0721-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 21 Jul 16, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jason Flinn
THEME: Bad Luck
Today’s themed answers are no-nos, things that supposedly bring us BAD LUCK. In order to fully interpret the no-nos, we need to take into account the physical position of the answers in the grid:

62A. Supposed consequence of any of the three no-nos in this puzzle : BAD LUCK

WALKING under A LADDER
1A. See 14-Across : A LADDER
14A. With 1-Across, no-no #1 : WALKING

A BLACK CAT crossing ONE’S PATH
41A. See 19-Down : ONE’S PATH
19D. With 41-Across, no-no #2 : BLACK CAT

A broken MIRROR
38D. With 57-Down, no-no #3 : MIR-
57D. See 38-Down : -ROR

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 14m 31s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

8. ___ Kappa Nu, engineering honor society : ETA
Eta Kappa Nu is an honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) that was founded in 1904. The name of the society was chosen using the first, fourth and last letters of the word “ELECTRON”, but in the Greek equivalent.

11. Agcy. regulating net neutrality : FCC
The principle of Net neutrality holds that those entities managing the Internet should treat all data passing through equally. The term “Net neutrality” was coined in 2003 by Tim Wu, a media law professor at Columbia University. Net neutrality is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FCC) in the US.

15. 1960s chess champ Mikhail : TAL
Mikhail Tal was truly a chess legend. Tal holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competition chess. And the second longest winning streak, well, that was by Tal as well.

16. Geneva-based agcy. : ILO
The ILO (International Labour Organization) is an agency now administered by the UN which was established by the League of Nations after WWI. The ILO deals with important issues such as health and safety, discrimination, child labor and forced labor. The organization was recognized for its work in 1969 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

17. Ulterior motives : AGENDAS
“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

18. Prominent feature of Bert on “Sesame Street” : UNIBROW
For many years, I believed that the “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie were named after two roles played in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In the movie, the policeman’s name is Bert and his taxi-driving buddy is named Ernie. However, the “Sesame Street” folks have stated that the use of the same names is just a coincidence.

20. ___ White, singer of the 1991 #1 hit “Romantic” : KARYN
Karyn White is a singer from Los Angeles who had hits in the late eighties and early nineties, including a number one in 1991 called “Romantic”. White dropped out of the music scene in 1999 to start a family.

22. Is in Paris or old Rome? : EST
“Est” is a French word meaning “is”, and also a Latin word with the same meaning.

23. “Play Time” director Jacques : TATI
Jacques Tati was a very famous filmmaker and comic actor in his homeland of France. Even though he only directed six feature-length movies, Tati is often cited by insiders as one of the greatest movie directors of all time.

28. Approx. time it takes for light to travel one foot : NSEC
“Nanosecond” is more correctly abbreviated to “ns”, and really is a tiny amount of time: one billionth of a second.

33. “Modern Family” actor : ED O’NEILL
Ed O’Neill made it big on television playing Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married … with Children”, not a show I ever cared for. However, O’Neill is in the cast of a great show currently being aired that I do recommend: “Modern Family”.

35. Aid for a long-distance relationship : SKYPE
The main feature of the Skype application is that it allows voice communication to take place over the Internet (aka VoIP). Skype has other features such as video conferencing and instant messaging, but the application made its name from voice communication. Skype was founded by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and the software necessary was developed by a team of engineers in Estonia. The development project was originally called “Sky peer-to-peer” so the first commercial name for the application was “Skyper”. This had to be shortened to “Skype” because the skyper.com domain name was already in use.

38. Battle locale that marked a turning point in W.W. I : MARNE
The River Marne runs roughly northwestward for over 300 miles, running into the River Seine just outside Paris. The Marne was the site of two major battles in WWI, one fought in 1914, and one in 1918.

44. As above, in citations : IDEM
Idem is usually abbreviated as “id.” and is the Latin word for “the same”. In research papers, idem is used in a list of references, in place of citations “already mentioned above”.

46. New Mexico skiing mecca : TAOS
Taos Ski Valley is a resort village in New Mexico, founded in 1955. About twelve families live there, making up thirty or so households and a population of about 60 people. It is said to very much resemble a Swiss village, and even includes an elected village council.

50. 15 divs. on old maps : SSRS
The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and was comprised of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

52. Chronometric std. : GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich in London.

A meridian is a line of longitude, and the Prime Meridian is that line of longitude defined as 0 degrees. The Prime Meridian is also called the Greenwich Meridian as it passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in southeast London. Of course the line of longitude that is used to represent 0 degrees is an arbitrary decision. 25 nations formally decided in 1884 to use the Greenwich Meridian as 0 degrees as it was already a popular choice. That is all except the French, who abstained from the vote and used the Paris Meridian as 0 degrees on French charts for several decades.

55. First of the Minor Prophets : HOSEA
Hosea was one of the Twelve Prophets of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.

57. CVS competitor : RITE AID
What we know today as Rite Aid started out as one store in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1962. Rite Aid is now the biggest chain of drugstores on the East Coast of the United States and has operations all over the country.

