0517-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 17 May 15, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe Krozel
THEME: To-Do List (Abridged) … each of today’s themed answers is a LIST of three things TO DO. But, there is an overlapping word, that forms a BRIDGE between neighboring items in each list:

23A. Set time / Go to theater / Engage in tomfoolery : WIND A WATCH A PLAY A PRANK (“wind a watch” & “watch a play” & “play a prank”)

33A. Hitchhike / Surf / Show patriotism : THUMB A RIDE A WAVE A FLAG (“thumb a ride” & “ride a wave” & “wave a flag”)

54A. Somersault / Start football game / Invent some language : DO A FLIP A COIN A PHRASE (“do a flip” & “flip a coin” & “coin a phrase”)

75A. Not stop at intersection / Warm up / Use rifle : RUN A LIGHT A FIRE A SHOT (“run a light” & “light a fire” & “fire a shot”)

89A. Play baseball / Take public transportation downtown / Clean up after diners leave : MAKE A CATCH A BUS A TABLE (“make a catch” & “catch a bus” & “bus a table”)

108A. Finish taxes / Visit library / Plan vacation : FILE A RETURN A BOOK A TRIP (“file a return” & “return a book” & “book a trip”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 19m 05s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

7. Egg-shaped tomato : ROMA
The Roma tomato isn’t considered to be an heirloom variety, but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

19. Group of companies : MARINE CORPS
The US Marine Corps is one of the seven federal uniformed services, namely:

– Army
– Marine Corps
– Navy
– Air Force
– Coast Guard
– Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
– National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

23. Set time / Go to theater / Engage in tomfoolery : WIND A WATCH A PLAY A PRANK (“wind a watch” & “watch a play” & “play a prank”)
In Middle English, in the middle of the 14th century, a mentally deficient man would be called a Thom Foole, sort of a nickname. We retain the name today in our word “tomfoolery” meaning “clowning around”.

25. Festive season : NOEL
“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, ultimately coming from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). Noel has come to be used as an alternative name for a Christmas carol.

26. ___ Maria : TIA
Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur that was invented just after WWII in Jamaica, using Jamaica coffee beans. The name of course translates to “Aunt Maria”.

29. “Absolutely, brother!” : AMEN!
The word “amen” is translated as “so be it”. “Amen” is said to be of Hebrew origin, but it is likely to be also influenced by Aramaic and Arabic.

33. Hitchhike / Surf / Show patriotism : THUMB A RIDE A WAVE A FLAG (“thumb a ride” & “ride a wave” & “wave a flag”)
The term “hitchhike” comes from the notion of attaching (“hitching”) a sled to a moving a vehicle to get a “ride”, and dates back to the late 1800s.

43. Dashboard abbr. : RPM
Revolutions per minute (rpm)

Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a “board” placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hoofs of the horses. Quite interesting …

47. Good rep : CRED
“Street cred” is slang for “street credibility”, of which I have none …

50. Place to pick up prints : CRIME SCENE
In the world of criminology, there are three classes of fingerprints. Patent prints are those which are obvious, easily spotted by the naked eye. Impressed prints are those made when the fingertips apply pressure to a soft material or surface, such as the skin. Latent prints are those that are invisible to the naked eye, but which can be detected using special equipment and materials.

61. Co. that produced “Lou Grant” : MTM
MTM Enterprises was a television production company founded in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore, originally to produce the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. The company subsequently produced the likes of “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Rhoda”, “WKRP in Cincinnati”, “Hill Street Blues” and “St. Elsewhere”. That’s a lot of great television …

67. J.F.K. posting : ETA
Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

The three big airports serving New York City are John F. Kennedy (JFK), La Guardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR).

68. Post-deluge sight : 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.

79. Taxi’s locale : CITY STREET
We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance travelled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.

84. Georgia, once: Abbr. : SSR
The former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of Georgia is now an independent country. Supposedly, the Georgian people were given their name because they especially revered St. George. The flag of Georgia does indeed feature five St. George’s crosses.

85. Law school accreditor, for short : ABA
The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.

86. Walton with a club : SAM
Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail warehouse clue that is owned and operated by Walmart. It is named after the company’s founder, Sam Walton.

97. Biblical preserver : 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.

103. Balkan repub. : ALB
The Republic of Albania is a country in the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Albania was made a communist state after WWII but became independent again with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.

The Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe is usually referred to as “the Balkans”. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains located in present-day Bulgaria and Serbia. “Balkan” is Bulgarian for “mountain”.

