0819-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 19 Aug 16, Friday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Paolo Pasco
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 16m 07s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Brand whose first commercial featured a cable car : RICE-A-RONI
Rice-a-Roni was introduced in 1958 by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company of San Francisco. The company was run by an Italian immigrant and his four sons. The wife of one of the sons created a pilaf dish for the family diner they owned. It was a big hit, so her brother-in-law created a commercial version by blending dry chicken soup mix with rice and macaroni. Sounds like “a San Francisco treat” to me …

18. “Bleeding Love” singer Lewis : LEONA
Leona Lewis rocketed to fame after winning the British TV show called “The X Factor” (the show that spawned the UK’s “Pop Idol” and America’s “American Idol”).

19. Non-humanities acronym : STEM
The acronym STEM stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

20. When repeated, spouse’s complaint : NAG
Nag, nag, nag. I’d never say that …

21. Walter ___, Dodgers manager before Tommy Lasorda : ALSTON
Walter “Smokey” Alston was the very successful manager of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976. Alston was not very successful as a player. He played as first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals but only for one season and in only one game, in 1936. Alston had only one at bat and he struck out, on three pitches.

22. “The Fox and the Hound” fox : TOD
Disney’s 1981 animated feature “The Fox and the Hound” is based on a novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. Both the novel and movie tell the tale of a young fox and a young hound who are good friends. The fox and hound struggle to maintain their friendship as they grow older, even as their animal instincts kick in and social pressures demand that they become adversaries. Heavy stuff!

26. Emmy-winning Susan Lucci role : ERICA
Susan Lucci is perhaps the most famous actor associated with daytime soap operas, and was the highest paid actor in daytime television. Lucci was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series an incredible 21 times for her portrayal of Erica Kane, the vixen in “All My Children”.

28. “On the hoof,” in diner lingo : RARE
Diner lingo, the verbal slang used by the staff, can be very colorful. Here are a few examples:

Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast
Adam & Eve on a raft and wreck ’em: two scrambled eggs on toast
Burn one: put a hamburger on the grill
Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion
Down: on toast
Whiskey down: on rye toast
Cluck and grunt: ham and eggs

30. Kim Jong-un, for one : DYNAST
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has a lengthy list of official titles, including:

Bright Sun of the 21st Century
Amazing Politician
Ever-Victorious, Iron-Willed Commander
Glorious General, Who Descended from Heaven

32. Gendered “Seinfeld” accessory : MAN PURSE
In the “Seinfeld” episode called “The Reverse Peephole”, Jerry famously starts to use a “European Carryall”, which in actual fact is just a purse.

49. Federal div. concerned with gas consumption : DOE
The US Department of Energy (DOE) came into being largely as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The DOE was founded in 1977 by the Carter administration. The DOE is responsible for regulating the production of nuclear power, and it is also responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons. The official DOE seal features symbols denoting five sources of energy: the sun, an atom, an oil derrick, a windmill and a dynamo.

52. Burn : DIS
“Dis” is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.

55. “If you ask me …,” for short : IMO …
In my opinion (IMO)

56. Give a Yelp review, say : RATE
yelp.com is a website that provides a local business directory and reviews of services. The site is sort of like Yellow Pages on steroids, and the term “yelp” is derived from “yel-low p-ages”.

57. Hometown of Columbus : GENOA
Genoa is a seaport in the very north of Italy, in the region known as Liguria. One of Genoa’s most famous sons was Christopher Columbus. Another was the violinist Niccolò Paganini.

62. Yom Kippur War leader : SADAT
Anwar Sadat was the third President of Egypt right up to the time of his assassination in 1981. Sadat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for the role played in crafting the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1978 at Camp David. It was this agreement that largely led to Sadat’s assassination three years later.

The Yom Kippur War started on October 6 in 1973 with a surprise move by Syria and Egypt into the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The conflict quickly escalated into a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union, as both superpowers rushed arms to the opposing states. Within a week, Israeli forces had regained the land that had been lost and two weeks later had advanced within striking range of both Cairo and Damascus. A UN brokered ceasefire brought the war to an end on October 25, after just 19 days of fighting.

Down
1. Took by force : WRESTED
The verb “to wrest” can mean to obtain by violent twisting and pulling. The word “wrest” derives from the Middle English “wresten” meaning “to twist”. Our word “wrestling” has the same etymology.

5. Sr. stress source : SAT
Today the standardized test for admission to colleges is known as the SAT Reasoning Test, but it used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which led to the abbreviation SAT.

6. Reznor of Nine Inch Nails : TRENT
Nine Inch Nails is a rock band that was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988 by singer-songwriter Trent Reznor. Reznor chose the name “Nine Inch Nails” mainly because it abbreviated easily and succinctly, to “NIN”.

8. On end, to Donne : ANAGRAM
John Donne is one of England’s most celebrated poets, working at the start of the 17th century. He spent much of his life in poverty and even spent a short time in prison for having married his wife without procuring the appropriate permissions. After his release, his wife bore him 12 children in 16 years, passing away a few days after the twelfth child was born.

9. Concert needs, for short : TIX
Tickets (tix)

12. Entertainment for general audiences? : USO TOUR
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.

13. Collection at the Musée d’Orsay : RENOIRS
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French painter, very much at the forefront of the Impressionist Movement. Renoir was a prolific artist, with several thousand works attributed to him. The largest collection of Renoirs is actually in the United States. You can see 181 of his paintings at the Barnes Foundation just outside Philadelphia.

