1014-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Oct 14, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Place to put a stethoscope CHEST
The word “stethoscope” comes from the Greek word for “chest examination”. The stethoscope was invented back in 1816 in France by René Laennec, although back then it looked just like an ear trumpet, a wooden tube with flared ends.

14. Doctor Zhivago’s love LARA
The heroine of Boris Pasternak’s epic novel “Doctor Zhivago” is Lara. The Lara character was inspired by Pasternak’s mistress Olga Ivinskaya.

18. Midwest air hub O’HARE
O’Hare International is the fourth busiest airport in the world. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 and 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built, there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD (OR-chard D-ouglas). Orchard Place Airport was renamed to O’Hare International in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare who grew up in Chicago. O’Hare was the US Navy’s first flying ace and a Medal of Honor recipient in WWII. As an aside, Butch O’Hare’s father Edward was a lawyer friend of Al Capone who eventually worked undercover for the IRS and helped get the famous gangster convicted on tax evasion. Some years later, Edward was shot to death while driving his car.

31. Earth tones OCHERS
Ochre is often spelled “ocher” in the US (it’s “ochre” where I come from). Ocher is a light, yellowy-brown color, although variations of the pigment are possible such as red ocher and purple ocher.

38. Big name in appliances AMANA
The Amana Corporation takes its name from the location of its original headquarters, in Middle Amana, Iowa.

41. Missouri city, familiarly ST JOE
The city of Saint Joseph in Missouri was the westernmost point in the US that was accessible by rail after the Civil War. As such, it was a final stopping-off point as people headed out to the Wild West. The city takes its name from its founder, fur trader Joseph Robidoux. Robidoux apparently like things named after himself and his family, as eight of the main streets downtown were named after his children, and another was named for his second wife!

45. Madre’s brothers TIOS
In Spanish, one’s mother’s brother (madre’s hermano) is an uncle (tio).

46. Strands in December? TINSEL
The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

52. Starr of old comics BRENDA
“Brenda Starr” is a comic strip created by Dale Messick. The strip is somewhat unique in the world of syndicated comics in that it was created by a woman, and has been drawn by women ever since Messick retired in 1980. The storyline features Brenda Starr who lives through exciting and exotic adventures and romances.

59. Thomas ___ Edison ALVA
Thomas Edison was a very successful inventor. He held over a thousand US patents in his name. Included in the list of Edison’s inventions is the phonograph, the movie camera and the long-lasting light bulb. He passed away in 1931. There is a test tube at the Henry Ford Museum that supposedly holds Edison’s last breath. Ford convinced Thomas’s son Charles to seal up a tube of air in the room just after the inventor died, as a memento.

62. “The Gentleman Is ___” (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) A DOPE
“The Gentleman Is a Dope” is a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Allegro”, which was first performed in 1947. The musical is about the problems an ordinary man faces in the fast-paced (allegro) modern world.

63. Soul singer Redding OTIS
Otis Redding is often referred to as the “King of Soul”, and what a voice he had. Like so many of the greats in the world of popular music it seems, Redding was killed in a plane crash, in 1967 when he was just 26 years old. Just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

64. With 67-Across, coastal Maine DOWN
(67A. See 64-Across EAST)
The coast of Maine is often referred to as “Down East” by the people of New England.

65. Bygone communication TELEX
Telex grew out of the world of the telegraph. What Telex brought to telegraphy was the ability to route messages. Instead of having to talk to an operator to route a particular message to the intended party, the user of a telex could route the message directly to another telex machine by way of a rotary dial, very similar to that on a telephone.

66. SeaWorld attraction ORCA
The taxonomic name for the killer whale is Orcinus orca. The use of the name “orca”, rather than “killer whale”, is becoming more and more common. The Latin word “Orcinus” means “belonging to Orcus”, with Orcus being the name for the Kingdom of the Dead.

SeaWorld was started in San Diego in 1964. The original plan was build an underwater restaurant with a marine life show. Eventually the founders dropped the idea of the eating establishment and just went with a theme park. SeaWorld has been mired in controversy since the 2013 release of the documentary “Blackfish”, which tells of the involvement of a particular killer whale in the death of two SeaWorld employees and one SeaWorld visitor.

