0112-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 12 Jan 16, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Like “War and Peace,” famously LONG
I have to confess that I have tried to read Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” twice in my life, and failed both times (it is l-o-n-g). Even though the 1956 movie adaptation runs for 3½ hours, it’s still the easy way out! The film version stars Audrey Hepburn as Natasha Rostova and Henry Fonda as Count Pierre Bezukhov.

10. StubHub’s parent EBAY
StubHub! is an online ticket exchange business that is owned by eBay. StubHub! acts as the middleman between buyers and seller of event tickets, whether those buyers and sellers are individuals or large organizations.

14. Instrument that begins an orchestra’s tune-up OBOE
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”.

17. Tip of Italy, once? LIRA
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

18. Most of the leading characters in “Babe” FARM ANIMALS (hiding “Armani”)
The hit 1995 film “Babe” was produced and filmed in Australia. The movie is an adaptation of a 1983 novel called “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith. “Babe” was a smash hit at the box office and was extremely well received by the critics. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to “Braveheart”. However, it did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects by beating out “Apollo 13”, which was an amazing feat, I’d say…

Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the company that has borne his name since 1975. Although Armani is famous for his menswear, the company makes everything from jewelry to perfume.

21. Recipe no. AMT
Amount (amt.)

22. Queen of Sparta LEDA
In Greek mythology, Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who was seduced by Zeus when he took the form of a swan. Leda produced two eggs from the union. One egg hatched into the beautiful Helen, later to be known as Helen of Troy and over whom the Trojan War was fought. The other egg hatched into the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux had different fathers according to the myth. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of Leda’s earthly husband, and so he was a mortal. William Butler Yeats wrote a famous sonnet called “Leda and the Swan” in 1924. Peter Paul Rubens made a copy of a painting called “Leda and the Swan” by Michelangelo, which is now lost.

25. Tiny bit TAD
Back in the 1800s “tad” was used to describe a young child, and this morphed into our usage of “small amount” in the early 1900s. The original use of “tad” for a child is very likely a shortened version of “tadpole”.

26. Fitness program popularized in the 1990s TAE BO
Tae Bo isn’t an ancient martial art, and rather was developed as a form of aerobic exercise in the 1990s. The discipline was introduced by taekwondo expert Billy Blanks who gave it the name Tae Bo, a melding of “taekwondo” and “boxing”.

28. Things kids make in the winter SNOW ANGELS (hiding “Wang”)
Vera Wang’s first choice for a career was figure skating. Although she a very capable skater, Wang failed to make the 1968 US Olympics team. She switched to the world of fashion, and is now famous for her designs of wedding dresses … but also costumes for figure skaters.

33. Sitting room PARLOR
Our word “parlor” comes from the French “parler” meaning “to speak”. Our usage is in the sense of a sitting room for intimate conversation.

34. Where Oman Air is headquartered MUSCAT
Oman Air is the flag carrier airline for Oman and is headquartered in the nation’s capital Muscat. Oman Air was founded in 1970 as Oman International Services.

38. Refs. that may occupy whole shelves OEDS
The “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) contains over 300,000 “main” entries and 59 million words in total. It is said it would take a single person 120 years to type it out in full. The longest entry for one word in the second edition of the OED is the verb “set”. When the third edition was published in 2007, the longest entry for a single word became the verb “put”. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most-quoted author in the OED is William Shakespeare, with his most quoted work being “Hamlet”. The most-quoted female author is George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans).

46. His, to Hilaire SES
“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”, when referring to a group of items.

48. ___-Lorraine ALSACE
Alsace-Lorraine was a territory in the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The territory was created when Germany annexed most of Alsace and Lorraine from France in the Franco-Prussian War. The area reverted to French control after World War One, and is now called Alsace-Moselle.

51. Hard-to-read character 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.

52. Aerial navigation beacon RADIO RANGE (hiding “Dior”)
The low-frequency radio range (LFR) was a system used by aircraft for navigation starting in the 1930s, and gradually replaced from the late 1940s to the 1970s.

Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. As WWII approached, Dior was called up by the French military, drawing a temporary halt to his career in fashion. He left the army in 1942 and for the duration of the war designed clothes for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. After the war his designs became so popular that he helped reestablish Paris as the fashion center of the world.

59. Poehler of “Sisters” AMY
Amy Poehler was a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2001 to 2008, notable for appearing in many great sketches, including those where she played Hillary Clinton opposite Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. Poehler also starred with Fey in the 2008 movie “Baby Mama”. And, Poehler led the cast of the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” for its seven-season run.