113. Rabbit ears : TV ANTENNA
Remember the television antenna called a “rabbit ears”? I don’t recall being told this when I was younger, but to get the best reception the length of the “ears” needs to be set at about one half of the wavelength of the signal of the target channel. If only I had known …

114. People with belts do them : KARATE KICKS
“Karate”, means “open hand”, and the related word “karaoke” means “open orchestra”.

115. Dict. material : DEFS
A definition (def.) might be found in a dictionary (dict.).

117. Herring type : SHAD
The shad is also known as the river herring. The eggs (roe) of the female shad are prized as a delicacy in the Eastern US.

Down
1. 3 Series producer : BMW
The abbreviation BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

3. Cubemeister Rubik : ERNO
What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as Rubik’s Cube, named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

4. West Wing worker : AIDE
The West Wing of the White House Complex is also known as the Executive Office Building, and houses the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room and the Situation Room. The West Wing was constructed at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt to house his staff, leaving the residence to his family alone. President William Howard Taft had the West Wing expanded, and it was he who created the first Oval Office built. President Herbert Hoover had the West Wing rebuilt after it was significantly damaged in a fire. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the West Wing redesigned to its current layout, including the Oval Office that is used today.

7. Twisty pasta : ROTINI
Rotini is the corkscrew-shaped pasta that is often used in pasta salads. Even though “rotini” sounds like it comes from a word meaning “twist, rotate”, the word “rotini” doesn’t exist in Italian, other than as the name for the pasta.

8. Pod part, perhaps : 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.

9. Dashboard abbr. : MPH
Miles per hour (mph)

11. Where I-35 and I-40 meet: Abbr. : OKLA
Interstates 35 and 40 meet in Oklahoma City.

Interstate 35 runs in a north-south direction from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota. So, I-35 almost runs all the way from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, but not quite …

Interstate 40 runs from Barstow, California in the west, to Wilmington, North Carolina in the east. I-40 traverses almost the entire country and only I-90 and I-80 are longer interstates.

13. “L.A. Law” actress : DEY
The actress Susan Dey first appeared on “The Partridge Family” when she was 17-years-old when she had no acting experience. Years later, Dey won a Golden Globe for playing the leading role of Grace Van Owen in “L. A. Law”.

14. Home of the 300 in the film “300” : SPARTA
The Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 BC, fought between the Persian Empire of Xerxes and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta. The Greeks chose the narrow pass of Thermopylae to make a stand against the advancing Persian army, as there they could minimize the advantage that the Persians had with their large army. The pass of Thermopylae was so narrow that only one chariot could pass through at a time. Famously, the vastly outnumbered Spartan forces (the “300”) held this pass with hand-to-hand combat for two full days, until a local resident showed the Persians a way around the pass so that the Greek army could be attacked and annihilated from the rear.

“300” is a fantasy film released in 2006 that gives a fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae that was fought between the Persians the Greeks, most notably the Spartans.

18. January honoree, for short : MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a US Federal holiday taking place on the third Monday of each year. It celebrates the birthday of Dr. King, and was signed into law by President Reagan in 1983, and first observed in 1986. However, some states resisted naming the holiday MLK Day, and gave it alternative names (like “Civil Rights Day”), but it was officially celebrated as MLK Day in all 50 states from the year 2000 onwards.

22. “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” e.g. : SPOOF
The character of Austin Powers was created by the actor who plays him, Mike Myers. Apparently Myers came up with the idea for Powers while listening to the Burt Bacharach song “The Look of Love”.

30. Iconic figure in a Warhol work : MAO
Andy Warhol made a famous series of portraits of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong in 1973. An exhibition of Warhol’s works toured China in 2012 but the images of Mao were excluded, apparently at the request of the Chinese government.

31. Seven: Prefix : HEPTA-
The prefixes “hept-” and “sept-” both mean “seven”. The difference is that the former is Greek and the later Latin. “Hept-” is added to roots of Greek origin, and “sept-” to roots of Latin origin e.g. heptagon and September.

32. City in 1965 headlines : SELMA
The Bloody Sunday march took place between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama on 7 March 1965. The 600 marchers involved were protesting the intimidation of African-Americans registering to vote. When the marchers reached Dallas County, Alabama they encountered a line of state troopers reinforced by white males who had been deputized that morning to help keep the peace. Violence broke out with 17 marchers ending up in hospital, one nearly dying. Because the disturbance was widely covered by television cameras, the civil rights movement picked up a lot of support that day.

33. Soft touch, for short? : TLC
Tender loving care (TLC)

34. H.M.S. part : HER
The ship prefix “HMS” is used by the warships of the Royal Navy, and stands for “Her/His Majesty’s Ship/Submarine”. The prefix “RMS” is used by ships of the merchant navy, and stands for “Royal Mail Ship/Steamer”.