69. Twitter ___ (news source) FEED
A publisher can use a Twitterfeed to feed content (such as these blog posts) to Twitter users. I suppose I should look into that …

Down
1. It’s a sin SLOTH
“Sloth”, meaning “indolence, sluggishness”, comes from the Middle English word “slowe”, the same root for our contemporary word “slow”. The animal, the sloth, is named for its slow-moving behavior.

2. Frank who directed “It Happened One Night” CAPRA
I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra was the first person to win three directorial Oscars: for “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “You Can’t Take It With You”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

“It Happened One Night” is a favorite film of mine, a 1934 romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Capra. “It Happened One Night” has one of the sexiest scenes in movies, I think, where Claudette Colbert shows a little leg in order to hitch a ride from her and Gable.

8. Missionary Junípero ___ SERRA
Junípero Serra was a Spanish missionary, a founder of several missions out here in California. Among those associated with Serra is the Mission in Carmel, where Serra’s remains are buried, and Mission San Juan Capistrano, the chapel of which is believed to be the oldest standing building in the state.

9. “Rock-a-bye, baby” location TREETOP
“Rock-a-Bye Baby” is a lullaby, the history of which is much debated. Some say it originated in England, and others claim that it was the first poem that was written on American soil.

Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

11. ___ Jima IWO
Iwo Jima is a volcanic island located south of Tokyo that today is uninhabited. The name is Japanese for “Sulfur Island”, referring to the sulfur mining on which Iwo Jima’s economy once depended. There were about a thousand Japanese civilians living on the island prior to WWII. In 1944, there was a massive influx of Japanese military personnel in anticipation of the inevitable US invasion. As the Japanese military moved in, the civilians were forced out and no one has lived there since.

21. “Evil Woman” band, for short ELO
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) recorded the song “Evil Woman” in 1975. “Evil Woman” was written by the band’s lead vocalist Jeff Lynne, in just thirty minutes!

25. Cinema canine BENJI
Benji is the main character in a series of “Benji” movies made starting from 1974. Benji is a mixed-breed dog.

26. “Star Wars” droid, informally ARTOO
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stands just 3 ft 8 ins tall, has been the man inside the R2-D2 droid for all six of the “Star Wars” movies.

30. Dances around a lifted chair, maybe HORAS
The hora (also “horah”) is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans. The hora was brought to Israel by Romanian settlers, and is often performed to traditional Israeli folk songs. The dance is a regular sight at Jewish weddings and at bar and bat mitzvahs. At such events, it is common for the honorees to be raised on chairs during the dance.

33. Christine of “Chicago Hope” LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.

34. How the Titanic was going before it struck an iceberg AMAIN
“Amain” is an old term meaning “at great speed” or “of great strength”.

The RMS Titanic set off on her tragic maiden voyage in 1912, sailing from Southampton, England bound for New York City. Regulations only required that the ship have lifeboat capacity for 1,178 people, even though a full complement of passengers and crew was 3,547. When the order was given to abandon ship, the captain adhered to the traditional protocol of “women and children first”. As a result, only 20% of male passengers survived the disaster, compared to 75% of the female passengers. Perhaps more telling is that 61% of those in first class survived, and only 25% of those in third class. The crew fared even worse though, with only 24% making it.

35. Woman who has a way with words? VANNA
Vanna White is the lady who turns the letters on the “Wheel of Fortune” game show. White is big into knitting and crochet, and has her own line of yarns called “Vanna’s Choice”.

37. Semester, e.g. TERM
“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We use the term in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester system has three parts, and a quarter system has four.

39. Old Olds ALERO
The Oldsmobile Alero was the last car made under the Oldsmobile brand. The Alero was produced from 1999 to 2004.