“Sisters” is a 2015 comedy movie starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as two sisters who take on the task of clearing out their old bedroom at their parents house.

60. Birthplace of the Baath Party: Abbr. SYR
The Ba’ath Party was founded in Syria in 1947. The party promotes the unification of the Arab world into one nation, and has the motto “Unity, Liberty, Socialism”.

61. Any of las Filipinas ISLA
When the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos discovered the islands of Leyte and Samar, he called them Felipinas, after King Philip II of Spain. Eventually, the name was used for the whole archipelago, becoming what we now call in English, the Philippines.

63. Towing org. AAA
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

64. Karate studio DOJO
The Japanese word “dojo” literally means “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

66. Serious setback for a kicker ANKLE INJURY (hiding “Klein”)
Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer, born in The Bronx in New York City. Klein’s biography entitled “Obsession”, takes its name from one the most famous brands in his line of fragrances, Obsession.

69. Youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, familiarly A-ROD
Professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez earned more nicknames than just A-Rod. He has been called “the Cooler” by some players as there is a perception that teams go cold when he joins them and hot when he leaves. He has also been called “A-Fraud” by teammates because of another perception, that he is over-demanding.

72. Lee side, informally REBS
Robert E. Lee is renowned as a southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state. During the Civil War, Lee’s men referred to him affectionately as “Marse Robert”, with “marse” being slang for “master”.

73. Dashboard array DIALS
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 …

74. Trait origin GENE
A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.

Down
2. Michelle in the White House OBAMA
Michelle Obama nee Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago and is sister to Craig Robinson, former coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State and Brown Universities. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson worked as an associate at the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm. Barack Obama joined the firm as a summer associate and Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor him, and as they say, one thing led to another …

3. El ___ (the United States, to Central Americans) NORTE
“El Norte” is the term many people in Central America use for the United States and Canada, meaning “the North” in Spanish.

5. Nota ___ BENE
“Nota bene” is the Latin for “note well”

8. Gate info ETA
Estimated time of arrival (ETA)

9. The Blue Hen State DELAWARE
The Blue Hen has been the state bird of Delaware since 1939. As a result, the athletic teams of the University of Delaware are known as the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.

10. 1994 P.G.A. Tour Rookie of the Year ELS
Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. He is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

11. Conclusion of an arduous process BITTER END
The “bitter end” is a conclusion of a difficult situation. The phrase is nautical in origin. “Bitts” are pairs of posts on the deck of a ship or on a wharf around which mooring lines are wound to secure a vessel. The “bitter end” of a cable or rope is the part at the extremes of the line that is wound around the bitts.

16. Cool red giant S STAR
Red giants are very large stars with a relatively low mass. The atmosphere of a red giant is also very inflated and extends a long way into space so the surface of that atmosphere that we see is relatively cool, which gives it a red color. Stars are classified by their spectral characteristics, basically the color of the light they emit. As such, red giants are classified as M stars. Cool red giants are of a color beyond the usual range, and are classified as S stars.

19. Roberto in Cooperstown ALOMAR
Roberto Alomar is a former Major League Baseball player, considered by many to be the greatest ever second baseman. Alomar won 10 Gold Glove awards in his career, which is more than any other second baseman in history.

Cooperstown is a village in New York that is famous as the home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The village was named for Judge William Cooper, Cooperstown’s founder, and the father of the noted writer James Fenimore Cooper.

24. Blowup: Abbr. ENL
Enlargement (enl.)

27. “Time to Say Goodbye” tenor Andrea BOCELLI
Andrea Bocelli is a classically-trained tenor who sings popular music, a so-called cross-over artist. Bocelli was born with poor eyesight and then became totally blind at the age of 12 when he had an accident playing soccer.

“Time to Say Goodbye” is an English version of an Italian song “Con te partirò”, both of which were recorded by Andrea Bocelli. The English title isn’t an exact translation of the Italian, which is “I will leave with you”.

29. Many David Brooks pieces OP-EDS
Op-Ed is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-Eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

David Brooks a conservative political journalist who writes for “The New York Times”. Brooks also appears frequently on “PBS NewsHour” and is always on hand for PBS during the election season.