The name of the drugstore chain CVS once stood for Consumer Value Stores, although these days the company uses the acronym to denote Convenience, Value and Service.

61. Crack team, for short? : NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) was set up in 1952 by President Truman, a replacement for the Armed Forces Security Agency that had existed in the Department of Defense since 1949. The NSA has always been clouded in secrecy and even the 1952 letter from President Truman that established the agency was kept under wraps from the public for over a generation. I really like the organization’s nickname … “No Such Agency”.

63. Nepotism beneficiary: Abbr. : REL
Nepotism is the practice of giving relatives preferential treatment. The term originated during the Middle Ages with favoritism shown by Roman Catholic bishops and popes. The ministers of the church had taken vows of chastity, and some gave prefered positions to their nephews, as they didn’t have sons of their own to favor. The term “nepotism” derives from the Latin “nepos” meaning “nephew”.

64. Zeppelin’s realm : SKY
The zeppelin airship was developed by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the design of which was granted a US patent in 1899. When zeppelins went into service, they were operated by the company Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), making that company the world’s first commercial airline. DELAG was operating commercial flights even before WWI. Famously, that big spire at the top of the Empire State Building was designed to be a docking point for zeppelin airships. However, after several attempts to use it as such, the idea was abandoned as the updrafts coming up from the streets below made docking too hazardous a maneuver.

Down
2. Chef with the catchphrase “Kick it up a notch” : LAGASSE
Emeril Lagasse is an American chef, born in Massachusetts. Lagasse first achieved notoriety as executive chef in Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Now famous for his television shows, his cuisine still showcases New Orleans ingredients and influences. Lagasse started using his famous “Bam!” catchphrase in order to keep his crew awake during repeated tapings of his show.

4. Fashion house based in the Big Apple : DKNY
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the Donna Karan New York (DKNY) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.

6. Bambi’s aunt : ENA
Ena is Bambi’s aunt in the 1942 Disney film “Bambi”. The movie is based on the novel “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” written by Austrian author Felix Salten and first published in 1923. There is a documented phenomenon known as the Bambi Effect, whereby people become more interested in animal rights after having watched the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot by hunters.

7. Some QB protectors : RGS
In football, right guards (RGs) protect the quarterback (QB).

8. Needle holder : ETUI
An etui is an ornamental case used to hold small items, in particular sewing needles. We imported both the case design and the word “etui” from France. The French also have a modern usage of “etui”, using the term to depict a case for carrying CDs.

9. Bitter component of tea : TANNIN
Some red wines and teas can have an astringent taste, a dry and puckering feeling, because of the presence of tannins. Tannins occur naturally in plants, probably as a defensive measure against predators who shy away from the astringent. The word “tannin” comes from an Old German word for oak or fir tree, as in “Tannenbaum”.

11. Night light? : FIREFLY
Some living organisms are able to produce light, a phenomenon known as “bioluminescence”. A famous example on land is the firefly, with its glowing tail. There are many marine animals, such as jellyfish, that emit light. The frequently observed bioluminescence on the surface of the sea is usually caused by plankton. This phenomenon may be referred to as “sea fire”.

13. Intimidate : COW
The verb “to cow” means to intimidate, to scare. The exact etymology of the term seems unclear.

21. Typical Three Stooges comedy : SILLINESS
If you’ve seen a few of the films starring “The Three Stooges” you’ll have noticed that the line up changed over the years. The original trio was made up of Moe and Shemp Howard (two brothers) and Larry Fine (a good friend of the Howards). This line up was usually known as “Moe, Larry and Shemp”. Then Curly Howard replaced his brother when Shemp quit the act, creating the most famous trio, “Moe, Larry And Curly”. Shemp returned when Curly had a debilitating stroke in 1946, and Shemp stayed with the troupe until he died in 1955. Shemp was replaced by Joe Besser, and then “Curly-Joe” DeRita. When Larry Fine had a stroke in 1970, it effectively marked the end of the act.

25. Baba Mustafa, in “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” : TAILOR
There is some controversy about the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” in that it has been suggested it was not part of the original collection of Arabic tales called “One Thousand and One Nights”. The suggestion is that the Ali Baba tale was added by one of the European translators of the collection.

31. “Full House” twins : OLSENS
I know very little about the Olsen twins, but I am told that folks believe Mary-Kate and Ashley to be identical twins. They look very much alike, but are in fact fraternal twins. The sisters were cast as Michelle Tanner on the eighties sitcom “Full House”, taking turns playing the role.

34. Word in a wedding announcement : NEE
“Née” is the French word for “born” when referring to a female. The male equivalent is “né”.

37. Target of a 1917 uprising : TSAR
The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

39. “Sweet” girl of song : ADELINE
“Sweet Adeline” is a marvelous ballad that is most often heard these days sung by barbershop groups. My favorite version of “Sweet Adeline” was sung by the Australian group called the Seekers.

