0601-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 1 Jun 15, Monday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: David Woolf
THEME: Sew’ll Sound Like This … today’s themed answers start with one of the homophones: SOL, SOLE, SEOUL and SOUL:

17A. Popular Mexican brew : SOL CERVEZA
27A. The only trustworthy one? : SOLE BENEFICIARY
48A. Where Kia and Hyundai are headquartered : SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
63A. Woman’s best female friend : SOUL SISTER

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 42s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Coke rival : PEPSI
The Pepsi-Cola formulation was developed by one Caleb Bradham who made the drink at home and sold it as “Brad’s Drink”. Bradham’s aim was to provide a drink that was pleasant to taste, that would aid digestion and boost energy. Included in the formula were pepsin (a digestive enzyme) and kola nuts. These two ingredients inspired the brand name we use today: Pepsi-Cola.

10. Cracked open, as a door : AJAR
Our word “ajar” is thought to come from Scottish dialect, in which “a char” means “slightly open”.

14. Sir ___ Newton : ISAAC
Sir Isaac Newton was one of the most influential people in history, the man who laid the groundwork for all of classical mechanics. The story about an apple falling on his head, inspiring him to formulate his theories about gravity, well that’s not quite true. Newton often told the story about observing an apple falling in his mother’s garden and how this made him acutely aware of the Earth’s gravitational pull. However, he made no mention of the apple hitting him on the head.

15. Milky gem : OPAL
An opal is often described as having a milky iridescence, known as “opalescence”.

16. Bit of Old Norse writing : RUNE
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.

17. Popular Mexican brew : SOL CERVEZA
Sol is a brand of Mexican beer that dates back to the late 1800s, when it was called “El Sol”.

“Cerveza” is Spanish for “beer”.

20. Nincompoop : ASS
The word “nincompoop”, meaning a fool, seems to have been around for quite a while. It has been used since the 1670s, but no one appears to know its origins.

26. Co. name ender : INC
A company that has incorporated uses the abbreviation “Inc.” after its name. By incorporating, a company forms a corporation, which is a legal entity that has legal rights similar to those of an individual. For example, a corporation can sue another corporation or individual. However, a corporation does not have all the rights of citizens. A corporation does not have the Fifth Amendment right of protections against self-incrimination, for example. It is perhaps understandable that the concept of “corporations as persons” is a frequent subject for debate.

36. Canadian native : CREE
The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US most of the Cree nation live in Montana on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

37. ___ au vin : COQ
The French word “coq” actually means rooster, but a more tender bird is usually chosen for the classic French dish “coq au vin”. The most common wine used for the “vin” is burgundy, but sometimes another red wine is chosen, and you can also find on a menu “coq au Champagne” and “coq au Riesling”.

45. Vietnamese soup : PHO
“Pho” is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food.

46. That is, in Latin : ID EST
“Id est” is Latin for “that is”, and is often abbreviated to “i.e.” when used in English.

48. Where Kia and Hyundai are headquartered : SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to over 25 million people and is the second largest metropolitan area in the world, second only to Tokyo, Japan.

54. Aided and ___ : ABETTED
The word “abet” comes into English from the Old French “abeter” meaning “to bait” or “to harass with dogs” (it literally means “to make bite”). This sense of encouraging something bad to happen morphed into our modern usage of “abet” meaning to aid or encourage someone in a crime.

58. Suffix with British and Bush : -ISM
A “Britishism” is a word or phrase in English that is typically used in Britain, with a meaning that is peculiar to that country. Examples would be “fortnight” (two weeks), “davenport” (small writing desk), “bomb” (great success), “kiosk” (telephone booth) and “dustman” (garbage collector).

A Bushism is a linguistic error that has been attributed to President George W. Bush. President Bush himself admitted that he mixed up his words at times. Documented examples would be:

– “Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.”
– “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”
– “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
– “They misunderestimated me.”

