1114-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Nov 15, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Kameron Austin Collins
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 43m 52s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … OLIVIA POPE (Olivia Hope), POE (Hoe!!!)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Place like Chicago’s Boystown or San Francisco’s Castro, in modern lingo : GAYBORHOOD
A gay village (also “gayborhood”) is a part of a city that is home to and frequented by a large number of LGBT people. Famous gay villages around the world are Soho in London, Chelsea in New York City, the Castro in San Francisco and Boystown in Chicago.

11. Jackson sibling : TITO
The Jackson 5 singing group was originally made up of brothers Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael.

17. Stories unauthorized by authors : FAN FICTION
“Fan fiction” (also “fanfic”) is unauthorized fiction created by fans of an original work that uses characters from that original work.

20. ___ Lorenzo Bernini, designer of St. Peter’s Square : GIAN
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian sculptor and architect, generally regarded as the successor to Michelangelo. Bernini’s most famous work perhaps is the design for the Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Square) located in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

23. Little capacity : PINT
A US pint is made from 16 fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces. The term “pint” comes into English via Old French, ultimately from the Latin “picta” meaning “painted”. The name arose from a line painted on the side of a beer glass, marking a full measure of ale.

24. Latin American seafood dish with a citrusy kick : CEVICHE
Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that is popular in South and Central America. Ceviche is typically made from fish marinated in lemon or lime juice and spiced with hot peppers.

29. See 25-Across : SUMOS
(25A. Article of attire for 29-Across : THONG)
Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.

32. Barbell lift to shoulder height : CLEAN
There are two weightlifting events in the Olympics. One is the “snatch” in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the platform over his or head in one continuous movement. The “clean and jerk” is a two-part lift. The “clean” brings the barbell off the platform mainly using the knees. The “jerk” brings the barbell over the head to complete the lift.

33. Pro ___ : RATA
“Pro rata” is a Latin phrase meaning “in proportion”.

35. Picks up, in a way : FOOTS
To “foot” the bill is pay it, to pay the total at the “foot” of the bill.

39. Bacchus attendant : SATYR
The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

Dionysus was the party animal of Greek mythology. Dionysus was the god of the wine, ritual madness and ecstasy! The Roman name for Dionysus was Bacchus.

44. Beatle feature : MOP
A “bob cut” is a short hairstyle in which the hair is cut straight around the head, at about the line of the jaw. Back in the 1570s a “bob” was the name given to a horse’s tail that was cut short, and about a century later it was being used to describe short hair on humans. The style became very popular with women in the early 1900s (as worn by actress Clara Bow, for example), with the fashion dying out in the thirties. The style reemerged in the sixties around the time the Beatles introduced their “mop tops”, with Vidal Sassoon leading the way in styling women’s hair in a bob cut again. Personally, I like it …

48. Heroine of ABC’s “Scandal” : OLIVIA POPE
Olivia Pope is the protagonist on the TV show “Scandal”, played by Kerry Washington. Pope is a crisis manager or “fixer” who runs her own firm in Washington, D.C. The Pope character is loosely based on President George H. W. Bush’s Deputy Press Secretary Judy Smith.

52. Democratic talking point beginning in 2010 : WAR ON WOMEN
“War on Women” is a phrase used mainly by some prominent Democrats to describe some Republican positions that they believe restricts women’s rights.

54. Where California and Missouri put bears : STATE SEALS
The Great Seal of the State of California features the goddess Minerva of Roman mythology (Athena in Greek mythology), as well as a California grizzly bear, a miner and sailing ships. The seal also features the state motto “Eureka”. The original design of the seal was by Robert S. Garnett who later became the first general to be killed in the Civil War (while fighting for the Confederate Army).

The Great Seal of the State of Missouri incorporates the Great Seal of the United States. It also includes a bear and a crescent moon. There is also the motto “United we stand, divided we fall”, and the state motto “Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto” meaning “Let the Welfare of the People Be the Supreme Law”.

Down
2. Grammy alternatives voted on by the public, for short : AMAS
The American Music Awards (AMAs) were created by Dick Clark for ABC in 1973 when the network lost the right to present the Grammy Awards.

4. Really good bud : BFF
Best friend forever (BFF)

8. Anthony Hopkins’s role in “Thor” : ODIN
The 2011 movie “Thor” is yet another film based on a comic book hero. Even though I won’t be seeing it (I don’t do comics), I must admit it does have an impressive cast. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, supported by Natalie Portman, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins. And to crown it all, Kenneth Branagh is the director.

9. One in un zoológico : OSO
In Spanish, “osa” is a female bear, and “oso” is a male. An “oso” might be found in “un zoológico” (a zoo).

