0509-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 9 May 16, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today’s New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Dan Schoenholz
THEME: Nicknames with Abbreviations … each of today’s themed answers starts with a state nickname, and also includes the USPS abbreviation for that state (shown by circled letters in the grid). Clever …

17A. Article of tropical apparel … whose start is a state nickname for the state indicated by the shaded squares : ALOHA SHIRT (“The Aloha State” is Hawaii – HI)
27A. Catchphrase shouted in “Jerry Maguire” … : SHOW ME THE MONEY (“The Show-Me State” is Missouri – MO)
37A. Secretariat’s mother, for one … : BAY MARE (“The Bay State” is Massachusetts – MA)
45A. Emergency worker … : FIRST RESPONDER (“The First State” is Delaware – DE)
60A. Biblical idol … : GOLDEN CALF (“The Golden State” is California – CA)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 35s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Protein-rich bean : SOYA
What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

10. Nursery school, informally : PRE-K
Pre-kindergarten (pre-K)

“Kindergarten” is a German term, literally meaning “children’s garden”. The term was coined by the German education authority Friedrich Fröbel in 1837, when he used it as the name for his play and activity institute that he created for young children to use before they headed off to school. His thought was that children should be nourished educationally, like plants in a garden.

15. “Tiny Bubbles” singer : DON HO
The singer and entertainer Don Ho apparently had a pretty liberal arrangement with his wife. When Ho was touring with his two backing singers, Patti Swallie and Elizabeth Guevara, all three of them shared a room together. He had two children with each of his roommates, giving a total of ten kids including the six he had with his wife. The arrangement was quite open, it seems, with all ten kids visiting each other regularly. To each his own …

16. “Arsenic and Old ___” : LACE
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 …

17. Article of tropical apparel … whose start is a state nickname for the state indicated by the shaded squares : ALOHA SHIRT (“The Aloha State” is Hawaii – HI)
The Hawaiian word “Aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.

Alaska became the 49th state to join the United States on January 3rd, 1959. Hawaii became the 50th state just a few months later, on August 21st.

19. Arthur who was king of the court? : ASHE
Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player from Richmond, Virginia. In his youth, Ashe found himself having to travel great distances to play against Caucasian opponents due to the segregation that still existed in his home state. He was rewarded for his dedication by being selected for the 1963 US Davis Cup team, the first African American player to be so honored. Ashe continued to run into trouble because of his ethnicity though, and in 1968 was denied entry into South Africa to play in the South African Open. In 1979 Ashe suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery, with follow-up surgery four years later during which he contracted HIV from blood transfusions. Ashe passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. Shortly afterwards, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

20. Julie ___, portrayer of Claire on “Modern Family” : BOWEN
Actress Julie Bowen is probably best known today for playing Claire Dunphy on the excellent sitcom “Modern Family”.

27. Catchphrase shouted in “Jerry Maguire” … : SHOW ME THE MONEY (“The Show-Me State” is Missouri – MO)
“Jerry Maguire” is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Renée Zellweger. The title character is played by Cruise, and is a sports agent. There are several lines oft quoted from “Jerry Maguire” including:

– “Show me the money!”
– “You complete me”
– “You had me at ‘hello’”

The “Show-Me State” is the unofficial nickname of Missouri. The moniker was given to the state apparently because the population was noted for being conservative and non-credulous.

34. Designer’s degree, for short : MFA
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

35. Samsung Galaxy, e.g. : PHONE
The Galaxy is a series of mobile computing devices made by Samsung that was introduced in 2009.

36. Naval leader: Abbr. : ADM
Admiral (adm.)

37. Secretariat’s mother, for one … : BAY MARE (“The Bay State” is Massachusetts – MA)
“The Bay State” is one of the nicknames of Massachusetts. Other nicknames for Massachusetts are “The Old Colony State” and “The Codfish State”.

Bay is a reddish-brown color, usually used to describe the coat of a horse.

Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, and set record times for each of the three races in the series (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes), records that stand to this day. Famously, there was a biopic released in 2010 called “Secretariat” that chronicled the horse’s life.

40. Boise’s state: Abbr. : IDA
Boise, Idaho is the largest metropolitan area in the state by far. There are a number of stories pertaining to the etymology of the name “Boise”. One is that French trappers named the tree-lined river that ran through the area “la rivière boisée”, meaning “the wooded river”.

41. Officer below a captain, slangily : LOOIE
A lieutenant (looie) is higher in rank than a sergeant (sarge).

43. Punk rock subgenre : EMO
The musical genre of “emo” originated in Washington D.C. in the 80s, and takes its name from “emotional hardcore”. “Emo” is also the name given to the associated subculture. Not my cup of tea …

45. Emergency worker … : FIRST RESPONDER (“The First State” is Delaware – DE)
The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as the First State as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.

49. ___ Lee, creator of Spider-Man : STAN
Stan Lee did just about everything at Marvel Comics over the years, from writing to being president and chairman of the board. If you like superhero movies based on the characters from Marvel Comics, then you could spend a few hours trying to spot Stan Lee in those films as he has a penchant for making cameo appearances. Lee can be spotted in “X-Men” (2000), “Spider-Man” (2002), “Hulk” (2003), “Fantastic Four” (2005), “Iron Man” (2008) and many other films.

