0303-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 3 Mar 15, Tuesday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today’s New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

CROSSWORD SETTER: Kristian House
THEME: Gonzo … today’s themed answers all relate to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson:

18A. He played one of the lead roles in the film version of 50-/55-Across : JOHNNY DEPP
23A. Writing style popularized by 35-Across : GONZO JOURNALISM
35A. Author of 50-/55-Across : HUNTER S THOMPSON
50A. See 35-Across : FEAR AND LOATHING …
55A. See 35-Across : … IN LAS VEGAS

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 8m 16s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Treat similar to a Yodel : HO HO
Ho Hos snack cakes were first produced in San Francisco in 1967; not the best thing to come out of the sixties I’d say …

Yodels were snack cakes made by the Drake’s baking company. Yodels haven’t been produced since 2012 when the parent company Old HB went bankrupt.

5. What RuPaul dresses in : DRAG
The etymology of the term “drag”, as used in the transvestite world, seems to be unclear. It perhaps relates to the tendency of a transvestite’s skirts to drag along the ground in days of old (although why they just didn’t hitch up their skirts is beyond me!).

RuPaul is a famous drag queen who has developed a diverse career beyond performing on stage. He works as an actor, model, author and a recording artist. Famously, RuPaul doesn’t mind whether one addresses him as “he” or as “she” …

“You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.”

He currently hosts his own reality TV show called “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, which is billed as a search for “America’s next drag superstar”.

14. Big name in computers : ACER
I owned several Acer laptops, which are for my money the most reliable machine at the best price. Acer is a Taiwanese company that I used to visit a lot when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed with the company’s dedication to quality, and haven’t been let down since.

16. “Congrats!” : KUDOS!
Our word “kudos” means acclaim given for an exceptional achievement. “Kudos” is not a plural, despite a common misapprehension. It is a singular noun derived from the Greek “kyddos” meaning “glory, fame”.

17. Shoulder muscle, informally : DELT
The deltoid muscle is actually a group of muscles, the ones that cover the shoulder and create the roundness under the skin. The deltoids are triangular in shape resembling the Greek letter delta, hence the name.

18. He played one of the lead roles in the film version of 50-/55-Across : JOHNNY DEPP
Johnny Depp had his big break as an actor on television, in the eighties television show “21 Jump Street”. Depp’s first film success came when he played the title role in 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands”. He has twice been named Sexiest Man Alive by “People” magazine.

20. Gambler’s last words? : ALL IN
The official birthplace of the incredibly popular poker game of Texas Hold ‘Em is Robstown, Texas where the game dates back to the early 1900s. The game was introduced into Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan enthusiasts including Doyle Brunson, a champion often seen playing on TV today. Doyle Brunson published a poker strategy guide in 1978, and this really helped increase the popularity of the game. But it was the inclusion of Texas Hold ‘Em in the television line-up that really gave the game its explosive surge in popularity, with the size of the prize money just skyrocketing.

22. Tattled : TOLD
Something described as “tattletale” is revealing, it gives away a secret. The term is a combination of “tattle” and “tale”, and is probably patterned on the similar word “telltale”. “To tattle” means to tell secrets.

23. Writing style popularized by 35-Across : GONZO JOURNALISM
Good journalism usually calls for a degree of detachment on the part of the author. In the style known as Gonzo journalism, there is no pretence of objectivity, with the writer often including himself or herself as part of the story. The term “Gonzo” was coined by journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

30. Native Nebraskan : OTO
The Otoe (also Oto) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestwards ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

31. Flagmaker Ross : BETSY
Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first Stars and Stripes.

33. Fragrant neckwear : LEIS
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

34. Bone below the elbow : ULNA
The bone in the arm called the ulna is prismatic in shape, meaning that it is less like a cylinder than it is a prism, having flat sides that are parallel to each other.

35. Author of 50-/55-Across : HUNTER S THOMPSON
Famously, the journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson had a wild and rocky career, with his name consistently associated with the use of drugs. His early life was tough too, as he didn’t get to finish high school and instead found himself in jail as a convicted accessory to a robbery. The end of his life was pretty tragic. With failing health he committed suicide when he was 67 years old. Thompson left very specific instructions for his funeral ceremony. His ashes were fired out of a cannon, in the presence of a long list of friends including Johnny Depp, Senator John Kerry and Jack Nicholson.

42. “Looking at it differently …,” to a texter : OTOH
On the other hand (OTOH)

43. “___ kleine Nachtmusik” : EINE
Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, is better known as “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, which translates into “a little serenade”, but the more literal English translation of “a little night music” is often used. It is a delightful piece in four, very recognizable movements, although there is much debate about a “lost” fifth movement.