10. “CNN Tonight” host beginning in 2014 : DON LEMON
Don Lemon is a TV journalist and news anchor based in New York who hosts the show “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon”.

11. Animated Spielberg hero : TINTIN
“The Adventures of Tintin” is a 2011 Steven Spielberg animated feature film based on the series of comics of the same name by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. I was addicted to the “Tintin” stories as a kid so went to see the movie as soon as it came out. Although I enjoyed the film, I enjoyed the books more as a young lad …

12. 1990 #1 hit that starts “Yo, V.I.P., let’s kick it!” : ICE ICE BABY
“Ice Ice Baby” is 1990 song released by rap artists Vanilla Ice and DJ Earthquake.

22. Budget partner : AVIS
Avis has been around since 1946, and is the second largest car rental agency after Hertz. Avis has the distinction of being the first car rental company to locate a branch at an airport.

The Budget Rent a Car company started out in 1958 with the intent of undercutting the existing price of renting a car at airports. Budget was founded by Morris Mirkin. Mirkin enlisted Julius Lederer as a co-founder the following year. Lederer was the husband of newspaper columnist “Ann Landers”.

23. Yearly Library of Congress appointee : POET
A poet laureate is a poet who is officially pointed by some institution to compose works for special occasions. The US Poet Laureate is more correctly known as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.

24. There’s no sense in them : COMAS
The term “coma” comes from the Greek word “koma” meaning “deep sleep”.

25. Picture about a pitcher : THE NATURAL
Bernard Malamud wrote the novel “The Natural”, published in 1952. It tells the story of a baseball player named Roy Hobbs, who gets shot early in his career and makes a remarkable comeback many years later. Although Roy Hobbs is a fictional character, the story is apparently based on the real-life Phillies player Eddie Waitkus, who was indeed shot in his hotel room by an obsessed fan in 1949. The film adaptation released in 1984 is an excellent movie starring Robert Redford as “The Natural”.

26. Jordan, to worshipers : HIS AIRNESS
Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Not only is he a talented sportsman, but he is also very successful in the business world. His is now the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team. Fans refer to Jordan as “His Airness”.

28. Uses pickup lines, in slang : SPITS GAME
The slang term “to spit game” means to chat up a lady. A new expression to me, and not very elegant, I’d say …

32. Do for the African-American community? : CORNROWS
The traditional African American braids known as a cornrows can also be called “crows”, a shortened version of the original term. The style was imported into the US from Africa.

33. Confession, e.g. : RITE
A member of the Roman Catholic church can participate in the sacrament of confession. A penitent confesses to a priest, starting with the words, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time period] since my last confession …”

35. Pâté base : FOIE
Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made up of a mixture of ground meat and fat, to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

38. Woolly : LANATE
Lanate is a biological term, and is used to describe something that has a wooly or hairy appearance or covering. It is derived from the Latin word “lana” meaning wool.

43. Actress Sorvino : MIRA
Mira Sorvino is an American actress, winner of an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1995 Woody Allen movie “Mighty Aphrodite”. Sorvino also played a title role opposite Lisa Kudrow in the very forgettable “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion”.

44. Home to Mondrian’s “Broadway Boogie Woogie” : MOMA
The founding of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was very much driven by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller, son of the oil magnate. Working with two friends, Abby managed to get the museum opened in 1929, just nine days after the Wall Street Crash. The MoMA’s sculpture garden bears the name of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and has done so since 1949.

Piet Mondrian was a painter from the Netherlands who also lived and worked in Paris, London and New York. Mondrian’s works ranged in style from Impressionism to Abstract.

45. Real gem of a car? : OPEL
I think that someone is mixing up opals (the gems) and Opels (the cars), although I am usually wrong …

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

46. Stationery shop display : PENS
“Stationery” is a noun describing writing materials and office supplies, items that are sold by a stationer. Centuries ago, a stationer was someone who sold goods from a shop or a “station”, from a fixed, stationary stall.

49. Rowing machine target, for short : LAT
The muscles known as the “lats” are the latissimi dorsi, the broadest muscles in the back. “Latissimus” is the Latin for “broadest” and “dorsum” is Latin for “back”.