50. Secretariat’s father, for one : STUD
The word “stud”, meaning “a male horse kept for breeding”, is derived from the Old English word “stod”, which described a whole herd of horses.

55. Dressed to the ___ : NINES
The term “to the nines” means “to perfection”. The first person to use the term in literature was Robbie Burns. Apparently the idea behind the use of “nines” is figurative (pun!), with the number nine considered “ideal” as it is arrived at by multiplying three by three.

60. Biblical idol … : GOLDEN CALF (“The Golden State” is California – CA)
According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, Aaron made a golden calf as an idol for the Israelites to worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned, he became angry on seeing the calf and destroyed it.

“The Golden State” has been the official nickname of California since 1968. The nickname reflects the expansion of the state’s economy that followed the discovery of gold, and also the fields of golden poppies seen growing wild across California in the spring.

68. Whole lot : SCAD
The origin of the word “scads”, meaning “lots and lots”, is unclear, although back in the mid-1800s “scads” was used to mean “dollars”.

Down
1. Discontinued Swedish car : SAAB
SAAB stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. SAAB was, and still is, mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automobile division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011.

2. Norwegian capital : OSLO
Oslo is the capital of Norway. The city of Oslo burns trash to fuel half of its buildings, including all of its schools. The problem faced by the city is that it doesn’t generate enough trash. So, Oslo imports trash from Sweden, England and Ireland, and is now looking to import some American trash too.

5. Conservative investments, briefly : CDS
A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

10. Moldable kids’ stuff : PLAY-DOH
Back in the 1930s, a manufacturer in Cincinnati produced a doughy compound that was used to clean wallpaper. Twenty years later, school-kids started using the cleaning material as a modelling compound, so the manufacturer reworked the formula, and sold it to local schools. It was given the name Play-Doh.

22. Arizona home of the nation’s largest public university : TEMPE
Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils. ASU has been the nation’s largest public university in terms of enrollment for several years, with about 60,000 students.

24. Madame Bovary : EMMA
“Madame Bovary” is the most famous novel written by Gustave Flaubert. The title character is a doctor’s wife named Emma Bovary, who lives a luxurious life beyond her means and has many adulterous affairs. The novel had a rousing reception, first being attacked by public prosecutors as obscenity, which I am sure later helped it to become a bestseller.

30. Feature of a neat drink : NO ICE
The adjective “neat” has been used to describe “straight liquor” since about 1800. Before then, the term applied to wine, when it meant “unadulterated wine”. The term comes from Old French “net” meaning “clear, pure”.

37. Davis of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” : BETTE
“What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” is a 1960 novel by Henry Farrell about two aging sisters called Jane and Blanche Hudson. Famously, the film was adapted for the big screen in 1962, with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford playing Jane and Blanche respectively. Bette Davis scares me, especially in this film, so I have never watched the whole thing …

38. Volume enhancers : AMPS
An electric guitar, for example, needs an amplifier (amp) to take the weak signal created by the vibration of the strings and turn it into a signal powerful enough for a loudspeaker.

47. “We want more!,” at a concert : ENCORE!
“Encore” is French for “again, one more time”, and is a shout that an audience member will make here in North America to request another song, say. But, the term is not used this way in France. Rather, the audience will shout “Bis!”, which is the Italian for “twice!”

48. Sam for whom Georgia Tech’s School of International Affairs is named : NUNN
Sam Nunn served as a US Senator for the state of Georgia as a Democrat, for 24 years until 1997. Nunn is married to Colleen O’Brien, whom he met for the first time in the US Embassy in Paris where she was working as a spy for the CIA.

52. Palindromic fashion magazine : ELLE
“Elle” magazine was founded in 1945 in France and today has the highest circulation of any fashion magazine in the world. “Elle” is the French word for “she”. “Elle” is published monthly worldwide, although you can pick up a weekly edition if you live in France.

54. Nevada city : ELKO
The city of Elko, Nevada came into being in 1868 as a settlement built around the eastern end of a railway line that was constructed from California and that was destined for Utah. When that section of the line was completed, the construction crews moved on towards the Nevada/Utah border, and the settlement was left behind to eventually form the city of Elko

56. Pusher buster : NARC
“Narc” is a slang term for a law enforcement officer who tracks down criminals associated with illegal drugs. “Narc” is short for “narcotics officer”.

57. Kazan who directed “On the Waterfront” : ELIA
Elia Kazan won Oscars for best director in 1948 for “Gentleman’s Agreement” and in 1955 for “On The Waterfront”. In 1999 Kazan was given an Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also directed “East of Eden”, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences, and “Splendor in the Grass” that included Warren Beatty in his debut role.

The 1954 drama “On the Waterfront”, starring Marlon Brando, told a story of violence and corruption among longshoremen. The movie was based on a series of 24 articles written by investigative journalist Malcolm Johnston and published in “The New York Sun”. The original news stories uncovered mob infiltration on the New York City Waterfront, but the location for the film was chosen as Hoboken, New Jersey.