30. Looked up, in a way GOOGLED
The search engine “Google” was originally called “BackRub” would you believe? The name was eventually changed to Google, an intentional misspelling of the word “googol”. A googol is a pretty big number, 10 to the power of 100. That would be the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros.

32. “Lord, is ___?” IT I
At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him that day. According to the Gospel of Matthew:

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

34. Old Russian space station MIR
The Russian Mir Space Station was a remarkably successful project, with the station still holding the record for the longest continuous manned presence in space, at just under ten years. Towards the end of the space station’s life however, the years began to take their toll. There was a dangerous fire, multiple system failures, and a collision with a resupply ship. The Russian commitment to the International Space Station drained funds for repairs, so Mir was allowed to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in 2001.

35. Jean-Luc Godard’s “___ Femme Coquette” UNE
Jean-Luc Godard is a so-called “Nouvelle Vague” (New Wave) cinematographer, making movies that challenge the conventions of both traditional Hollywood and French cinema.

39. Susan of “L.A. Law” 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”.

“L.A. Law” ran on NBC from 1986 to 1994, and was one of the network’s most successful drama series. It took over from the equally successful “Hill Street Blues” in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot until, after a six-year run, it was itself replaced by yet another respected drama, “E.R.” The opening credits showed that famous California licence plate. The plate was on a Jaguar XJ for most of the series, but moved onto a Bentley towards the end of the run. For each series the registration sticker was updated, so no laws were being broken.

40. Madeira Mrs. SRA
The equivalent of “Mrs.” in French is “Mme.” (Madame), in Spanish is “Sra.” (Señora) and in Portuguese is also “Sra.” (Senhora).

Madeira is a Portuguese-owned archipelago that lies to the southwest of mainland Portugal. Madeira is famous for its wine, which is a fortified beverage (as is port, sherry and Marsala wine).

42. Recognition from the Academy OSCAR NOD
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

43. Poker great Ungar STU
Many followers of the game believe that Stu Ungar was the best ever player of Texas hold ’em. Ungar won about $30 million playing cards during his life, yet he died penniless. He was found dead in a Las Vegas motel room in 1998 having passed away from heart failure at 45 years of age, brought on by years of drug abuse.

44. ___ Sea (Italy/Greece separator) IONIAN
The Ionian Sea is that part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and the southern part of Italy (under the sole of the “boot”). The Ionian Sea is one of the most seismically active areas on the planet.

49. Message that might be laid out in coconuts on a beach SOS
The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots), although in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so SOS is in effect only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are also mnemonics, introduced after the “SOS” signal was adopted.

50. Early Indo-European ARYAN
The term Aryan can be used to describe the Indo-European languages or the peoples who speak them. The underlying assumption in this grouping is that Indian languages (based on Sanskrit) and the major European languages all have the same root.

51. Scalp RESELL
“Scalping” of tickets, selling them above retail price for an excessive profit, originated in the mid-1800s with scalpers making money off theater tickets. There was also quite a bit of money made by people scalping railway tickets. Railroads gave discounts on tickets for longer journeys, so someone trying to get from San Francisco to Chicago say, might buy a ticket to New York. Once in Chicago the passenger would scalp the remainder of his/her ticket to someone wanting to get to New York, and make his or her invested money back with a bonus. The exact etymology of the term “scalper” seems unclear.

52. Missile tracker RADAR
Scientists have been using radio waves to detect the presence of objects since the late 1800s, but it was the demands of WWII that accelerated the practical application of the technology. The British called their system RDF standing for Range and Direction Finding. The system used by the US Navy was called Radio Detection And Ranging, which was shortened to the acronym RADAR.

53. Love, to Casanova AMORE
Giacomo Casanova was an 18th-century adventurer from Venice. We know so much about him, and his reputation as a womanizer, because he left us his autobiography “Histoire de ma vie” (Story of My Life). A guy recounting stories of his love life and conquests. All true, I am sure …

54. Radner of comedy GILDA
Gilda Radner was a comedian and actress, one of the original cast members of the hit television show “Saturday Night Live”. Radner left her first husband to marry comedic actor Gene Wilder, whom she met while they were both filming the Sidney Poitier movie “Hanky Panky”.

56. Brown a bit SAUTE
“Sauté” is a French word. The literal translation from the French is “jumped” or “bounced”, a reference to the tossing of food while cooking it in a frying pan.