48. Hit sign SRO
Standing room only (SRO)

51. Meal that often includes matzo ball soup SEDER
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

– Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
– Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
– Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

53. Saltpetre NITRE
The chemical name for saltpeter (also called “niter”) is potassium nitrate. The exact origin of the name “saltpeter” isn’t clear, but it may have come from the Latin “sal petrae” meaning “stone salt”. The main use for potassium nitrate is as a fertilizer, a source of potassium and nitrogen. As it is a powerful oxidizing agent, it is also used in amateur rocket propellants. Anyone who has ignited one of those “engines” would have noticed the lilac-colored flame, indicating the presence of potassium.

55. Syrian strongman ASSAD
Dr. Bashar al-Assad is the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic and the son of the former President Hafez al-Assad whom he replaced in 2001. President Assad is a medical doctor, speaks fluent English and conversational French. Assad was studying ophthalmology in London when he met his wife, who is an Englishwoman.

60. Mauna ___ LOA
Mauna Loa on the “big island” of Hawaii is the largest volcano on the planet (in terms of volume). The name “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”.

61. Golfs, e.g., informally VWS
The Volkswagen Rabbit is a small, front-wheel drive car that is sold as the Volkswagen Golf outside of North America.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Sign of healing SCAB
5. Place to put a stethoscope CHEST
10. With 16-Across, donate GIVE
14. Doctor Zhivago’s love LARA
15. Pry bar LEVER
16. See 10-Across AWAY
17. Candid OPEN
18. Midwest air hub O’HARE
19. Rib, e.g. BONE
20. What gossip columnists do? TRADE SECRETS
23. Headache HASSLE
24. One ___ time AT A
25. Peep from a sheep BAA
28. “Sucks to be you!” TOUGH!
31. Earth tones OCHERS
33. Slow flow LAVA
36. What mathematicians do? PLOT POINTS
38. Big name in appliances AMANA
40. Producer of a tirade IRE
41. Missouri city, familiarly ST JOE
42. What bouncers do? HANDLE BARS
45. Madre’s brothers TIOS
46. Strands in December? TINSEL
47. Squeeze, informally SMUSH
49. ___ trice IN A
50. Hi-___ RES
52. Starr of old comics BRENDA
56. What literary critics do? COVER STORIES
59. Thomas ___ Edison ALVA
62. “The Gentleman Is ___” (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) A DOPE
63. Soul singer Redding OTIS
64. With 67-Across, coastal Maine DOWN
65. Bygone communication TELEX
66. SeaWorld attraction ORCA
67. See 64-Across EAST
68. Put up ERECT
69. Twitter ___ (news source) FEED

Down
1. It’s a sin SLOTH
2. Frank who directed “It Happened One Night” CAPRA
3. Fields AREAS
4. Outdoor concert sites BANDSTANDS
5. Tight shot CLOSEUP
6. Gleeful giggle HE-HE
7. Rescue mission, briefly EVAC
8. Missionary Junípero ___ SERRA
9. “Rock-a-bye, baby” location TREETOP
10. Yaks GABS
11. ___ Jima IWO
12. Vehicle for a news team VAN
13. Needle feature EYE
21. “Evil Woman” band, for short ELO
22. Food items that can be messy to eat TACOS
25. Cinema canine BENJI
26. “Star Wars” droid, informally ARTOO
27. Total idiots ASSES
29. Smooth-tongued GLIB
30. Dances around a lifted chair, maybe HORAS
32. Go ballistic HIT THE ROOF
33. Christine of “Chicago Hope” LAHTI
34. How the Titanic was going before it struck an iceberg AMAIN
35. Woman who has a way with words? VANNA
37. Semester, e.g. TERM
39. Old Olds ALERO
43. Take to another level ELEVATE
44. What lies between the lines SUBTEXT
48. Hit sign SRO
51. Meal that often includes matzo ball soup SEDER
53. Saltpetre NITRE
54. Clear for takeoff? DEICE
55. Syrian strongman ASSAD
56. “I ___ blame you” CAN’T
57. Something to audition for ROLE
58. Architect’s detail, for short SPEC
59. Citrus drink suffix -ADE
60. Mauna ___ LOA
61. Golfs, e.g., informally VWS

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