0422-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 22 Apr 16, Friday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
12. Important school fig. : GPA
Grade point average (GPA)

17. Make an Amazon visit, say : ORDER ONLINE
Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …

18. Thoughtful gift? : ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)

20. What a pacer may be experiencing : EDGINESS
Hence pacing up and down …

22. Project Mercury primate : ENOS
Enos was a chimpanzee that was launched into Earth orbit in 1961 by NASA on a Mercury Atlas 4 rocket. Enos’s flight was a rehearsal for the first orbital flight made by an American, astronaut John Glenn. Enos returned from his mission safely, but died the following year from dysentery.

25. Flier not found in 49 states : NENE
The bird called a nene is a native of Hawaii, and is also known as the Hawaiian goose. The name “nene” is imitative of its call. When Captain Cook landed on the islands in 1778, there were 25,000 nene living there. By 1950, the number was reduced by hunting to just 30 birds. Conservation efforts in recent years have been somewhat successful.

26. Conform to the party line? : CONGA
The conga line is a dance that originated as a Cuban carnival march. It became popular in the US starting in the thirties. The dance is apparently named after the Congo region of Africa, and it was originated by slaves who were brought from there to Cuba.

27. Salon job, for short : PEDI
Pedicure (pedi)

29. Hallmark occasion : BIRTHDAY
Hallmark produces more greeting cards in the US than any other company. The company was started by Joyce Clyde Hall in 1910, and by 1915 was known as Hall Brothers after his brother Rollie joined the enterprise. Rollie invented what we know today as “wrapping paper”, displacing the traditional use of colored tissue paper for wrapping gifts. The company took on the name “Hallmark” in 1928, taking the term for the symbol used by goldsmiths in London in the 1500s.

37. Music style featuring accordions : ZYDECO
Zydeco is a style of folk music that evolved from Creole music in Louisiana. The name “Zydeco” is imitative of the French word for green beans, “les haricots”. The term arose from a popular dance tune called “Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés” (“The Green Beans Ain’t Salty”).

39. Co-star of TV’s “thirtysomething” : OLIN
The actor Ken Olin was one of the stars on the hit television series “Thirtysomething”, playing Michael Steadman. After “Thirtysomething”, Olin moved behind the camera and is now a producer and director.

43. Years abroad : ANOS
In Spanish, “el año” (the year) starts in “enero” (January) and ends in “diciembre” (December).

44. Moose predator : PUMA
The mountain lion is found in much of the Americas from the Yukon in Canada right down to the southern Andes in South America. Because the mountain lion is found over such a vast area, it has many different names applied by local peoples, such as cougar and puma. In fact, the mountain lion holds the Guinness record for the animal with the most number of different names, with over 40 in English alone.

48. Broad in tastes : CATHOLIC
Our word “catholic” (with a lowercase C) means wide-ranging in tastes and interest. The term comes from the Greek “katholikós” meaning “universal”.

56. What shoulders are often used for : EMERGENCIES
Those would be the shoulders at the side of a road.

57. Some M.I.T. deg. holders : EES
Electrical engineer (EE)

Down
2. Sausalito’s county : MARIN
Sausalito is a city located at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city’s name comes from the Spanish “sauzalito” meaning “small willow grove”.

5. Roller on a carriageway : TYRE
In the British Isles, “carriageway” is the name given to what is known as a “roadway” here in North America. What we’d call a “divided highway” here, is known as a “dual carriageway” on the other side of the pond, and an “undivided highway” is a “single carriageway”.

7. Many a Weird Al Yankovic title : PUN
“Weird Al” Yankovic is a singer-songwriter who is noted for writing and performing parodies of popular songs. Of the 150 or so such songs, the best known are probably “Eat It” (parodying “Beat It” by Michael Jackson) and “Like a Surgeon” (parodying “Like a Virgin” by Madonna).

10. Pick up, as ice cubes : TONG
A pair of tongs is a tool with a scissor-like hinge used to pick up things, like meat cooking on a barbecue grill or ice from an ice bucket. The verb “to tong” means “to handle with tongs”.

11. Crocheter’s purchase : SKEIN
Crochet is the process of making a fabric using a hooked needle called a crochet hook. “Crochet” is a French word meaning “hook”.

12. Title food in children’s literature : GREEN EGGS
Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

21. Relative of Sinhalese : NEPALI
Sinhalese is the most widely-spoken language in Sri Lanka.

23. Event with goat tying : RODEO
“Rodeo” is a Spanish word, which is usually translated as “round up”.

24. Santa ___ (weather phenomena) : ANAS
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

26. Tony : CHIC
Something described as “tony” is elegant or exclusive. “Tony” is derived from the word “tone”.

28. Holiday spots? : INNS
The first Holiday Inn hotel was opened in 1952. The name for the hotel chain was inspired by the 1942 movie “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.