57. Sorkin who created HBO’s “The Newsroom” AARON
The wonderful screenwriter Aaron Sorkin got his big break when his stage play “A Few Good Men” was picked up by a Hollywood producer. Since then Sorkin has written great films including “The American President”, “The Social Network”, “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Moneyball” and the excellent “The West Wing” television series. There is a new television show of his showing on HBO these days that is getting good reviews called “The Newsroom”.

“The Newsroom” is a wonderfully written drama series on HBO from the pen of the great screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. The show stars Jeff Daniels as the news anchor in a cable news channel. I’ve seen the first season of “The Newsroom” and noted a distinct bias towards left of center politics in the storylines. Apparently Sorkin hired conservative media consultants at the end of season one, presumably to help attract more viewers whose politics might be right of center.

65. Has too much, in brief ODS
Overdoses (ODs)

67. ___ pond (ornamental pool) KOI
Koi are also called Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

68. Spree JAG
The word “jag” is used to describe periods of unrestrained activity, particularly involving alcohol, and has been in use since the 1800s.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Like “War and Peace,” famously LONG
5. Exposed BARED
10. StubHub’s parent EBAY
14. Instrument that begins an orchestra’s tune-up OBOE
15. Gushes onstage, say EMOTES
17. Tip of Italy, once? LIRA
18. Most of the leading characters in “Babe” FARM ANIMALS (hiding “Armani”)
20. To-do STIR
21. Recipe no. AMT
22. Queen of Sparta LEDA
23. Downed, as a meal ATE
25. Tiny bit TAD
26. Fitness program popularized in the 1990s TAE BO
28. Things kids make in the winter SNOW ANGELS (hiding “Wang”)
31. Skip over OMIT
33. Sitting room PARLOR
34. Where Oman Air is headquartered MUSCAT
37. Apiece PER
38. Refs. that may occupy whole shelves OEDS
41. Elle Decor reader … or any of the names hidden in 18-, 28-, 52- and 66-Across? INTERIOR DESIGNER
45. Casting need REEL
46. His, to Hilaire SES
47. “See?!” TOLD YA!
48. ___-Lorraine ALSACE
51. Hard-to-read character RUNE
52. Aerial navigation beacon RADIO RANGE (hiding “Dior”)
55. “In my view …” I’D SAY …
59. Poehler of “Sisters” AMY
60. Birthplace of the Baath Party: Abbr. SYR
61. Any of las Filipinas ISLA
63. Towing org. AAA
64. Karate studio DOJO
66. Serious setback for a kicker ANKLE INJURY (hiding “Klein”)
69. Youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, familiarly A-ROD
70. Think creatively NOODLE
71. Tiny matter ATOM
72. Lee side, informally REBS
73. Dashboard array DIALS
74. Trait origin GENE

Down
1. Lite, on labels LO-FAT
2. Michelle in the White House OBAMA
3. El ___ (the United States, to Central Americans) NORTE
4. Masterpiece GEM
5. Nota ___ BENE
6. In the thick of AMIDST
7. Like the numerals V and I ROMAN
8. Gate info ETA
9. The Blue Hen State DELAWARE
10. 1994 P.G.A. Tour Rookie of the Year ELS
11. Conclusion of an arduous process BITTER END
12. Plain font ARIAL
13. Things gained and lost in football YARDS
16. Cool red giant S STAR
19. Roberto in Cooperstown ALOMAR
24. Blowup: Abbr. ENL
27. “Time to Say Goodbye” tenor Andrea BOCELLI
29. Many David Brooks pieces OP-EDS
30. Looked up, in a way GOOGLED
32. “Lord, is ___?” IT I
34. Old Russian space station MIR
35. Jean-Luc Godard’s “___ Femme Coquette” UNE
36. Reliable source of money STEADY JOB
37. Hog the mirror, maybe PREEN
39. Susan of “L.A. Law” DEY
40. Madeira Mrs. SRA
42. Recognition from the Academy OSCAR NOD
43. Poker great Ungar STU
44. ___ Sea (Italy/Greece separator) IONIAN
49. Message that might be laid out in coconuts on a beach SOS
50. Early Indo-European ARYAN
51. Scalp RESELL
52. Missile tracker RADAR
53. Love, to Casanova AMORE
54. Radner of comedy GILDA
56. Brown a bit SAUTE
57. Sorkin who created HBO’s “The Newsroom” AARON
58. “I rock!” YAY ME!
62. Tells a tale LIES
65. Has too much, in brief ODS
67. ___ pond (ornamental pool) KOI
68. Spree JAG

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