0606-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Jun 16, Monday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
4. Florida home to Busch Gardens : TAMPA
The Busch Gardens group of theme parks was originally envisioned as a vehicle for the promotion of Anheuser-Busch products, so free beer samples were made available to patrons (but no longer!). The Tampa location was the first of the parks to be opened, in 1959. The Tampa property has an African theme, whereas Williamsburg, Virginia property has a European theme. There are plans to open a third park in Dubai, although the project has been put on hold due to the current financial climate.

14. Prevaricate : LIE
“To prevaricate” is to stray from the truth. The term comes from a Church Latin word meaning “walk crookedly”.

19. Ankle bones : TARSI
The tarsals (also “tarsi”) are the ankle bones, equivalent to the carpals in the wrist.

20. From east of the Urals : ASIAN
The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

23. Chicago exchange, briefly : MERC
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange started its life as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board in 1898. The Merc is the site for exchange of commodities, among other things.

27. The first “A” in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. : ATH
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) dates back to the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. When his son broke his nose playing football at Harvard, President Roosevelt turned his attention to the number of serious injuries and even deaths occurring in college sports. He instigated meetings between the major educational institutions leading to the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in 1906, which was given the remit of regulating college sports. The IAAUS became the NCAA in 1910.

36. Midday : TWELVE (NOON)
Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in Ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

38. Six-time N.B.A. champion Steve : KERR
Steve Kerr is a retired NBA basketball player who moved into team management. Kerr was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of an American academic who specialized in Middle East studies. Kerr’s father was assassinated by militant nationalists in Beirut when Steve was 19 years old.

41. Texas A&M student : AGGIE
Texas A&M is the seventh largest university in the country, and was the first public higher education institute in the state when it accepted its first students in 1876. The full name of the school was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and its primary mission used to be the education of males in the techniques of farming and military warfare. That’s quite a combination! Because of the agricultural connection, the college’s sports teams use the moniker “Aggies”.

42. Alan who played Hawkeye : ALDA
Hawkeye Pierce is the lead character in the “M*A*S*H” novel, movie and TV series. Hawkeye was originally portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the film, and then by Alan Alda in the television show. Pierce is the only character appearing in all 250 episodes of the groundbreaking TV series.

46. Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, and the equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva is often depicted with an owl, signifying her association with wisdom.

47. “N.Y. State of Mind” rapper : NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say …

48. John Kasich’s state : OHIO
John Kasich is the Governor of Ohio, and a former member for Ohio of the US HOuse of Representatives. Kasich ran unsuccessfully for Republican Party’s nominee for US president in 2000 and 2016. Kasich has had his eye on the Oval Office for some times. When he was a freshman at Ohio State, he wrote a letter expressing his concerns about the nation, and was granted a 20-minute meeting with President Nixon at the White House in 1970.

50. Capital of Norway : 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.

52. Stair rail : BANISTER
By some accounts, a “banister” is a handrail of a stairway. By other accounts, the banister is actually the handrail and the supporting structures (called “newels”).

60. Money sometimes said to be “filthy” : LUCRE
Our word “lucre” meaning “money, profits” comes from the Latin “lucrum” that means the same thing.

68. Australian “bear” : KOALA
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. Male koalas are called “bucks”, females are “does”, and young koalas are “joeys”. I’m a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day …

69. Chi-town team : SOX
The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation “Sox” for “Stockings” was regularly used in newspaper headlines.

Down
3. User of the Force : JEDI
The Jedi are the “good guys” in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …

6. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
Michigan State University (MSU) is located in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU has the largest study-abroad program of any single-campus university in the US. Programs are offered on all continents of the world, including Antarctica.