29. Doofus : BOZO
A “bozo” is a man with a low IQ, and one who is usually quite muscular. We’ve been using the word since the early 1900s and it possibly comes from the Spanish “bozal” that was used to describe someone who speaks Spanish poorly.

“Doofus” (also “dufus”) is student slang that has been around since the sixties. Apparently the word is a variant of the equally unattractive term “doo-doo”.

30. Lions, Tigers and Bears play in it : IVY LEAGUE
The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

Those Ivy League teams would be:

– The Columbia Lions
– The Princeton Tigers
– The Brown Bears

34. Amazonas and Nilo : RIOS
In Spanish, the “Amazonas” (Amazon) and “Nilo” (Nile) are “rios” (rivers).

36. Certain plea, for short : NOLO
“Nolo contendere” is a legal term that translates from Latin as “I do not wish to contend”. It’s the plea of “no contest” and is an alternative to “guilty” or “not guilty”, meaning that one doesn’t admit guilt but nor does one dispute the charge.

46. Row with many people : MELEE
Our word “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

48. Monk’s on “Seinfeld,” e.g. : CAFE
The Monk’s Café coffee shop that features in the sitcom “Seinfeld”, isn’t a real restaurant. Well, the interior is a studio set, and the exterior shots are taken from a real restaurant. That real restaurant is a diner in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan called Tom’s Restaurant.

53. Turkish chief : AGA
“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Too-clever-by-half type : SMARTY-PANTS
12. Important school fig. : GPA
15. Taunt to a head-turner : MADE YOU LOOK!
16. Head-butter : RAM
17. Make an Amazon visit, say : ORDER ONLINE
18. Thoughtful gift? : ESP
19. Lady, for one : TITLE
20. What a pacer may be experiencing : EDGINESS
22. Project Mercury primate : ENOS
23. Still red, say : RARE
25. Flier not found in 49 states : NENE
26. Conform to the party line? : CONGA
27. Salon job, for short : PEDI
29. Hallmark occasion : BIRTHDAY
33. Chinese Fireball or Norwegian Ridgeback, in Harry Potter : DRAGON
35. Reproductive couple : OVARIES
36. Sharp shooter? : NAIL GUN
37. Music style featuring accordions : ZYDECO
38. They play by themselves : SOLOISTS
39. Co-star of TV’s “thirtysomething” : OLIN
40. Trickery : WILES
41. A unit : EACH
43. Years abroad : ANOS
44. Moose predator : PUMA
48. Broad in tastes : CATHOLIC
50. Like silt vis-à-vis sand : FINER
51. Years ___ : AGO
52. “Have some fun!” : LIVE A LITTLE!
55. Fox coverage that may be controversial? : FUR
56. What shoulders are often used for : EMERGENCIES
57. Some M.I.T. deg. holders : EES
58. It has many cells : SPREADSHEET

Down
1. Hit, old-style : SMOTE
2. Sausalito’s county : MARIN
3. Increase : ADD TO
4. Casting needs : REELS
5. Roller on a carriageway : TYRE
6. ___-hoo : YOO
7. Many a Weird Al Yankovic title : PUN
8. Cause of a rash response? : ALLERGY
9. “Got me” : NO IDEA
10. Pick up, as ice cubes : TONG
11. Crocheter’s purchase : SKEIN
12. Title food in children’s literature : GREEN EGGS
13. Crashed : PASSED OUT
14. Tour gear : AMPS
21. Relative of Sinhalese : NEPALI
23. Event with goat tying : RODEO
24. Santa ___ (weather phenomena) : ANAS
26. Tony : CHIC
28. Holiday spots? : INNS
29. Doofus : BOZO
30. Lions, Tigers and Bears play in it : IVY LEAGUE
31. Cold remedies? : RADIATORS
32. Depression shared by soldiers : TRENCH
33. Hills’ counterparts : DALES
34. Amazonas and Nilo : RIOS
36. Certain plea, for short : NOLO
38. Not faking it : SINCERE
40. Legal release : WAIVER
42. Bad things to find in theories : HOLES
44. Singer’s concern : PITCH
45. Let loose : UNTIE
46. Row with many people : MELEE
47. “Give it ___!” : A REST
48. Monk’s on “Seinfeld,” e.g. : CAFE
49. Definitely not step lively : LIMP
50. Bass parts : FINS
53. Turkish chief : AGA
54. Set the pace : LED

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