0816-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 16 Aug 16, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Sounds from schnauzers : ARFS
The schnauzer breed of dog originated in Germany in the 1600s. The name “schnauzer” is a colloquial term meaning “moustache”, derived from the German for “snout”. The name is apt, given the breed’s distinctive snout.

5. Blue Ribbon brewer : PABST
Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is the most recognizable brand of beer from the Pabst Brewing Company. There appears to be some dispute over whether or not Pabst beer ever won a “blue ribbon” prize, but the company claims that it did so at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The beer was originally called Pabst Best Select, and then just Pabst Select. With the renaming to Blue Ribbon, the beer was sold with an actual blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle until it was dropped in 1916 and incorporated into the label.

10. Mt. Rushmore’s state: Abbr. : SDAK
The four presidents whose faces are carved in the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for the presidents to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

14. Bisque or gazpacho : SOUP
A traditional bisque is a creamy soup made from crustaceans such as lobster, crab or shrimp. The term “bisque” probably comes from the Bay of “Biscay” off the west coast of France, a nod to the French origin of the soup and its seafood content. So, if you see a vegetable “bisque” in a restaurant, you’ll know that the term is being misused …

Gazpacho is a cold soup made from vegetables in a tomato base. It originated in Andalusia in southern Spain.

15. Quran deity : ALLAH
The name “Allah” comes from the Arabic “al-” and “ilah”, meaning “the” and “deity”. So “Allah” translates as “God”.

The Koran is also known as the Qur’an in English, a transliteration of the Arabic name for the holy text of the Muslim faith. The literal translation of “Koran” is “the recitation”.

17. Guy shouting “Cowabunga!,” say : SURFER DUDE
“Cowabunga” is an exclamation adopted by surfers in the sixties. The original use of “cowabunga” was on television, a catchphrase of Chief Thunderthud in “The Howdy Doody Show” in the fifties. The term got even more exposure in the nineties when it was adopted by the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

19. Romney’s 2012 running mate : RYAN
Paul Ryan was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 2012 election, on the ticket with Mitt Romney. Off the political stage, Ryan is famous for his fitness regime. He has shared that much of his motivation to work out and to watch his diet is because there is a history of heart attacks at an early age in his family. Ryan was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2015 after John Boehner resigned. At 45, Ryan then became the youngest Speaker since 1875.

20. Rational self, to Freud : EGO
Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The super-ego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

26. Onetime CBS News anchor : ROGER MUDD
After a career with CBS and NBC, Roger Mudd was more recently an anchor for the History Channel. Mudd is perhaps best known for his 1979 interview with Senator Edward Kennedy. Ted Kennedy’s lackluster responses to some of Mudd’s questions were cited as the reason support plummeted for the senator’s 1980 Presidential nomination.

29. Kind of port on a PC : USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

31. Troupe grp. : USO
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

32. Brother of Shemp and Curly : MOE
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.

33. Saver’s bank holding: Abbr. : ACCT
Account (acct.)

39. Like a ram or lamb : OVINE
The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine”, meaning “like a sheep”.

45. Sorbets, e.g. : ICES
“Sorbet” can mean different things around the world. Here in the US, sorbet is a non-fat frozen dessert that is made without any dairy content.

47. MS. readers at Ms., e.g. : EDS
Editors (eds.) might read a manuscript (MS.) are “Ms.” magazine.

“Ms.” magazine is a feminist publication co-founded by political activist Gloria Steinem in 1971. The first issue was an insert in “New York” magazine, with the first stand-alone issue being published the following year in 1972. That first issue used the byline “Wonder Woman for President”, and featured the cartoon character.

48. Peter out : DIE
The verb phrase “to peter out”, meaning “to fizzle out”, originated in the 1840s in the American mining industry. While the exact etymology isn’t clear, it probably derives from the term “saltpetre”, a constituent of gunpowder.

50. Like rappers Wayne and Kim : LIL’
Lil’ is a short form of the word “little”. There are a whole slew of rappers named Lil’ something, like Lil’ Wayne, Lil’ J, and Lil’ Kim.

61. Mex. miss : SRTA
“Señorita” (Srta.) is Spanish and “Mademoiselle” (Mlle.) is French for “Miss”.

64. Trebek with all the answers : ALEX
Alex Trebek has been the host of “Jeopardy!” since the syndicated version of the game show launched in 1984. Trebek has missed just one episode since then, when he and host of “Wheel of Fortune” Pat Sajak swapped roles in 1997 as an April Fool’s joke.