9. Stephen King or Ellery Queen : AUTHOR
Stephen King is a remarkably successful author having sold over 350 million copies of his books, many of which have been made into hit movies. I’ve tried reading two or three, but I really don’t do horror …

18. Symbol of Aries : RAM
Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

24. ___ v. Wade : ROE
Roe v. Wade was decided in a US District Court in Texas in 1970, and reached the Supreme Court on appeal. The basic decision by the Supreme Court was that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy applied to an abortion, but that this right had to be balanced with a state’s interest in protecting an unborn child and a mother’s health. The Court further defined that the state’s interest became stronger with each trimester of a pregnancy. So, in the first trimester the woman’s right to privacy outweighed any state interest. In the second trimester the state’s interest in maternal health was deemed to be strong enough to allow state regulation of abortion for the sake of the mother. In the third trimester the viability of the fetus dictated that the state’s interest in the unborn child came into play, so states could regulate or prohibit abortions, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. I’m no lawyer, but that’s my understanding of the initial Supreme Court decision …

28. Choreographer Tharp : TWYLA
I love Twyla Tharp’s choreography, and her patented “moves”. Tharp was born in Portland, Indiana in 1941. She was named after Twila Thornburg, the “Pig Princess” of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana. That’s one to tell to the grandkids …

29. Top dog : (HEAD) HONCHO
“Honcho” is a slang term for leader or manager. The term comes to us from Japanese, in which language a “hancho” is a squad (han) leader (cho).

31. Dry, white Italian wine : SOAVE
Soave is a dry white wine produced in the area around the city of Verona in northeast Italy.

32. Matador : TORERO
“Toreador” is an old Spanish word for a bullfighter, but it’s a term not used any more in Spain nor in Latin America. In English we use the term “toreador”, but in Spanish a bullfighter is a “torero”. A female bullfighter in a “torera”.

34. Writer Jong : ERICA
The author Erica Jong’s most famous work is her first: “Fear of Flying”, a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later she wrote “Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir”, published in 1994.

35. Odysseys : TREKS
“The Odyssey” is one of two epic poems from ancient Greece that is attributed to Homer. “The Odyssey” is largely a sequel to Homer’s other epic, “The Iliad”. “The Odyssey” centers on the heroic figure Odysseus, and his adventures on his journey home to Greece following the fall of Troy. We now use the term “odyssey” to describe any long series of adventures.

37. N.Y.C. airport code : LGA
The accepted three big airports serving New York City are John F. Kennedy (JFK), La Guardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR).

38. C.I.A. : U.S. :: ___ : Soviet Union : KGB
The Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

41. Maiden who raced Hippomenes, in myth : ATALANTA
In Greek mythology, Atalanta was a virgin huntress who had no interest in getting married, despite the urging of her father. Atalanta had several suitors, and eventually agreed to a foot race with them. The terms were that if she won the race, she need not marry. If she lost the race, she would marry the winner. Atalanta managed to outrun the field, except for Hippomenes. Hippomenes emerged victorious due to cunning rather than speed.

44. Mobile accommodations, for short : RVS
Recreational vehicle (RV)

46. Scrooges : MISERS
The classic 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has left us with a few famous phrases and words. Firstly, it led to popular use of the phrase “Merry Christmas”, and secondly it gave us the word “scrooge” meaning a miserly person. And thirdly, everyone knows that Ebenezer Scrooge uttered the words “Bah! Humbug!”.

52. Modern journal : BLOG
Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more correctly it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) which then occupy the “front page” of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. “Blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”.

53. Volvo or Volt : AUTO
Volvo is a Swedish manufacturers of cars, trucks and construction equipment. The Volvo name was chosen as “volvo” is Latin for “I roll”.

Despite being late entering the eco-friendly car market, Chevrolet today produces the most fuel-efficient compact car with a gasoline engine that is sold in the US. The Chevrolet Volt went on sale at the end of 2010, a plug-in hybrid car that runs on batteries. The Volt has a gasoline engine that can be used run an electric generator if needed. The Volt also uses a regenerative braking system similar to that on my Honda Civic Hybrid, a car that I really love.

54. ___ the Red : ERIK
According to Icelandic tradition, Erik the Red was the man responsible for founding the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. Erik had a famous son, the explorer Leif Ericson.

