0205-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 5 Feb 15, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Mike Buckley
THEME: Six Long Songs … we have six 15-letter song titles as our themed answers today …. which I find impressive!

17A. Sheena Easton hit from a Bond film : FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
37A. 1958 hit by Jackie Wilson : LONELY TEARDROPS
57A. 1964 #1 hit with a motorcycle crash sound : LEADER OF THE PACK
4D. 1953 hit for Julius La Rosa : ANYWHERE I WANDER
7D. R. Kelly hit from “Space Jam” : I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
10D. Depeche Mode’s first U.S. hit, 1985 : PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 15m 35s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Some finger food : TAPAS
“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”, and there is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.

10. Dawber and Grier : PAMS
Pam Dawber is the actress that teamed up with Robin Williams to play the lead roles in the sitcom “Mork & Mindy”. Dawber is married to the actor Mark Harmon.

Pam Grier is an actress whose most acclaimed performance was in the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film “Jackie Brown”, in which she played the title role.

14. Trump caller, once? : IVANA
Ivana Winklmayr was born in Czechoslovakia. Winklmayr was an excellent skier, and was named as an alternate for the 1982 Czech Olympic Team. She was promoting the Montreal Olympics in New York in 1976 when she met Donald Trump. Ivana and Donald’s marriage was very public and well-covered by the media, but not nearly so well as their very litigious divorce in 1990.

15. “Buy it new. Buy it now” sloganeer : EBAY
eBay is an auction site with a twist. If you don’t want to enter into an auction to purchase an item, there’s a “Buy It Now” price. Agree to pay it, and the item is yours!

16. La Salle of “ER” : ERIQ
Eriq La Salle played Dr. Peter Benton on “ER”, and is best known in film for his portrayal of Darryl in the 1998 comedy “Coming to America”.

17. Sheena Easton hit from a Bond film : FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Sheena Easton is a Scottish singer. She was big in the eighties with songs like “9 to 5” (released as “Morning Train” in the US) and “For Your Eyes Only”, the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name.

20. Just my opinion, in a tweet : FWIW
For what it’s worth (FWIW)

23. ___ Shepherd, former co-host of “The View” : SHERRI
Sherri Shepherd is a comedian and television personality who is best known by many as one of the co-hosts of the ABC daytime talk show “The View”. I remember Shepherd as the police officer who was partnered with Robert Barone on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”.

25. Some ball attendees : BELLES
A “belle” is the girlfriend of a “beau”, with both being terms we’ve imported from French.

26. Larsson who wrote the “Millennium” trilogy : STIEG
Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist and writer, and indeed one of his main characters in his Millennium series of novels is a journalist as well. The first two titles in the series are “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Girl Who Played with Fire”. The last of the three titles in the Millennium series is “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”, which was the most-sold book in the US in 2010. All of the books in the series were published after Larsson’s death. He passed away from a heart attack while climbing several flights of stairs, when he was just 50 years old.

30. End of a long biblical journey : ARARAT
Mount Ararat is in Turkey. Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcano with two peaks. The higher of the two, Greater Ararat, is the tallest peak in the country. Ararat takes its name from a legendary Armenian hero called Ara the Beautiful (or Ara the Handsome). According to the Book of Genesis, Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat as the Great Flood subsided.

33. Giant Jesus : ALOU
Jesus Alou played major league baseball, as did his brothers Matty and Felipe, and as does Felipe’s son Moises.

37. 1958 hit by Jackie Wilson : LONELY TEARDROPS
Jackie Wilson was an R&B and soul singer from Detroit. One of his biggest hits was 1958’s “Lonely Teardrops”, a song that Wilson was singing on stage in 1975 when he suffered a heart attack. He slipped into a coma, from which he briefly recovered a few months later. However, Wilson spent the next few in a semi-comatose state, eventually succumbing in 1984 at the age of 49.

40. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-___ : SISI
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected President of Egypt in June 2014. El-Sisi had been leader of the Egyptian armed forces and led the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

41. Goldfish cousin : KOI
Koi are also called Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

42. Clinton aide Myers : DEE DEE
Dee Dee Myers was a very capable White House Press Secretary in the first two years of the Clinton administration, the first woman to hold that post. After leaving the White House, Myers acted as a consultant on the TV show “The West Wing”, and I am sure helped add that touch of authenticity to a great television program.

47. Trees with beans : CACAOS
The flowers of the cacao tree grow in clusters directly on the trunk, and on older branches. The pollinated flowers turn into ovoid cacao pods, each of which contain 20-60 seeds or beans. The seeds are used as the main ingredient in chocolate.

54. Milo’s partner in film : OTIS
“The Adventures of Milo and Otis” is a movie about and orange tabby cat called Milo, and a fawn-colored pug called Otis. The film was originally released in Japanese in 1986, and then was revamped for English audiences in a version released in 1989.

