0718-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 18 Jul 15, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe Krozel
THEME: One-Thirty … we don’t really have a theme today, but we have some grid art. The grid resembles a clock face, with the little hand and big hand pointing to the time ONE-THIRTY:

24D. Setting depicted by this puzzle’s grid : ONE-THIRTY

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 19m 42s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Defendant in court: Abbr. : RESP
A respondent (resp.) in a legal proceeding is the defendant.

5. Monte Palatino locale : ROMA
In Italian, Palatine Hill (Monte Palatino) is one of the seven hills of Rome (Roma).

Supposedly, there were seven separate settlements on the top of seven hills east of the River Tiber, prior to the founding of the city of Rome. Tradition dictates that Romulus founded Rome on one of these hills, Palatine Hill, and the city came to encompass all seven existing settlements. The most famous hill in modern-day Rome is probably Vatican Hill, but it lies outside of walled ancient city.

9. Vacation home, abroad : DACHA
Dachas are usually second homes in Russia and the former Soviet Union that are located outside the city limits in rural areas. Residents/tenants of dachas are often called dachniks.

12. Sends back to Congress, say : VETOES
“Veto” comes directly from Latin and means “I forbid”. The word was used by tribunes of Ancient Rome to indicate that they opposed measures passed by the Senate.

13. Tiki carvers : MAORIS
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Māori are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting sometime in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing the mortal human being from spiritual entities.

A tiki is a large carving of wood or stone resembling a human form, found in Polynesian cultures. The carvings often mark out boundaries of sites sacred to the locals.

16. Biddies : OLD BATS
We use the term “biddy” to mean an “old woman”. Back in the mid-1800s, the term was developed over here in America and applied to an Irish maid-servant. Biddy is a nickname for a woman called Bridget.

18. Asian Turks : ANATOLIANS
Anatolia is also known as Asia Minor. It is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe, and is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.

20. ___ Hassan, “Arabian Nights” figure : ABOU
“Abu al-Husn (also “Abou Hassan”) and His Slave-Girl Tawaddud” is a story from the “One Thousand and One Nights” (also “Arabian Nights”).

21. Spanish city that’s home to the country’s oldest university : SALAMANCA
Salamanca is a city and province in the commune of Castile and León in northwestern Spain. The University of Salamanca is the oldest university in the country, having been founded in 1218.

22. Run-D.M.C.’s “You Be ___” : ILLIN’
“You Be Illin’” is a single released by Run-DMC in 1986.

Run-D.M.C. was a hip hop group from Queens, New York. The trio took its name from two of the group’s members: Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels.

26. Tokyo-based carrier : ANA
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline, second in size only to Japan Airlines (JAL).

27. Animated film made into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical : ALADDIN
The Disney animated feature “Aladdin” was released in 1992 and is one of the best features to come out of the studio, in my opinion, largely due to the great performance by Robin Williams who voiced the Genie. “Aladdin” was the most successful film of 1992, earning over $500 million worldwide, an unusual feat for an animated movie. The film was adapted as stage musical that opened in Seattle in 2011, and on Broadway in 2014.

37. Stanza of a poem : STROPHE
In general terms, in poetry a “strophe” is a pair of stanzas with alternating form. So, a poem might be made up from a number of strophes, and twice that number of stanzas.

38. Projecting part of the ear : AURICLE
“Auricle” is an alternative term for the pinna, the visible part of the ear that sits outside of the head. “Pinna” is the Latin for “feather” and is used anatomically for a wing, fin or other external appendage.

39. Star followers : THE MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, magi is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born.

41. Wing feature : AILERON
In traditional aircraft designs, pitch is controlled by the elevator and roll is controlled by the aileron. On some newer aircraft these two functions are combined into single control surfaces called “elevons”.

45. James and Jones : ETTAS
Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.

Etta Jones was a jazz singer, sometimes known as the “jazz musician’s jazz singer”. Because she has a similar name to Etta James, Jones was often confused with the more popular singer. Jones never really had any huge commercial success though, despite the respect that she engendered within the inner sanctums of the jazz world.

46. Something studied by a caliologist : NEST
The study of bird nests is called caliology. The term comes from the Greek “kalia” meaning “nest”.

Down
1. Snare drum sound : RAT A TAT
Snare drums are so called because they have a set of wire strands (called snares) stretched across the bottom surface of the drum. When the drum is struck, the snares vibrate against the bottom drumhead producing a unique sound.

3. Northernmost part of Great Britain : SHETLAND ISLANDS
The Shetland Islands in Scotland have given their name to a few breeds of animals, including Shetland cattle, Shetland ponies, Shetland sheep, Shetland sheepdogs and Shetland geese. The Shetlands lie about 110 miles northeast of the Scottish mainland.

5. Title heroine of an 1884 Helen Hunt Jackson novel : RAMONA
“Ramona” is an 1884 novel by Helen Hunt Jackson about a Scots-Native American orphan girl who suffers discrimination because of her mixed race. The novel was very popular in its day, and was adapted for the big screen four times, perhaps most notably in the 1936 film of the same name starring Loretta Young and Don Ameche. There is also a Ramona Pageant held annually in Hemet, California that features an outdoor stage adaptation of the novel. The Ramona Pageant has been going since 1923, and is the longest running outdoor play in the US.