65. “Star Wars” droid … or a phonetic hint to what’s found in 17-, 26-, 41- and 52-Across : ARTOO-DETOO
Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2. R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stands just 3 ft 8 ins tall, has been the man inside the R2-D2 droid for all six of the “Star Wars” movies.

68. Prefix with -meter or -scope : PERI-
The prefix “peri-” is Greek in origin and means “around”. An example of its use is “periscope”, a device on a submarine for looking “around”.

70. Blog update, e.g. : POST
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”.

71. Celtic tongue of the British Isles : ERSE
There are actually three Erse languages: Irish, Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) and Scots Gaelic. In their own tongues, these would be Gaeilge (in Ireland), Gaelg (on the Isle of Man) and Gaidhlig (in Scotland).

72. Olympic swords : EPEES
There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, distinguished by the weapon used:

Foil
Épée
Sabre

73. Torah holders : ARKS
The Torah ark is found in a synagogue, and is the ornamental container in which are stored the Torah scrolls. The word “Torah” best translates as “teaching”, I am told.

Down
4. UV blockage no. : SPF
In theory, the sun protection factor (SPF) is a calibrated measure of the effectiveness of a sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. The idea is that if you wear a lotion with say SPF 20, then it takes 20 times as much UV radiation to cause the skin to burn than it would take without protection. I say just stay out of the sun …

6. Birch relative often used in electric guitars : ALDER
There appears to be heated debate by those in the know, about whether or not the type of wood used in the construction of electric guitars makes a difference to the sound quality. However, amongst those that value of wood choice, alder is the clear favorite.

7. Popeye’s brawny rival for Olive Oyl : BLUTO
Bluto is the villain in the Popeye cartoon strip, a character who has been around since 1932. Sometimes you will see Bluto go by the name Brutus, depending on the date of the publication. This “confusion” arose because there was an unfounded concern that the name “Bluto” was owned by someone else. Bluto, Brutus … it’s the same guy.

10. Thurmond who left the Senate at age 100 : STROM
Strom Thurmond was a US Senator for the state of South Carolina for 48 years, until he stepped down in 2003. Thurmond was the oldest-serving senator in US history. He retired from his office at the age of 100-years-old, and passed away just a few months after leaving Washington.

13. Documentarian Burns : KEN
Ken Burns directs and produces epic documentary films that usually make inventive use of archive footage. Recent works are the sensational “The War” (about the US in WWII) and the magnificent “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”. Burns’ latest offering is 2014’s “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History”.

25. Quite bizarre : OUTRE
The word “outré” meaning “unconventional, bizarre” comes to us from French, as you might imagine, derived from the verb “outrer” meaning “to overdo, exaggerate”. “Outrer” is also the ultimate root of our word “outrage”.

“Bizarre” is a French word, with the same meaning in French as English. However, back in the 16th century, “bizarre” used to mean “handsome, brave” in French. So that’s what my wife means when she refers to me as “bizarre” …

30. Auto with a black, blue and white logo : BMW
The abbreviation BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

35. Group led by Richard the Lionheart : CRUSADERS
The Crusades were a series of religious wars fought between the 11th and 15th centuries. The term “crusade” came into English via French and Spanish from the Latin “crux” meaning “cross”. The use of the term was retrospective, with the first recorded use in English in 1757. Most crusaders swore a vow to reach Jerusalem from Europe, receiving a cloth cross that was then sewn into their clothing.

38. Big Apple inits. : NYC
Apparently the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote the following in his book “The Wayfarer in New York”:

Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.

Over ten years later, the term “big apple” was used as a nickname for racetracks in and around New York City. However, the concerted effort to “brand” the city as the Big Apple had to wait until the seventies and was the work of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

40. Cello cousin : VIOLA
The viola looks like and is played like a violin, but is slightly larger. It is referred to as the middle voice in the violin family, between the violin and the cello.

43. Subj. for the foreign-born : ESL
English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

51. Tablet since 2010 : IPAD
The groundbreaking iPad was introduced by Apple in 2010. The iOS-based iPads dominated the market for tablet computers until 2013, when Android-based tablets (manufactured by several companies) took over the number-one spot.

53. ___ Hart, lead role in “Chicago” : ROXIE
The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

54. Lauder with a cosmetics empire : ESTEE
Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, with a reputation as a great salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales volume …

57. Helicopter part : ROTOR
Our term “helicopter” was absorbed from the French word “hélicoptère” that was coined by Gustave Ponton d’Amécourt in 1861. d’Amécourt envisioned aircraft that could fly vertically using rotating wings that “screwed” into the air. He combined the Greek terms “helix” meaning “spiral, whirl” and “pteron” meaning “wing” to give us “helicopter”.