58. Law force in 1960s-’70s TV’s “Ironside” : SFPD
“Ironside” is a classic police television drama that first ran from 1967 to 1975. Star of the show is Raymond Burr playing the partially paralyzed former Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside. Ironside was forced to retire from the SFPD when he was shot by a sniper, but ended up as special consultant to the police department.

62. Paper cutters, briefly? : EDS
Editor (ed.)

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Protein-rich bean : SOYA
5. Prices : COSTS
10. Nursery school, informally : PRE-K
14. “Wait ___!” (“Hold on!”) : A SEC
15. “Tiny Bubbles” singer : DON HO
16. “Arsenic and Old ___” : LACE
17. Article of tropical apparel … whose start is a state nickname for the state indicated by the shaded squares : ALOHA SHIRT (“The Aloha State” is Hawaii – HI)
19. Arthur who was king of the court? : ASHE
20. Julie ___, portrayer of Claire on “Modern Family” : BOWEN
21. Go from one social gathering to another : PARTY-HOP
23. Facebook ___ (collection of posts) : FEED
26. Sought legal redress : SUED
27. Catchphrase shouted in “Jerry Maguire” … : SHOW ME THE MONEY (“The Show-Me State” is Missouri – MO)
33. 1/24 of a day : HOUR
34. Designer’s degree, for short : MFA
35. Samsung Galaxy, e.g. : PHONE
36. Naval leader: Abbr. : ADM
37. Secretariat’s mother, for one … : BAY MARE (“The Bay State” is Massachusetts – MA)
40. Boise’s state: Abbr. : IDA
41. Officer below a captain, slangily : LOOIE
43. Punk rock subgenre : EMO
44. A-1 tennis server : ACER
45. Emergency worker … : FIRST RESPONDER (“The First State” is Delaware – DE)
49. ___ Lee, creator of Spider-Man : STAN
50. Secretariat’s father, for one : STUD
51. Succession : SEQUENCE
55. Dressed to the ___ : NINES
59. Detective’s lead : CLUE
60. Biblical idol … : GOLDEN CALF (“The Golden State” is California – CA)
63. Landed : ALIT
64. Peeved : IRKED
65. Excursion : TRIP
66. Seized vehicle, informally : REPO
67. Superbright colors : NEONS
68. Whole lot : SCAD

Down
1. Discontinued Swedish car : SAAB
2. Norwegian capital : OSLO
3. “Ouch!” : YEOW!
4. Want badly : ACHE FOR
5. Conservative investments, briefly : CDS
6. La-la lead-in : OOH-
7. Little scissor cut : SNIP
8. Beat handily : THRASH
9. “You can say that again!” : SO TRUE!
10. Moldable kids’ stuff : PLAY-DOH
11. Impulsive : RASH
12. Returned call? : ECHO
13. Not go bad : KEEP
18. All over again : ANEW
22. Arizona home of the nation’s largest public university : TEMPE
24. Madame Bovary : EMMA
25. Stand up to : DEFY
27. “Me, too!” : SO DO I!
28. Funny business : HUMOR
29. Domesticates : TAMES
30. Feature of a neat drink : NO ICE
31. What can follow week or rear : -ENDER
32. 2016, e.g. : YEAR
33. 50% : HALF
37. Davis of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” : BETTE
38. Volume enhancers : AMPS
39. Cheer (for) : ROOT
42. Give, as a passport or parking ticket : ISSUE TO
44. Druggies, e.g. : ADDICTS
46. Welcomed, as the new 32-Down : RANG IN
47. “We want more!,” at a concert : ENCORE!
48. Sam for whom Georgia Tech’s School of International Affairs is named : NUNN
51. Surgery memento : SCAR
52. Palindromic fashion magazine : ELLE
53. Witticism : QUIP
54. Nevada city : ELKO
56. Pusher buster : NARC
57. Kazan who directed “On the Waterfront” : ELIA
58. Law force in 1960s-’70s TV’s “Ironside” : SFPD
61. Lair : DEN
62. Paper cutters, briefly? : EDS

Return to top of page

5 thoughts on “0509-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 9 May 16, Monday”

  1. Massachusetts is never called the Old Colony State or Codfish State by those of us who live here. It has always been the Bay State.

  2. 7:53, no errors. Saw the ALOHA > HI connection immediately, but did not see the connection for the remaining 4 theme clues. Kept thinking that the word HAWAII would somehow fit into the remaining colored squares.

  3. No errors. Theme helped at only one spot: knowing that Massachusetts was called the Bay State. I would have otherwise had a little trouble with BAY MARE. In horse racing, a horse's color makes no difference whatsoever. They are only concerned with the horse's ability to run.

  4. Zero errors. Relatively smooth grid for the NYT Monday. I was like BruceB and kept looking for it to spell out Hawaii (a native name maybe since the letters didn't fit) or something like that. Really didn't think about the connection until I saw the theme described here.

Comments are closed.