36. PCs once ran on it : MS-DOS
MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) was the main operating system used by IBM-compatible PCs in the eighties and for much of the nineties.

38. Home on high : AERIE
An aerie is the nest of an eagle, and is also known as an “eyrie”.

46. Davis of Hollywood : GEENA
As well as being a successful Hollywood actress, Geena Davis is an accomplished archer and came close to qualifying for the US archery team for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Davis is also a member of American Mensa. She is quite the lady …

49. Diamond-loving Taylor : LIZ
Elizabeth Taylor led what can only be described as a “fabulous” life, especially while married to Richard Burton. Ms. Taylor was very fond of jewelry and she had a few spectacular pieces that were purchased for her by Burton, including the Krupp Diamond, the Taylor-Burton Diamond, and the La Peregrina Pearl. The latter was once owned by Mary I, Queen of England. Burton sought out and found a portrait of the Queen wearing the pearl. He purchased it for his wife, but on discovering that the British National Gallery did not have an original portrait of Queen Mary I, the couple donated the painting. Good for them …

50. Masterstroke : COUP
A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”.

51. Some printers : EPSONS
Seiko Epson is a Japanese company, one of the largest manufacturers of printers in the world. The company has its roots in the watch business, roots that go back to 1942. Seiko was chosen as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was asked to supply a timer that produced a printed record. This request brought Seiko into the business of printer production. The company developed the world’s first mini-printer for the 1964 Games and called it EP-101 (EP standing for Electronic Printer). In 1975 Seiko introduced the next generation of EP printers which was called EPSON, from “SON of EP”. Cute, huh?

53. Many an old monitor, in brief : CRT
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

55. Record of the year? : ANNALS
“Annal” is a rarely used word, the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

57. Top cop : CHIEF
“To cop” was northern British dialect for “to seize, catch”. This verb evolved in the noun “copper”, describing a policeman, someone who catches criminals. “Copper” is often shortened to “cop”.

61. Cohn and Chagall : MARCS
Marc Cohn is an American country singer, best known for his 1991 hit “Walking in Memphis”, a lovely song. A few years ago, someone tried to carjack Cohn in Denver, Colorado, and left him shot in the head. Fortunately, the bullet did not penetrate the skull, and his injury was relatively minor.

Marc Chagall was a Russian-French artist, one of the most successful of the 20th century. Unlike so many painters, Chagall was able to achieve wealth and notoriety for his work during his own lifetime. It did help that Chagall lived to a ripe old age though. He passed away in 1985, when he was 97 years young. One of Chagall’s most famous works is the ceiling of the Paris Opera. The new ceiling for the beautiful 19th-century building was commissioned in 1963, and took Chagall a year to complete. Chagall was 77 years old when he worked on the Paris Opera project.

63. “No pain, no gain,” to many a bodybuilder : MANTRA
A “mantra” is a word that is used as a focus for the mind while meditating.

70. Biblical queendom : SHEBA
Sheba is referenced in the Bible several times. The “Queen of Sheba” is mentioned as someone who traveled to Jerusalem to behold the fame of King Solomon. No one knows for sure where the kingdom of Sheba was located, although there is evidence that it was actually the ancient Semitic civilization of Saba. The Sabeans lived in what today is Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

77. Chris who sang “Wicked Game” : ISAAK
Chris Isaak is not only a rock musician, but also has had a lot of acting parts. Isaak had small roles in movies like “Married to the Mob” and “The Silence of the Lambs”, but I remember him as astronaut Ed White in the fabulous HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon”.

78. Country singer Ernest : TUBB
Ernest Tubb was a pioneering country music singer and songwriter. Tubb’s biggest hit was “Walking the Floor Over You”, which he released in 1941. Tubb was born on a farm near Crisp, Texas and had the nickname “the Texas Troubadour”. By the by, Crisp is now a ghost town.

82. “U R so funny” alternative : LOL
Laugh out loud (LOL)

90. Carpenter and others : KARENS
Karen Carpenter was an accomplished drummer, although she only started playing drums in high school, as a member of the school band. After she graduated she started playing jazz with her brother, Richard, and a college friend. Later, she and Richard played with a group called Spectrum, and submitted many demo tapes to recording companies, but all were unsuccessful. Finally, Karen and Richard got a recording contract with A&M Records, and when they had Karen take the lead on their songs, they hit the big time and toured as the Carpenters. Sadly, Karen passed away at only 32-years-old, dying from heart failure brought on by anorexia.