62. Language of Pakistan : URDU
Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

67. William who shot an apple off his son’s head : TELL
Supposedly William Tell came from Uri, a canton in the German part of Switzerland. Altdorf is the capital of Uri and is the city where William Tell shot the apple off his son’s head, at least according to legend.

70. What the Venus de Milo lacks : ARMS
The famous “Venus de Milo” is so named as she was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos, on the Aegean island of the same name. I’ve been lucky enough to see the statue, in the Louvre in Paris, and was surprised at how large it is (6 ft 8 in tall).

Down
1. Italy’s Tower of ___ : PISA
The city of Pisa is right on the Italian coast, sitting at the mouth of the River Arno, and is famous for its Leaning Tower. The tower is actually the campanile (bell tower) of the city’s cathedral, and it has been leaning since it was completed in 1173. Just shows you how important good foundations are …

6. Groovy 1960s event : LOVE-IN
A “love-in” was a peaceful protest most associated with the late sixties. The gatherings themselves often involved meditation, music and the use of psychedelic drugs. The term “love-in” was apparently coined by LA comedian Peter Bergman who had a radio show at that time.

7. Gorilla : APE
The gorilla is the largest primate still in existence, and is one of the nearest living species to humans. Molecular biology studies have shown that our nearest relatives are in fact the species in the genus Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo), which split from the human branch of the family 4-6 million years ago. Gorillas and humans diverged at a point about 7 million years ago. The term “gorilla” derives from the Greek “gorillai” meaning “tribe of hairy women”.

8. The Soup ___ (“Seinfeld” character) : NAZI
“The Soup Nazi” is a famous episode of the hit show “Seinfeld”. The story is all about a soup stand owned by an excessively strict man referred to as the “Soup Nazi”. Believe it or not, the “Soup Nazi” character is based on a real soup vendor in New York City.

9. Panache : ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which language the word has a similar meaning to ours, i.e “style” or “flair”.

Someone exhibiting panache is showing dash and verve, and perhaps has a swagger. “Panache” is a French word used for a plume of feathers, especially in a hat.

10. “___ and Old Lace” (play and movie) : ARSENIC
I suppose that most famously “Arsenic and Old Lace” is a Frank Capra film, released in 1944. The movie was based on a 1939 stage play by Joseph Kesselring. The film stars Cary Grant as a completely madcap and frantic Mortimer Brewster. Grant was only the fourth choice for the role, after Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Ronald Reagan. That’s quite an eclectic mix of actors …

11. Wife portrayed in 2005’s “Walk the Line” : JUNE CARTER
June Carter is best-remembered as a singer-songwriter, and the second wife of Johnny Cash. June performed with Cash for many years as a member of the Carter Family. Cash proposed to June on stage in London, Ontario in 1968. Both Cash and Carter maintained a friendship with President Jimmy Carter, who was a distant cousin of June.

I must admit that I am not a big country music fan, but who doesn’t love Johnny Cash? The man had such a unique voice, and indeed unique songs. I think that his biopic, “Walk the Line”, is very cool, as is the title song itself. Recorded back in 1956, “Walk the Line” is relatively creative for “popular” music. The basic rhythm of the song emulates the sound of a freight train, the “boom-chicka-boom” sound. Cash’s guitar has a unique tone to it as it plays this rhythm, achieved by threading a piece of paper between the guitar strings giving the rhythm a bit of a “buzz”. Above the rhythm line, each of the five verses is sung in different keys. You can actually hear Cash hum a note signifying the key change at the start of each verse. With all these modulations, the final verse is sung a full octave lower that the first. A remarkable tune …

12. Excessively focused on something : ANAL
Our use of the word “anal” is an abbreviated form of “anal-retentive”, a term derived from Freudian psychology.

13. Dems.’ foes : REPS
America’s Democratic Party was founded in 1828, making it the oldest existing political party in the world. It evolved from Democratic-Republican Party that was organized by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and others in opposition to the Federalist Party of Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.