55. City at the foot of the Sierra Nevada : RENO
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

The American Sierra Nevada range lies in California and Nevada. The Spanish Sierra Nevada range is in Andalusia, with the name meaning “snowy range” in Spanish.

57. Itar-___ news agency : TASS
TASS is the abbreviation used for the former news agency that had the full name Telegraph Association of the Soviet Union (Telegrafnoe Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza). When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1992, the Moscow-based agency’s scope changed along with its name. It is now known as the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS).

59. River to Hades : STYX
The River Styx in Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or Hades). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

62. Traffic-stopping org. : DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

63. It might be bookmarked : URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Common lunchbox sandwich, for short : PBJ
4. Florida home to Busch Gardens : TAMPA
9. Equally distant : AS FAR
14. Prevaricate : LIE
15. Wears, as clothing : HAS ON
16. Serviceable : UTILE
17. Outcome : (END) RESULT
19. Ankle bones : TARSI
20. From east of the Urals : ASIAN
21. Indication that someone’s home at night, say : LIGHTS ON
23. Chicago exchange, briefly : MERC
26. Found’s opposite : LOST
27. The first “A” in N.C.A.A.: Abbr. : ATH
30. Bird on a weather vane : ROOSTER
33. “Wanna ___?” : BET
36. Midday : TWELVE (NOON)
38. Six-time N.B.A. champion Steve : KERR
39. How kids are grouped in school : BY AGE
40. Damage : MAR
41. Texas A&M student : AGGIE
42. Alan who played Hawkeye : ALDA
43. Return to a former state : REVERT (BACK)
45. “Go team!” : RAH!
46. Roman goddess of wisdom : MINERVA
47. “N.Y. State of Mind” rapper : NAS
48. John Kasich’s state : OHIO
50. Capital of Norway : OSLO
52. Stair rail : BANISTER
56. Voices above tenors : ALTOS
60. Money sometimes said to be “filthy” : LUCRE
61. Like 17-, 36- and 43-Across as well as 11- and 29-Down : REDUNDANT
64. Not this or that : OTHER
65. Not reacting : INERT
66. Room that needs a serious cleanup : STY
67. Merchandise : GOODS
68. Australian “bear” : KOALA
69. Chi-town team : SOX

Down
1. ___ bargain : PLEA
2. Trash receptacles : BINS
3. User of the Force : JEDI
4. “What gall!” : THE NERVE!
5. Batteries in TV remotes : AAS
6. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
7. Voting place : POLL
8. ___-aging cream : ANTI
9. Stephen King or Ellery Queen : AUTHOR
10. Rebounds and field goal average : STATS
11. Started : (FIRST) BEGAN
12. Too : ALSO
13. Free ___ (total control) : REIN
18. Symbol of Aries : RAM
22. Secluded valley : GLEN
24. ___ v. Wade : ROE
25. Scam artists : CON MEN
27. Being litigated : AT BAR
28. Choreographer Tharp : TWYLA
29. Top dog : (HEAD) HONCHO
31. Dry, white Italian wine : SOAVE
32. Matador : TORERO
34. Writer Jong : ERICA
35. Odysseys : TREKS
37. N.Y.C. airport code : LGA
38. C.I.A. : U.S. :: ___ : Soviet Union : KGB
41. Maiden who raced Hippomenes, in myth : ATALANTA
43. Uproar : RIOT
44. Mobile accommodations, for short : RVS
46. Scrooges : MISERS
49. Put on the payroll : HIRED
51. Long in the tooth : OLD
52. Modern journal : BLOG
53. Volvo or Volt : AUTO
54. ___ the Red : ERIK
55. City at the foot of the Sierra Nevada : RENO
57. Itar-___ news agency : TASS
58. “I’m ___ you!” : ONTO
59. River to Hades : STYX
62. Traffic-stopping org. : DEA
63. It might be bookmarked : URL

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