91. Sizzle : ECLAT
“Éclat” can mean a brilliant show of success, or the applause or accolade that one receives. The word derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

92. Renaissance artist ___ del Sarto : ANDREA
Andrea del Sarto was a Florentine painter during the Renaissance, a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.

93. Late media journalist David : CARR
David Carr was a journalist and author from Minneapolis who is perhaps best remembered for his time as a cultural reporter with “The New York Times”. Carr passed away in February 2015, after collapsing in “The New York Times” newsroom.

95. Peasant shoe : SABOT
There is a story that disgruntled textile workers would kick their wooden shoes, called sabots, into the looms in order to disable them so that they didn’t have to work. This act of vandalism was named for the shoe, an act of “sabot-age”.

99. Take as a bride : WIVE
The verb “to wive” means to take a wife, get married, or to provide a wife for someone.

100. Count of Lemony Snicket : OLAF
Lemony Snicket is a pen name used by Daniel Handler, a novelist from San Francisco, California. Snicket also appears as the narrator of his books, including the best known of the works: “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. Count Olaf is the antagonist in “A Series of Unfortunate Events”.

102. Stop on the first trans-Pacific air route : GUAM
Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, the territory has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!

The first trans-Pacific passenger flight was undertaken by the Pan American Airways seaplane Hawaii Clipper, carrying ten lucky passengers. The flight began in Alameda on San Francisco Bay, with stops at Hawaii, Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam and finishing up in the Philippines. The return journey took a full ten days.

103. Spelling start? : ABRA-
The incantation “abracadabra” has a long history. It was used as far back as the 2nd century AD in Ancient Rome when the word was prescribed by a physician to be worn on an amulet to help his emperor recover from disease. “Abracadabra” is Aramaic, and roughly translates as “I will create as I speak”.

105. Lex Luthor’s main henchman in “Superman” : OTIS
Lex Luthor is the arch-nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.

106. Villains of fantasy : ORCS
Orcs are mythical humanoid creatures that appear in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien’s use of orcs, they have also been featured in other fantasy fiction and in fantasy games.

108. Busy co. around Feb. 14 : FTD
Back in 1910, fifteen florists from around America agreed to fulfill each other’s orders using the telegraph system, setting up what they called the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery. The concept grew so large that in 1965 the group started to offer international service, and changed its name to Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTD).

Saint Valentine’s Day (February 14th) was chosen by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saints’ day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

109. Sinus doc : ENT
Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT)

In anatomical terms a sinus is a cavity in tissue. Sinuses are found all over the body, in the kidney and heart for example, but we most commonly think of the paranasal sinuses that surround the nose.

112. Remarks akin to “btw” : PSS
One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply “postscript”) at the end of a letter. A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

By the way (btw)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Rye and others : BREADS
7. Egg-shaped tomato : ROMA
11. Racetrack figure : ODDS
15. A cherry may be served with it : STEM
19. Group of companies : MARINE CORPS
21. Doesn’t freak out : KEEPS COOL
23. Set time / Go to theater / Engage in tomfoolery : WIND A WATCH A PLAY A PRANK (“wind a watch” & “watch a play” & “play a prank”)
25. Festive season : NOEL
26. ___ Maria : TIA
27. What may follow bigger or better : … THAN
28. Byways : ROADS
29. “Absolutely, brother!” : AMEN!
31. Part of a giggle : -HEE
32. Put in a hold : STOW
33. Hitchhike / Surf / Show patriotism : THUMB A RIDE A WAVE A FLAG (“thumb a ride” & “ride a wave” & “wave a flag”)
42. To a smaller degree : LESS SO
43. Dashboard abbr. : RPM
44. Meal for a seal : EEL
45. Harbor whistler : TUG
47. Good rep : CRED
48. Unshiny : FLAT
50. Place to pick up prints : CRIME SCENE
54. Somersault / Start football game / Invent some language : DO A FLIP A COIN A PHRASE (“do a flip” & “flip a coin” & “coin a phrase”)
58. Not pay attention : SNOOZE
59. Painters’ picks : HUES
60. Gets established : SETS IN
61. Co. that produced “Lou Grant” : MTM
64. “I said ___!” : NOW
65. Nurse : SIP
66. Flashy neckwear : BOA
67. J.F.K. posting : ETA
68. Post-deluge sight : ARARAT
70. Shopper stopper : SALE
72. Staples of protests : CHANTS
75. Not stop at intersection / Warm up / Use rifle : RUN A LIGHT A FIRE A SHOT (“run a light” & “light a fire” & “fire a shot”)
79. Taxi’s locale : CITY STREET
80. Additions : SUMS
81. “Employees must wash hands before returning to work,” e.g. : RULE
84. Georgia, once: Abbr. : SSR
85. Law school accreditor, for short : ABA
86. Walton with a club : SAM
87. Diamond worker : BATBOY
89. Play baseball / Take public transportation downtown / Clean up after diners leave : MAKE A CATCH A BUS A TABLE (“make a catch” & “catch a bus” & “bus a table”)
96. Some red marks : ACNE
97. Biblical preserver : ARK
98. Fudges, in a way, as an expense report : PADS
99. Earth : WORLD
101. Farming prefix : AGRI-
103. Balkan repub. : ALB
104. Wedge or sledge : TOOL
108. Finish taxes / Visit library / Plan vacation : FILE A RETURN A BOOK A TRIP (“file a return” & “return a book” & “book a trip”)
113. Rabbit ears : TV ANTENNA
114. People with belts do them : KARATE KICKS
115. Dict. material : DEFS
116. Tiny bit : ATOM
117. Herring type : SHAD
118. Pro responses : YESSES

