norse writing RUNIC
33. Workplace communication MEMO
35. Letters before an alias AKA
36. Not eat eagerly PICK AT
37. Pastrami and salami DELI MEATS
40. Vietnam War weapon NAPALM
43. Make a goof ERR
44. Sea of Tranquillity, for the Apollo 11 astronauts BASE
48. Car fuel additive ETHYL
49. Army NCOs SSGTS
51. Site of a church kneeler PEW
52. ___-la-la TRA
53. McKellen who played Magneto in the “X-Men” films IAN
55. One of a 1980s demographic YUPPIE
57. Run out of energy LOSE STEAM
61. Martinique et Guadeloupe ILES
62. Many a car on the autobahn OPEL
63. Groups hired for high-profile cases LEGAL TEAMS
66. Carpentry spacer SHIM
67. Sky-blue AZURE
68. Where Vietnam is ASIA
69. Roget’s listings: Abbr. SYNS
70. Theater reservations SEATS
71. 1930s art style, informally DECO

Down
1. Clothing chain with a “Baby” division GAP
2. Drink cooler ICE CUBE
3. Like a game with equal winners and losers ZERO-SUM
4. Old politico Stevenson ADLAI
5. “Garfield” cartoonist Davis JIM
6. Leaves dumbstruck AWES
7. Deluxe POSH
8. It’s really something ENTITY
9. ___ infection STAPH
10. Jane Austen heroine EMMA
11. What’s filled up in a fill-up GAS TANK
12. African country bordering 16-Across ALGERIA
13. Cut up, as a frog DISSECT
18. Kind of school after nursery school: Abbr. ELEM
22. Boy Scout ___ badge MERIT
23. Uncle ___ SAM
24. Hesitation about something QUALM
29. Slalom, say SKI
30. Breaks … or an anagram of the ends of five Across answers in this puzzle TAMES
32. Golden State school up the coast from L.A. UCSB
34. Old jazz icon Anita O’DAY
36. The “P” of G.O.P. PARTY
38. Perry of fashion ELLIS
39. Part of a joule ERG
40. Business setback recorded on Schedule C NET LOSS
41. Wither away ATROPHY
42. Add by degrees PHASE IN
45. Mollify APPEASE
46. Earth-shaking SEISMIC
47. Animal whose name sounds like a pronoun EWE
49. It goes “Ah-h-h-choo!” SNEEZE
50. Zoot ___ SUIT
54. Mythical strong man ATLAS
56. Beg PLEAD
58. State trees of North Dakota and Massachusetts ELMS
59. Spanish water AGUA
60. Many a service station adjunct MART
64. “___ Misérables” LES
65. ___ Paulo SAO

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