8. Court embarrassment : AIR BALL
A “air ball” in basketball is a shot that misses, without even touching the rim, net or backboard.

9. Some exterior decoration : DECALS
A decal is a decorative sticker, short for “decalcomania”. The term is derived from the French “décalquer”, the practice of tracing a pattern from paper onto glass or perhaps porcelain.

11. Dios’s archenemy : DIABLO
In Spanish, the archenemy of God (dios) is the devil (diablo).

12. ___ cavae : VENAE
The superior vena cava is a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body to the right atrium of the heart. The inferior vena cava does the same thing for the lower part of the body.

14. Unmovable : STOIC
Someone who is “stoic” is indifferent to pleasure or pain, is relatively impassive.

Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher famous for teaching at the Stoa Poikile, the “Painted Porch”, located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens. Because of the location of his classes, his philosophy became known as stoicism (from “stoa”, the word for “porch”). And yes, we get our adjective “stoic” from the same root.

15. Dare, colloquially : DAST
Instead saying “he dares”, one might be a little quaint and say “he dast”.

17. X’d out completely, in the game battleships : SUNK
I think that the game is called “Battleship” and not “Battleships” …

Battleship was a game that we used to play as kids using pencil and paper. The game had been around at least since WWI, and was eventually turned into a board game by Milton Bradley in 1967.

19. Coolers : ACS
Room coolers are air conditioning units (ACs).

27. Bygone military titles : AGAS
“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

33. What “/ / /” may represent : SPARES
In bowling, the downing of all ten pins in two balls in the same frame is a “spare”, scoring ten points. The player gets a bonus, equal to the number of pins downed with the next ball, which could be up to ten. Hence, a spare can be worth up to 20 points. Spares are recorded on a scoresheet with diagonal lines.

35. Hamburger refusal? : NEIN
“Nein” is German for “no”, and “ja” means “yes”.

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (after Berlin), and the third largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam and Antwerp).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Defendant in court: Abbr. : RESP
5. Monte Palatino locale : ROMA
9. Vacation home, abroad : DACHA
10. Dictionary usage advisory : AVOID
12. Sends back to Congress, say : VETOES
13. Tiki carvers : MAORIS
15. Transfers, in a way : DECANTS
16. Biddies : OLD BATS
18. Asian Turks : ANATOLIANS
20. ___ Hassan, “Arabian Nights” figure : ABOU
21. Spanish city that’s home to the country’s oldest university : SALAMANCA
22. Run-D.M.C.’s “You Be ___” : ILLIN’
23. Experimental efforts : TESTINGS
24. End of time : … O’CLOCK
25. 401, in the year 401 : CDI
26. Tokyo-based carrier : ANA
27. Animated film made into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical : ALADDIN
31. Forwards : SENDS ON
36. Followed doctors’ orders, maybe : GOT REST
37. Stanza of a poem : STROPHE
38. Projecting part of the ear : AURICLE
39. Star followers : THE MAGI
40. Out of this world : STELLAR
41. Wing feature : AILERON
42. Solution for an ophthalmological problem? : SALINE
43. Like some drawings and telephone numbers : TRACED
44. Things tossed in a compost pile : RINDS
45. James and Jones : ETTAS
46. Something studied by a caliologist : NEST
47. Worker in a textile factory : DYER

Down
1. Snare drum sound : RAT A TAT
2. Possible result of loss of trade : ECONOMIC DECLINE
3. Northernmost part of Great Britain : SHETLAND ISLANDS
4. Attention holder for a time : PASSING INTEREST
5. Title heroine of an 1884 Helen Hunt Jackson novel : RAMONA
6. Ford and Kia logos : OVALS
7. Sullen state of mind : MOOD
8. Court embarrassment : AIR BALL
9. Some exterior decoration : DECALS
11. Dios’s archenemy : DIABLO
12. ___ cavae : VENAE
14. Unmovable : STOIC
15. Dare, colloquially : DAST
17. X’d out completely, in the game battleships : SUNK
19. Coolers : ACS
22. “Same thing happened to me” : I CAN RELATE
24. Setting depicted by this puzzle’s grid : ONE-THIRTY
26. Per a previous stipulation : AS STATED
27. Bygone military titles : AGAS
28. Roughnecks : LOUTS
29. In back : AT REAR
30. Teach by repetition : DRILL IN
32. Optimal scenery-viewing spot on a train : DOME CAR
33. What “/ / /” may represent : SPARES
34. “What a disaster!” : OH GOD!
35. Hamburger refusal? : NEIN

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One thought on “0718-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 18 Jul 15, Saturday”

  1. Not too difficult for a Saturday, though initially I stupidly wrote in two-thirty instead of one-thirty for the time. I checked and I t turns out that I no longer have a single analog timepiece in my house. I guess, as a result, I don't deal with them as automatically as I once did.

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