58. Mall stand : KIOSK
Our word “kiosk” came to us via French and Turkish from the Persian “kushk” meaning “palace, portico”.

64. Gorilla : APE
Apes and monkeys both belong to the order of primates. The most obvious way to distinguish apes from monkeys is by the presence or lack of a tail. Almost all apes have no tail, and almost all monkeys have tails.

The gorilla is the largest primate still in existence, and is one of the nearest living species to humans. Molecular biology studies have shown that our nearest relatives are in fact the species in the genus Pan (the chimpanzee and the bonobo), which split from the human branch of the family 4-6 million years ago. Gorillas and humans diverged at a point about 7 million years ago. The term “gorilla” derives from the Greek “gorillai” meaning “tribe of hairy women”. Wow!

67. Superfund org. : EPA
The 1980 law called the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is more usually referred to as “Superfund”. Superfund gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to compel polluters to clean up contaminated sites.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Sounds from schnauzers : ARFS
5. Blue Ribbon brewer : PABST
10. Mt. Rushmore’s state: Abbr. : SDAK
14. Bisque or gazpacho : SOUP
15. Quran deity : ALLAH
16. Fit ___ tied : TO BE
17. Guy shouting “Cowabunga!,” say : SURFER DUDE
19. Romney’s 2012 running mate : RYAN
20. Rational self, to Freud : EGO
21. ___ greens : BEET
22. Implement for eating 14-Across : SPOON
24. Pulsate painfully : THROB
26. Onetime CBS News anchor : ROGER MUDD
29. Kind of port on a PC : USB
31. Troupe grp. : USO
32. Brother of Shemp and Curly : MOE
33. Saver’s bank holding: Abbr. : ACCT
36. Revealing skirt : MINI
39. Like a ram or lamb : OVINE
41. Lacking broad application : NARROWLY-DEFINED
44. Thin porridge : GRUEL
45. Sorbets, e.g. : ICES
46. Gambler’s chances : ODDS
47. MS. readers at Ms., e.g. : EDS
48. Peter out : DIE
50. Like rappers Wayne and Kim : LIL’
52. Rammed from behind : REAR-ENDED
56. Gets lucky with one’s car downtown, say : PARKS
60. Decorate : ADORN
61. Mex. miss : SRTA
63. De-squeaker : OIL
64. Trebek with all the answers : ALEX
65. “Star Wars” droid … or a phonetic hint to what’s found in 17-, 26-, 41- and 52-Across : ARTOO-DETOO
68. Prefix with -meter or -scope : PERI-
69. Minuscule : TEENY
70. Blog update, e.g. : POST
71. Celtic tongue of the British Isles : ERSE
72. Olympic swords : EPEES
73. Torah holders : ARKS

Down
1. Liability’s opposite : ASSET
2. Still in draft form : ROUGH
3. Uproar : FUROR
4. UV blockage no. : SPF
5. Lessen, as expenses : PARE
6. Birch relative often used in electric guitars : ALDER
7. Popeye’s brawny rival for Olive Oyl : BLUTO
8. Heartsick : SAD
9. Hurdles for Ph.D.s : THESES
10. Thurmond who left the Senate at age 100 : STROM
11. “Um … excuse me?” : DO YOU MIND?
12. Deserted : ABANDONED
13. Documentarian Burns : KEN
18. Diminishes : EBBS
23. Ironclad evidence : PROOF
25. Quite bizarre : OUTRE
27. Tour leader : GUIDE
28. Ownership documents : DEEDS
30. Auto with a black, blue and white logo : BMW
33. Wrath : ANGER
34. One offering test drives : CAR DEALER
35. Group led by Richard the Lionheart : CRUSADERS
37. Words before “So sue me!” : I LIED
38. Big Apple inits. : NYC
40. Cello cousin : VIOLA
42. Like 10-Down vis-à-vis any other senator in history : OLDER
43. Subj. for the foreign-born : ESL
49. Like a trait present at birth : INNATE
51. Tablet since 2010 : IPAD
53. ___ Hart, lead role in “Chicago” : ROXIE
54. Lauder with a cosmetics empire : ESTEE
55. Remotely controlled flier : DRONE
57. Helicopter part : ROTOR
58. Mall stand : KIOSK
59. Job openings : SLOTS
62. Output of Santa’s workshop : TOYS
64. Gorilla : APE
66. Sales worker, briefly : REP
67. Superfund org. : EPA

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