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”. The Republican Party’s elephant mascot dates back to an 1874 cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast for “Harper’s Weekly”. The Democrat’s donkey was already an established symbol. Nast drew a donkey clothed in a lion’s skin scaring away the other animals. One of the scared animals was an elephant, which Nast labeled “The Republican Vote”.

18. Descartes who wrote “Cogito ergo sum” : RENE
The great French philosopher Rene Descartes made the famous statement in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum”. This translates into French as “Je pense, donc je suis” and into English as “I think, therefore I am”.

23. Fruit-flavored drink with a hyphenated name : HI-C
Hi-C orange drink was created in 1946, and introduced to the market in 1948, initially in the south of the country. The name Hi-C was chosen to emphasize the high vitamin C content in the drink, as it contained added ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

24. Geo. Washington, in the Revolutionary War : GEN
Future-president George Washington was selected as a delegate for the State of Virginia to the First Continental Congress that met in 1774. Delegate Washington turned up at the Second Continental Congress dressed in a military uniform, as the 1775 meeting took place in soon after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Congress created the Continental Army, and named George Washington as General and Commander-in Chief, having been nominated by John Adams.

28. Part of the atmosphere depleted by CFCs : OZONE
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the propellants that were once used in aerosols. CFCs make their way up into the ozone layer and trigger a chain reaction that converts ozone (O3) into regular oxygen (O2). That conversion creates “holes” in the ozone layer. Regular O2 is good stuff, but we need O3 to absorb harmful UV radiation raining down on us. CFC is not good stuff …

29. Three sheets to the wind : LIQUORED UP
A sheet is the rope that is used to control a sail on a sailing vessel. The expression “three sheets to the wind” meaning “drunk” dates back to the early 1800s. It likely derives from the notion that a sailboat with three sails, and with all three sheets slipped out of control, would behave like someone who was drunk, and vice versa.

31. One of the Gershwins : IRA
Ira Gershwin was a lyricist who worked with his brother George to create such American classics as the songs “I Got Rhythm” and “Someone to Watch Over Me”, as well as the opera “Porgy and Bess”. After George Gershwin died, Ira continued to create great music, working with the likes of Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill.

32. Witherspoon who played 11-Down in “Walk the Line” : REESE
(11D. Wife portrayed in 2005’s “Walk the Line” : JUNE CARTER)
Reese is not actually actress Witherspoon’s given name. She started out life as Laura Jeanne Witherspoon. Reese is her mother’s maiden name.

33. Gossipy sort : YENTA
Yenta (also “Yente”) is actually a female Yiddish name. In Yiddish theater “yenta” came to mean a busybody.

39. FedEx alternative : UPS
United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky. UPS is the largest deliverer of packages in the world. The company has the nickname “Brown”, a reference to the color of its delivery trucks and uniforms.

FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under it’s more catchy abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.

40. Follower of pi : RHO
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.

41. Emulating basketball’s Jordan, per an old catchphrase : LIKE MIKE
“Be Like Mike” was a commercial catchphrase used by Gatorade in the nineties, with the “Mike” being a reference to basketball great Michael Jordan.

49. “___ there be light” : LET
The third verse in the Book of Genesis in the Bible is “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

The township of Edison, New Jersey was established as Raritan Township in 1870, but changed its name to Edison in 1954. That change was in honor of inventor Thomas Edison who worked in the Menlo Park section of the township. The motto appearing on the town seal is “Let There be Light”.

60. Mexican coin : PESO
The coin called a “peso” is used in many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The coin originated in Spain where the word “peso” means “weight”. The original peso was what we know in English as a “piece of eight”, a silver coin of a specific weight that had a nominal value of eight “reales”.

61. Boats like the one Noah built : ARKS
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.

64. German city where Einstein was born : ULM
Ulm is in the south of Germany and sits on the River Danube. Ulm is famous as home to the tallest church in the world, Ulm Minster, a Gothic building with a steeple that is 530-feet tall, with 768 steps to climb. Ulm is also the birthplace of Albert Einstein, and is where the entire Austrian army surrendered to Napoleon after the Battle of Ulm in 1805.