44. How some right turns are made : ON RED
If you’re sitting behind a car that doesn’t make a right on red, it may just be a rental car driven by someone from Europe. Speaking as someone who learned to drive over there, I must admit I held up a few people at red lights when I first visited this country. That’s because in Europe we aren’t allowed to make any move past a red light, unless there is an accompanying green arrow. So, if you’re driving overseas, take care …

46. One who sniggles : EELER
A sniggler is a person who angles for eels (as is an “eeler”). The term comes from “snig”, a young eel, which in turn is probably related to Old English “snegge” meaning “snail”.

47. “Toy Story” dinosaur : REX
In the excellent film “Toy Story”, Rex is a tyrannosaurus, and a pretty clumsy one. He is voiced by actor Wallace Shawn, whose name is perhaps less familiar than his face. Shawn played the neighbor on “The Cosby Show” as well as many, many other supporting roles on TV and the big screen.

50. See 35-Across : FEAR AND LOATHING …
(55. See 35-Across : … IN LAS VEGAS)
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” is 1971 novel by Hunter S. Thompson that first appeared as a two-part feature in “Rolling Stone” magazine. The story is semi-autobiographical and tells the tale of a man and his attorney who explore Las Vegas, mainly in an LSD-induced haze.

53. Some Wharton degs. : MBAS
Wharton is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

54. Image on the last page of an alphabet book : ZEBRA
The name “zebra” comes from an old Portuguese word “zevra” meaning “wild ass”. Studies of zebra embryos show that zebras are basically black in color, with white stripes that develop with growth. Before this finding, it was believed they were white, with black stripes.

61. Flimflam : SCAM
“Flim-flam” is another word for a confidence trick. The term has been in use since the 1500s, would you believe?

62. Aussie known for sleeping most of the day away : KOALA
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. I’m a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day …

63. Elegance : LUXE
Luxe is another word for luxury. The term came into English via French from the Latin “luxus” meaning luxury.

64. Leviathan-like : HUGE
Something described as “leviathan” is huge, of immense size. The word was used for a sea monster mentioned in the Old Testament. As a result, “leviathan” has come to be associated with any large sea monster or creature.

65. Physicist Mach : ERNST
The Mach number of a moving object (like say an airplane) is it’s speed relative to the speed of sound. A plane travelling at Mach 2, for example, is moving at twice the speed of sound. The term “Mach” takes its name from the Austrian physicist Ernst Mach who published a groundbreaking paper in 1877 that even predicted the “sonic boom”.

67. Summers on the Seine : ETES
The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. The Seine empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.

Down
2. Spotted cat : OCELOT
The ocelot is found mainly in South and Central America, although there have been sightings as far north as Arkansas. An ocelot doesn’t look too different from a domestic cat, and some have been kept as pets. Perhaps most famously, Salvador Dali had one that he carried around everywhere with him.

4. Baseball slugger David known as Big Papi : ORTIZ
The Dominican American baseball player David Ortiz has the nickname “Big Papi”. After each home run that Ortiz scores, he looks upwards and points to the sky, a tribute to his mother who died in a car crash in 2002 when she was only 46 years old.

5. N.B.A. star who started in the A.B.A. : DR J
Julius Erving is a retired professional basketball player who was known as “Dr. J”, a nickname he picked up in high school. Dr. J was a trailblazer in many ways, being the first player associated with slam dunking and other moves above the rim.

6. 1982 double-platinum Duran Duran album : RIO
Duran Duran is a New Wave band from Birmingham in England. Duran Duran’s success was partially driven by some well-received MTV music videos in the 1980s. The band also worked hard on their image and paid a lot of money for very fashionable clothes in which they performed. As a result, one of Duran Duran’s nicknames is “the prettiest boys in rock”.

7. Bat wood : ASH
Most wooden baseball bats are made out of ash. Bats are also made of maple, although maple bats are falling out of favor due to a tendency for them to shatter.

9. Space station that crashed in 1979 : SKYLAB
Skylab was sent into orbit by NASA in 1973 and continued to circle the Earth there until 1979. Although it was in orbit for many years, Skylab was only occupied by astronauts for 171 days, in three missions in 1973-1974. Skylab burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere a lot earlier than expected, showering some huge chunks of debris on our friends in Australia.

13. Subj. of a thought experiment : ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

19. Result of a 1995 Québec secession referendum : NON
Driven by the Parti Québécois, there was a referendum held in 1995 on the proposal that Quebec should secede from Canada. The vote was extremely close, with only 50.6% of the electorate voting against sovereignty.

24. Razz : JEER
Not so much here in America, but over in the British Isles “blowing a raspberry” is a way of insulting someone (I think it’s called “a Bronx cheer” in the US). The verb “to razz” comes from a shortened form of “raspberry”.

25. Soulful 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”.

26. Company that built the Unisphere for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair : US STEEL
The iconic stainless steel representation of the Earth that sits in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York, is known as the Unisphere. The Unisphere was constructed for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.

28. ___-Japanese War : SINO
There were two Sino-Japanese Wars. The first was fought in 1894-95 over control of Korea. The second was fought between 1931 and 1945, eventually becoming part of WWII.