50. ___ House and Museum (Baltimore attraction) : POE
The Poe House and Museum is a modest row house on North Amity Street in Baltimore, and is a former home of the writer Edgar Allan Poe. Poe lived in the house from 1833 to 1835.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Place like Chicago’s Boystown or San Francisco’s Castro, in modern lingo : GAYBORHOOD
11. Jackson sibling : TITO
15. “Looks that way, unfortunately” : I’M AFRAID SO
16. “___ help” : I CAN
17. Stories unauthorized by authors : FAN FICTION
18. Following : NEXT
19. Tut relative : TSK
20. ___ Lorenzo Bernini, designer of St. Peter’s Square : GIAN
21. Somewhat behind : LATISH
23. Little capacity : PINT
24. Latin American seafood dish with a citrusy kick : CEVICHE
25. Article of attire for 29-Across : THONG
27. Tyrannize over : DOMINEER
28. Starts : SHIES
29. See 25-Across : SUMOS
30. Slo-___ fuse : BLO
31. Real pain : PEST
32. Barbell lift to shoulder height : CLEAN
33. Pro ___ : RATA
34. ___ rage : IN A
35. Picks up, in a way : FOOTS
36. Like players on opposing teams, often : GIBED
37. Fit for : TAILOR TO
39. Bacchus attendant : SATYR
40. Types : STRAINS
41. ___ views (webmaster’s data) : PAGE
42. Artillery operator : GUNNER
43. Move (about) : MILL
44. Beatle feature : MOP
47. Department : AREA
48. Heroine of ABC’s “Scandal” : OLIVIA POPE
51. Staff at sea : MAST
52. Democratic talking point beginning in 2010 : WAR ON WOMEN
53. Other : ELSE
54. Where California and Missouri put bears : STATE SEALS

Down
1. Easy exam question, so to speak : GIFT
2. Grammy alternatives voted on by the public, for short : AMAS
3. A lot of pull? : YANK
4. Really good bud : BFF
5. Starts : ORIGINS
6. Aflutter : RACING
7. Try to strike : HIT AT
8. Anthony Hopkins’s role in “Thor” : ODIN
9. One in un zoológico : OSO
10. “CNN Tonight” host beginning in 2014 : DON LEMON
11. Animated Spielberg hero : TINTIN
12. 1990 #1 hit that starts “Yo, V.I.P., let’s kick it!” : ICE ICE BABY
13. There might be one offshore : TAX SHELTER
14. Traveling : ON THE ROAD
22. Budget partner : AVIS
23. Yearly Library of Congress appointee : POET
24. There’s no sense in them : COMAS
25. Picture about a pitcher : THE NATURAL
26. Jordan, to worshipers : HIS AIRNESS
27. Owed : DUE TO
28. Uses pickup lines, in slang : SPITS GAME
29. Airtimes : SLOTS
32. Do for the African-American community? : CORNROWS
33. Confession, e.g. : RITE
35. Pâté base : FOIE
36. Secret enforcers : GAG LAWS
38. Woolly : LANATE
39. Cleansing solution : SALINE
41. Revolution in basketball? : PIVOT
43. Actress Sorvino : MIRA
44. Home to Mondrian’s “Broadway Boogie Woogie” : MOMA
45. Real gem of a car? : OPEL
46. Stationery shop display : PENS
49. Rowing machine target, for short : LAT
50. ___ House and Museum (Baltimore attraction) : POE

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4 thoughts on “1114-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 14 Nov 15, Saturday”

  1. Although Robert Redford does play a pitcher in The Natural, it is certainly not much of a plot point. At least for the final 3/4ths of the film. It's all about his hitting. GIBED? SPITSGAME? Where do these expressions come from? And by the way, if an author writes a story, aren't they implicitly "authorizing" it (it's in the term)? So the clues are a bit off today. Still, :40 for me.

  2. 55:46, no errors. I made steady (but by no means rapid) progress with this one for abour 40 minutes and then came to a dead stop right in the center. I finally realized that I needed to change TAILORED to TAILOR TO and remembered there was such a thing as a CLEAN and jerk lift and that SUMO wrestlers wear something like thongs. So, not a spectacular time, but dogged persistence finally paid off … 🙂

  3. 38:11, 5 errors. 1A GAYBORHOOD (GAY BAR HOOD); 20A GIAN (SIAN); 5D ORIGIN (ARISIN??); 48A OLIVIA POPE (OLIVIA COPE); 50D POE (COE). Very nasty, challenging puzzle for me today. On the verge of quitting several times. I don't Google, but that would have helped with 20A and 48A.

  4. I only got through @70% of this one. Some real *cynical* clues here, like "Owed" producing DUE TO. Still not convinced there's case agreement there. Never heard the term gayborhood, I was thinking more "gay bastion" until I looked hard at 7D and 8D. This was challenging to be sure (as evidenced by Bill needing 44 minutes and couldn't get it all right)…. but once again the mean-spirited editing makes things worse. Still looking forward to Shortz' retirement announcement.

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