After Albert Einstein moved to the US in 1933, he became quite a celebrity and his face was readily recognizable. He was frequently stopped in the street by people who would naively ask him if he could explain what “that theory” (i.e. the theory of relativity) was all about. Growing tired of this, he finally learned to tell people that he was sorry, but folks were constantly mistaking him for Albert Einstein!

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Coke rival : PEPSI
6. Narrow street : LANE
10. Cracked open, as a door : AJAR
14. Sir ___ Newton : ISAAC
15. Milky gem : OPAL
16. Bit of Old Norse writing : RUNE
17. Popular Mexican brew : SOL CERVEZA
19. Sound that completes the phrase “Just like …!” : SNAP!
20. Nincompoop : ASS
21. Letter after bee : CEE
22. Wearing some party shoes : IN HEELS
24. Put the pedal to the metal : GUN IT
26. Co. name ender : INC
27. The only trustworthy one? : SOLE BENEFICIARY
34. Online periodical : E-ZINE
35. Atmosphere : AIR
36. Canadian native : CREE
37. ___ au vin : COQ
38. Dreamy : SURREAL
42. Roman numeral X : TEN
43. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT
45. Vietnamese soup : PHO
46. That is, in Latin : ID EST
48. Where Kia and Hyundai are headquartered : SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
52. Hwy. : RTE
53. Attempts : TRIES
54. Aided and ___ : ABETTED
58. Suffix with British and Bush : -ISM
59. Resort with mineral waters : SPA
62. Language of Pakistan : URDU
63. Woman’s best female friend : SOUL SISTER
66. Beat by a mile : ROUT
67. William who shot an apple off his son’s head : TELL
68. Many a tourist information handout site : KIOSK
69. Egyptian slitherers : ASPS
70. What the Venus de Milo lacks : ARMS
71. Big fairs : EXPOS

Down
1. Italy’s Tower of ___ : PISA
2. Those: Sp. : ESOS
3. Buddies : PALS
4. Anatomical pouch : SAC
5. They make clinks in drinks : ICE CUBES
6. Groovy 1960s event : LOVE-IN
7. Gorilla : APE
8. The Soup ___ (“Seinfeld” character) : NAZI
9. Panache : ELAN
10. “___ and Old Lace” (play and movie) : ARSENIC
11. Wife portrayed in 2005’s “Walk the Line” : JUNE CARTER
12. Excessively focused on something : ANAL
13. Dems.’ foes : REPS
18. Descartes who wrote “Cogito ergo sum” : RENE
23. Fruit-flavored drink with a hyphenated name : HI-C
24. Geo. Washington, in the Revolutionary War : GEN
25. Remove, as a coupon : TEAR OUT
27. Religious offshoots : SECTS
28. Part of the atmosphere depleted by CFCs : OZONE
29. Three sheets to the wind : LIQUORED UP
30. “Bah!” : FIE!
31. One of the Gershwins : IRA
32. Witherspoon who played 11-Down in “Walk the Line” : REESE
33. Gossipy sort : YENTA
39. FedEx alternative : UPS
40. Follower of pi : RHO
41. Emulating basketball’s Jordan, per an old catchphrase : LIKE MIKE
44. Shows oral disapproval : TUT-TUTS
47. Hair arrangements : DOS
49. “___ there be light” : LET
50. Soprano sounds : TRILLS
51. Snake sound : HISS
54. Otherworldly glow : AURA
55. Buddies : BROS
56. “Cómo ___?” (“How are you?”: Sp.) : ESTA
57. Not just a talker : DOER
59. Octagonal street sign : STOP
60. Mexican coin : PESO
61. Boats like the one Noah built : ARKS
64. German city where Einstein was born : ULM
65. Highest roll of a single die : SIX

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