35. Foot for the Greek god Pan : HOOF
In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god, one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.

36. ___ Reader (alternative magazine) : UTNE
The “Utne Reader” is known for aggregation and republishing of articles on politics, culture and the environment from other sources in the media. The “Utne Reader” was founded in 1984, with “Utne” being the family name of the couple that started the publication.

37. Romance novelist Roberts : NORA
Nora Roberts is a very successful author who has written over 165 romance novels. Roberts writes under a number of pen names: J.D. Robb, Jill March and Sarah Hardesty.

38. Long johns : THERMALS
The long underwear known as “long johns” were likely named for the heavyweight boxer John L. Sullivan.

39. Big city on the Big Island : HILO
Hilo is the largest settlement on the big island of Hawai’i, with a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

40. Draft classification : ONE-A
The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System(SS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).

41. Neighbor of the Ricardos on “I Love Lucy” : MERTZ
In the hit television show “I Love Lucy”, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. The Ricardos’ best friends were also their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Mertz couple were played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.

46. Famous flops of the ’50s : EDSELS
The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced.

49. Event featuring motocross and snocross : X GAMES
The X Games are annual events, with a Summer X Games held every year as well as a Winter X Games. It’s very much a commercial venture, with all aspects controlled by the TV station ESPN. The games focus on extreme action sports, like skateboarding and freestyle motocross in the summer and various extreme snowboarding events in the winter.

55. “Likable” prez : IKE
“I Like Ike” was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.

57. PC linkup : LAN
Local Area Network (LAN)

58. Eviscerate : GUT
“To eviscerate” is to take out the viscera, the internal organs.

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Treat similar to a Yodel : HO HO
5. What RuPaul dresses in : DRAG
9. Extent : SCOPE
14. Big name in computers : ACER
15. Gentle hill : RISE
16. “Congrats!” : KUDOS!
17. Shoulder muscle, informally : DELT
18. He played one of the lead roles in the film version of 50-/55-Across : JOHNNY DEPP
20. Gambler’s last words? : ALL IN
22. Tattled : TOLD
23. Writing style popularized by 35-Across : GONZO JOURNALISM
30. Native Nebraskan : OTO
31. Flagmaker Ross : BETSY
32. Misrepresent : BELIE
33. Fragrant neckwear : LEIS
34. Bone below the elbow : ULNA
35. Author of 50-/55-Across : HUNTER S THOMPSON
42. “Looking at it differently …,” to a texter : OTOH
43. “___ kleine Nachtmusik” : EINE
44. How some right turns are made : ON RED
46. One who sniggles : EELER
47. “Toy Story” dinosaur : REX
50. See 35-Across : FEAR AND LOATHING …
53. Some Wharton degs. : MBAS
54. Image on the last page of an alphabet book : ZEBRA
55. See 35-Across : … IN LAS VEGAS
61. Flimflam : SCAM
62. Aussie known for sleeping most of the day away : KOALA
63. Elegance : LUXE
64. Leviathan-like : HUGE
65. Physicist Mach : ERNST
66. Something cooked in a slow cooker : STEW
67. Summers on the Seine : ETES

Down
1. Tried : HAD A GO
2. Spotted cat : OCELOT
3. “Not a chance!” : HELL NO!
4. Baseball slugger David known as Big Papi : ORTIZ
5. N.B.A. star who started in the A.B.A. : DR J
6. 1982 double-platinum Duran Duran album : RIO
7. Bat wood : ASH
8. Aristocrats : GENTRY
9. Space station that crashed in 1979 : SKYLAB
10. Get cozy together : CUDDLE UP
11. Laudatory verse : ODE
12. Punch in the face, informally : POP
13. Subj. of a thought experiment : ESP
19. Result of a 1995 Québec secession referendum : NON
21. Aristocrat : NOBLE
24. Razz : JEER
25. Soulful Redding : OTIS
26. Company that built the Unisphere for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair : US STEEL
27. Woes of society : ILLS
28. ___-Japanese War : SINO
29. Signify : MEAN
35. Foot for the Greek god Pan : HOOF
36. ___ Reader (alternative magazine) : UTNE
37. Romance novelist Roberts : NORA
38. Long johns : THERMALS
39. Big city on the Big Island : HILO
40. Draft classification : ONE-A
41. Neighbor of the Ricardos on “I Love Lucy” : MERTZ
45. Pats lightly : DABS AT
46. Famous flops of the ’50s : EDSELS
47. Barbecue beef choice : RIB CUT
48. Make hot under the collar : ENRAGE
49. Event featuring motocross and snocross : X GAMES
51. Maritime org. : NAV
52. Pronoun with a slash : HE/SHE
55. “Likable” prez : IKE
56. Neither’s partner : NOR
57. PC linkup : LAN
58. Eviscerate : GUT
59. Give the boot : AXE
60. Darn, e.g. : SEW

Return to top of page

The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections
Amazon.com Widgets