Down
1. 3 Series producer : BMW
2. Makeup of some sheets : RAIN
3. Cubemeister Rubik : ERNO
4. West Wing worker : AIDE
5. Forensic facilities : DNA LABS
6. Do a darn good job? : SEW
7. Twisty pasta : ROTINI
8. Pod part, perhaps : ORCA
9. Dashboard abbr. : MPH
10. Coordinately : AS A TEAM
11. Where I-35 and I-40 meet: Abbr. : OKLA
12. Graduation ceremony V.I.P. : DEAN
13. “L.A. Law” actress : DEY
14. Home of the 300 in the film “300” : SPARTA
15. Many a prescription? : SCRAWL
16. Despicable one : TOAD
17. A seeming eternity : EONS
18. January honoree, for short : MLK
20. Do the dishes? : CATER
22. “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” e.g. : SPOOF
24. “That was close!” : PHEW!
30. Iconic figure in a Warhol work : MAO
31. Seven: Prefix : HEPTA-
32. City in 1965 headlines : SELMA
33. Soft touch, for short? : TLC
34. H.M.S. part : HER
35. Like trade-ins : USED
36. PCs once ran on it : MS-DOS
37. Window dressing : DRAPE
38. Home on high : AERIE
39. Circulation needs : VEINS
40. Not stiff : AT EASE
41. Puts the pedal to the metal : GUNS IT
46. Davis of Hollywood : GEENA
48. Showerhead adjustment : FLOW
49. Diamond-loving Taylor : LIZ
50. Masterstroke : COUP
51. Some printers : EPSONS
52. Safe place for a knife : SHEATH
53. Many an old monitor, in brief : CRT
55. Record of the year? : ANNALS
56. Go by walking : FOOT IT
57. Top cop : CHIEF
61. Cohn and Chagall : MARCS
62. “It is what it is,” e.g. : TRUISM
63. “No pain, no gain,” to many a bodybuilder : MANTRA
65. Bed support : SLAT
66. Rural calls : BAAS
69. ___ of hope : RAY
70. Biblical queendom : SHEBA
71. Steadily annoyed : ATE AT
72. Piece of cake : CRUMB
73. One left in stitches : HEM
74. Approximately, informally : SORTA
76. It’s a blessing : GRACE
77. Chris who sang “Wicked Game” : ISAAK
78. Country singer Ernest : TUBB
82. “U R so funny” alternative : LOL
83. Word with public or private : EYE
86. Head analysts? : SHRINKS
87. Corrupt : BAD
88. On the line : AT STAKE
90. Carpenter and others : KARENS
91. Sizzle : ECLAT
92. Renaissance artist ___ del Sarto : ANDREA
93. Late media journalist David : CARR
94. Digital transfer : UPLOAD
95. Peasant shoe : SABOT
99. Take as a bride : WIVE
100. Count of Lemony Snicket : OLAF
101. “… ___ extra charge!” : AT NO
102. Stop on the first trans-Pacific air route : GUAM
103. Spelling start? : ABRA-
105. Lex Luthor’s main henchman in “Superman” : OTIS
106. Villains of fantasy : ORCS
107. Facebook action : LIKE
108. Busy co. around Feb. 14 : FTD
109. Sinus doc : ENT
110. “So-o-o comfy!” : AAH!
111. Very important : KEY
112. Remarks akin to “btw” : PSS

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One thought on “0517-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 17 May 15, Sunday”

  1. This has to be one of the easiest Sunday NY grids I've ever come across. I feel like I'm being set up for a difficult week ahead. Well, OK, I'm done, on to other things.

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