57. 1964 #1 hit with a motorcycle crash sound : LEADER OF THE PACK
“Leader of the Pack” was big hit for the Shangri-Las back in 1964. The song tells the story of teenagers Betty and Jimmy. Betty falls for Jimmy, but he’s from “the wrong side of town” so he her parents disapprove of the match. Betty jilts Jimmy and he drives off on his motorcycle, only to crash and die on a wet road. The morbid theme of the song led to it being banned by the BBC.

62. Elvis, to Spanish fans : EL REY
“El rey” is Spanish for “the king”.

64. Tally on a prison wall : DAYS
Back in the mid-1600s, a “tally” was a stick marked with notches that tracked how much one owed or paid. The term came from the Latin “talea” meaning “stick, rod”.

65. Ken who wrote “Sometimes a Great Notion” : KESEY
Ken Kesey wrote the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Kesey was one of a group of friends who called themselves the “Merry Pranksters”, a bunch of guys who were associated with the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, all icons of the Beat Generation.

Down
3. French capitalists? : PARISIANS
The French capital of Paris is named for the Parisii, a Celtic Iron Age people that lived in the area on the banks of the River Seine.

4. 1953 hit for Julius La Rosa : ANYWHERE I WANDER
Julius La Rosa has been singing on radio and television since the fifties, although doesn’t perform very often now as he is in his eighties. He worked as a disk jockey for many years up to the end of the nineties, introducing old time music on a New York radio station.

5. Part of some Portuguese place names : SAO
“São” is a word used in Portuguese that translates as “saint”.

6. Actor Depardieu : GERARD
Gérard Depardieu is one of France’s most famous actors, and someone who has appeared in an incredible number of films (about 170). Off the screen, Depardieu also owns two successful vineyards: Château de Tigné and L’Esprit de la Fontaine.

7. R. Kelly hit from “Space Jam” : I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
“I Believe I Can Fly” is a 1996 hit that was written and performed by R&B singer R. Kelly. Notably, the song was used in the 1996 film “Space Jam”.

R. Kelly is the stage name of R&B singer Robert Kelly from Chicago. R. Kelly was named by “Billboard” as the most successful R&B singer in the past 25 years, and so I guess he has earned his nickname “King of R&B”. Kelly ran into some problems in the press when it was revealed that he had married singer Aaliyah when she was just 15 and Kelly was 27-years-old.

8. Madcap Martha : RAYE
Martha Raye was a comic actress as well as a singer. Strangely enough, Raye was famous for the size of her mouth, something that she used to her own advantage. As her nickname was “The Big Mouth”, she made a little money appearing in commercials for the Polident denture cleaner in the eighties. Her line was, “So take it from the Big Mouth: new Polident Green gets tough stains clean!”

9. Pipe cleaner : LYE
What we call “lye” is usually sodium hydroxide, although historically the term was used for potassium hydroxide. Lye has many uses, including to cure several foodstuffs. Lye can make olives less bitter, for example. The chemical is also found in canned mandarin oranges, pretzels and Japanese ramen noodles. More concentrated grades of lye are used to clear drains and clean ovens. Scary …

10. Depeche Mode’s first U.S. hit, 1985 : PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
Depeche Mode is an electronic music band from England that formed in 1980. Apparently, Depeche Mode are the most successful electronic music band ever. The band’s name is the title of a French fashion magazine “Dépêche mode”, which translates as “Fashion Update”.

11. Trademarked fabric name : ARNEL
Arnel is a brand name of an acetate textile.

12. Author who went by his first two initials : MILNE
Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author, best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

18. Chernobyl’s locale: Abbr. : UKR
The Chernobyl disaster took place in 1986 in the Ukrainian SSR (now independent Ukraine). A sudden power outage during a system test caused a series of explosions and a resulting fire that sent highly radioactive smoke into the atmosphere. The fallout drifted westward from Ukraine with most of it landing in Belarus. Over 350,000 people had to be permanently relocated out of the contaminated areas.

24. Like three and trois : EGAL
“Trois” is the French word for “three”. They are the same (“égal”).

“Égal” is the French word for “equal, alike”, and a word we sometimes use in English. The national motto of France is “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”, meaning “Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood).

26. Movie pizzeria where Radio Raheem ate : SAL’S
“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie, released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).

27. Half-Betazoid on the Enterprise : TROI
Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

29. Org. in “Homeland” : CIA
“Homeland” is a psychological drama shown on Showtime about a CIA officer who is convinced that a certain US Marine is a threat to the security of the United States. The show is based on a series from Israeli television called “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War”). I saw the first series of this show, and highly recommend it …

31. Rug rats : TYKES
“Tyke” has been used playfully to describe a young child since at least 1902, but for centuries before that a tyke was a cur or mongrel, or perhaps a lazy or lower-class man.

34. Guiding lights : LODESTARS
A lodestar (a term rarely used now) is a bright star that’s used for navigation purposes. The most famous would be Polaris, the Pole Star, which is very close to true north. The name lodestar comes from the days of early compasses, when a naturally magnetic stone was used to detect magnetic north. These stones were called lodestones.