42. Prevents from stealing, say : TAGS OUT
That would be in baseball.

49. Tandoori products : NAANS
Naan (also “nan”) bread is very popular in Indian restaurants, as well as in other West, Central and South Asian cuisines. Indian Naan is traditionally baked in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

54. Offensive date : D-DAY
The most famous D-Day in history was June 6, 1944, the date of the Normandy landings in WWII. The term “D-Day” is used by the military to designate the day on which a combat operations are to be launched, especially when the actual date has yet to be determined. What D stands for seems to have been lost in the mists of time although the tradition is that D just stands for “Day”. In fact, the French have a similar term, “Jour J” (Day J), with a similar meaning. We also use H-Hour to denote the hour the attack is to commence.

56. Relative of a bean pot : OLLA
An olla is a traditional clay pot used for the making of stews. “Olla” was the Latin word used in Ancient Rome to describe a similar type of pot.

58. Ottawa-based media co. : CBC
“CBC” stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s national public radio and television broadcaster. In terms of financing and structure, CBC is akin to the BBC in Britain. But as commercial advertising is permitted, it perhaps more akin to RTE, the national broadcasting company in my homeland of Ireland.

59. Gondola feature : OAR
The word “gondola” was originally limited to the famous boats that travel along the canals of Venice. When man started to fly through the air in hot air balloons, “gondola” was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. See 14-Across : A LADDER
8. ___ Kappa Nu, engineering honor society : ETA
11. Agcy. regulating net neutrality : FCC
14. With 1-Across, no-no #1 : WALKING
15. 1960s chess champ Mikhail : TAL
16. Geneva-based agcy. : ILO
17. Ulterior motives : AGENDAS
18. Prominent feature of Bert on “Sesame Street” : UNIBROW
20. ___ White, singer of the 1991 #1 hit “Romantic” : KARYN
21. Billboard chart listings : SINGLES
22. Is in Paris or old Rome? : EST
23. “Play Time” director Jacques : TATI
26. Shortly, informally : IN A FEW
28. Approx. time it takes for light to travel one foot : NSEC
30. Nail ___ : SALON
32. This is one : CLUE
33. “Modern Family” actor : ED O’NEILL
35. Aid for a long-distance relationship : SKYPE
36. True to life : REALISTIC
38. Battle locale that marked a turning point in W.W. I : MARNE
41. See 19-Down : ONE’S PATH
44. As above, in citations : IDEM
45. Realm : ARENA
46. New Mexico skiing mecca : TAOS
48. Take back : RECANT
50. 15 divs. on old maps : SSRS
52. Chronometric std. : GMT
53. Dinosaurs, informally : LIZARDS
55. First of the Minor Prophets : HOSEA
57. CVS competitor : RITE AID
58. Old lamp fuel : COAL OIL
60. ___ budget : ON A
61. Crack team, for short? : NSA
62. Supposed consequence of any of the three no-nos in this puzzle : BAD LUCK
63. Nepotism beneficiary: Abbr. : REL
64. Zeppelin’s realm : SKY
65. Coins : CREATES

Down
1. Have an eye-opening experience : AWAKEN
2. Chef with the catchphrase “Kick it up a notch” : LAGASSE
3. Gave a heads-up : ALERTED
4. Fashion house based in the Big Apple : DKNY
5. “___ see that coming!” : DIDN’T
6. Bambi’s aunt : ENA
7. Some QB protectors : RGS
8. Needle holder : ETUI
9. Bitter component of tea : TANNIN
10. Harmonize : ALIGN
11. Night light? : FIREFLY
12. Detailed description : CLOSEUP
13. Intimidate : COW
19. With 41-Across, no-no #2 : BLACK CAT
21. Typical Three Stooges comedy : SILLINESS
24. Offshore : ASEA
25. Baba Mustafa, in “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” : TAILOR
27. Just a ___ bit : WEE
29. Autumn attraction : CORN MAZE
31. “Full House” twins : OLSENS
34. Word in a wedding announcement : NEE
35. Quick draft? : SIP
37. Target of a 1917 uprising : TSAR
38. With 57-Down, no-no #3 : MIR-
39. “Sweet” girl of song : ADELINE
40. Music event : RECITAL
42. Prevents from stealing, say : TAGS OUT
43. Advantage for a hockey team : HOME ICE
45. Staked : AT RISK
47. Hunts : STALKS
49. Tandoori products : NAANS
51. What a canopy provides : SHADE
54. Offensive date : D-DAY
56. Relative of a bean pot : OLLA
57. See 38-Down : -ROR
58. Ottawa-based media co. : CBC
59. Gondola feature : OAR

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3 thoughts on “0721-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 21 Jul 16, Thursday”

  1. 18:14, no errors. Well balanced puzzle (for me anyway), just enough clues that I knew; to help fill in the ones that I didn't. Enjoyed the theme, as well.

  2. Devilishly hard for me, and with a deep breath and a guess with 8 Across, 9 down and 8 down, I finished with no errors. 32:21.

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