35. Person who’s a zero?: Abbr. : OPER
Dial “0” for operator assistance.

38. Great 39-Down : TON
39. See 38-Down : DEAL
A ton is a great deal of something, something pretty heavy.

44. Completely con : HOSE
“To hose” is a slang term meaning to cheat, or trick.

45. Online provider of popular study guides and lesson plans : ENOTES
eNotes is website founded in 1998 that provides lesson plans and study guides to help students complete homework assignments. eNotes is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

47. TMZ target : CELEB
TMZ.com is a celebrity gossip web site launched in 2005. “TMZ” stands for “thirty-mile zone”, a reference to the “studio zone” in Los Angeles. The studio zone is circular in shape with a 30-mile radius centered on the intersection of West Beverly Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard.

48. “Skyfall” singer : ADELE
Adele is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older.

I have not been a fan of Daniel Craig as James Bond (preferring Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan in the role). However, I saw “Skyfall” when it first came out and have been won over. “Skyfall” is one of the best Bond films so far, in my humble opinion …

49. Fire starter? : CEASE
Cease fire!

51. Energy unit: Abbr. : KWH
The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy, made up of the product of power (kilowatts – kW) and time (hour – h). We see “kWh” all the time, on our electricity bills.

55. Arctic Blast maker : ICEE
Icee and Slurpee are brand names of those slushy drinks. Ugh …

56. Absolut competitor : SKYY
Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

I must admit, if I ever do order a vodka drink by name, I will order the Absolut brand. I must also admit that I do so from the perspective of an amateur photographer. I’ve been swayed by the Absolut marketing campaign that features such outstanding photographic images. I’m sure you’ve come across examples …

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Some finger food : TAPAS
6. ___ power : GIRL
10. Dawber and Grier : PAMS
14. Trump caller, once? : IVANA
15. “Buy it new. Buy it now” sloganeer : EBAY
16. La Salle of “ER” : ERIQ
17. Sheena Easton hit from a Bond film : FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
20. Just my opinion, in a tweet : FWIW
21. Crinkly vegetable : KALE
22. Flip : UPEND
23. ___ Shepherd, former co-host of “The View” : SHERRI
25. Some ball attendees : BELLES
26. Larsson who wrote the “Millennium” trilogy : STIEG
28. Solve, in a way : DECODE
30. End of a long biblical journey : ARARAT
32. Passing through : VIA
33. Giant Jesus : ALOU
37. 1958 hit by Jackie Wilson : LONELY TEARDROPS
40. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-___ : SISI
41. Goldfish cousin : KOI
42. Clinton aide Myers : DEE DEE
43. From what place : WHENCE
46. Mimics : APERS
47. Trees with beans : CACAOS
50. They’re just over two feet : ANKLES
52. Paradises : EDENS
53. Reason to add salt? : SNOW
54. Milo’s partner in film : OTIS
57. 1964 #1 hit with a motorcycle crash sound : LEADER OF THE PACK
60. Contrarily : ELSE
61. Internet chat status : IDLE
62. Elvis, to Spanish fans : EL REY
63. Cold draft, maybe : BEER
64. Tally on a prison wall : DAYS
65. Ken who wrote “Sometimes a Great Notion” : KESEY

Down
1. Short row : TIFF
2. Frankly admit : AVOW
3. French capitalists? : PARISIANS
4. 1953 hit for Julius La Rosa : ANYWHERE I WANDER
5. Part of some Portuguese place names : SAO
6. Actor Depardieu : GERARD
7. R. Kelly hit from “Space Jam” : I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
8. Madcap Martha : RAYE
9. Pipe cleaner : LYE
10. Depeche Mode’s first U.S. hit, 1985 : PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
11. Trademarked fabric name : ARNEL
12. Author who went by his first two initials : MILNE
13. Flooring measure: Abbr. : SQ YDS
18. Chernobyl’s locale: Abbr. : UKR
19. Made a case against? : SUED
24. Like three and trois : EGAL
25. Co-op ___ : BOARD
26. Movie pizzeria where Radio Raheem ate : SAL’S
27. Half-Betazoid on the Enterprise : TROI
29. Org. in “Homeland” : CIA
31. Rug rats : TYKES
34. Guiding lights : LODESTARS
35. Person who’s a zero?: Abbr. : OPER
36. Plays for a chump : USES
38. Great 39-Down : TON
39. See 38-Down : DEAL
44. Completely con : HOSE
45. Online provider of popular study guides and lesson plans : ENOTES
47. TMZ target : CELEB
48. “Skyfall” singer : ADELE
49. Fire starter? : CEASE
51. Energy unit: Abbr. : KWH
53. Many a mixer : SODA
55. Arctic Blast maker : ICEE
56. Absolut competitor : SKYY
58. Cleanse (of) : RID
59. “Mice!” : EEK!

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