The Musée d’Orsay is one of the premier museums in Paris, and holds the world’s largest collection of impressionist art. It is a truly beautiful building, a former Beaux-Arts railway station.

14. Nonactor with cameos in more than 20 Marvel movies : STAN LEE
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.

23. ___ Fierce (onetime Beyoncé alter ego) : SASHA
Sasha Fierce is an alter-ego that Beyoncé Knowles has developed for her stage and recording work. Beyoncé describes Sasha as very sensual and aggressive. She released a studio album called “I Am… Sasha Fierce” in 2008.

24. Certain grenade, for short : FRAG
Fragmentation grenade (frag).

Our word “grenade”, used for a small explosive missile, came via French from the word for the pomegranate fruit. The name reflects the similarity between the seed-filled fruit and the powder-filled, fragmentation bomb.

27. Batman? : CASEY
“Casey at the Bat” is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, first published in the San Francisco Examiner. The poem became very popular due to repeated live performances in vaudeville by DeWolf Hopper. Casey played for the Mudville Nine, and the last line of the poem is “But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.”

31. Aquarium fish : TETRAS
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish, native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

33. People thinking on their feet? : POETS
In poetry, a “foot” is the natural unit of stressed and unstressed syllables which make up the work. For example, an iambic foot consists of an unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed syllable.

38. Song that starts “Hate New York City / It’s cold and it’s damp” : I LOVE LA
“I Love L.A.” is a song written and recorded by Randy Newman in 1983. The song is played at major sporting events in the city, after the home team scores or wins.

43. Model : EPITOME
The more common meaning of “epitome” is a perfect example of a group, quality, type etc. An “epitome” is also an abstract or summary of a book or article.

44. Early Judaic sect : ESSENES
The Essenes were a Jewish religious group, most noted these days perhaps as the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

51. They may grab a bite : TONGS
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”.

54. Lisbon lady : DONA
In Portugal, a title of respect for men is “Dom”. The equivalent female title is “Dona”.

56. Beatles title girl with a “little white book” : RITA
“Lovely Rita” is a Beatles song on the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. When the album was released in 1967, the term “meter maid” wasn’t used in the UK, although it was a slang term used in the US. The song helped spread the usage of “meter maid” all around the English-speaking world. Apparently the inspiration for the song was McCartney getting a parking ticket one day outside the Abbey Road Studios. He accepted the ticket with good grace, from a warden named Meta Davis. McCartney felt that Meta “looked like a Rita”, so that was the name she was given in the song.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Come again?” : WHAT’S THAT?
10. They’re put in for work : HOURS
15. Brand whose first commercial featured a cable car : RICE-A-RONI
16. Large-scale detail : INSET
17. Trust issue? : ESTATE TAX
18. “Bleeding Love” singer Lewis : LEONA
19. Non-humanities acronym : STEM
20. When repeated, spouse’s complaint : NAG
21. Walter ___, Dodgers manager before Tommy Lasorda : ALSTON
22. “The Fox and the Hound” fox : TOD
23. Dish that often has pea pods : STIR-FRY
25. Medium for many 13-Down : OIL
26. Emmy-winning Susan Lucci role : ERICA
28. “On the hoof,” in diner lingo : RARE
29. “Yeah, why not!?” : SURE!
30. Kim Jong-un, for one : DYNAST
32. Gendered “Seinfeld” accessory : MAN PURSE
34. Shake off : SHED
36. Sticky stuff : GOOP
37. Person with a lot on his plate? : BIG EATER
41. [I find this mildly amusing] : TEE-HEE
45. Confederate : ALLY
46. Rush, e.g. : REED
48. Corners : TRAPS
49. Federal div. concerned with gas consumption : DOE
50. They may be settled over drinks : BAR BETS
52. Burn : DIS
53. Shakes off : EVADES
55. “If you ask me …,” for short : IMO …
56. Give a Yelp review, say : RATE
57. Hometown of Columbus : GENOA
58. “Let’s do this!” : BRING IT ON!
60. Secluded spaces : GLENS
61. “Let’s do this!” : IT’S GO TIME!
62. Yom Kippur War leader : SADAT
63. America, informally : THE STATES

Down
1. Took by force : WRESTED
2. Done for : HISTORY
3. Was on the cast of : ACTED IN
4. ___ U.S.A. : TEAM
5. Sr. stress source : SAT
6. Reznor of Nine Inch Nails : TRENT
7. What blowhards blow : HOT AIR
8. On end, to Donne : ANAGRAM
9. Concert needs, for short : TIX
10. Good for sledding, say : HILLY
11. Gender-neutral possessive : ONE’S
12. Entertainment for general audiences? : USO TOUR
13. Collection at the Musée d’Orsay : RENOIRS
14. Nonactor with cameos in more than 20 Marvel movies : STAN LEE
21. Playground comeback : ARE NOT!
23. ___ Fierce (onetime Beyoncé alter ego) : SASHA
24. Certain grenade, for short : FRAG
27. Batman? : CASEY
29. “Neat-o-rific!” : SUPER!
31. Aquarium fish : TETRAS
33. People thinking on their feet? : POETS
35. Road sign silhouette : DEER
37. No-goodniks : BAD EGGS
38. Song that starts “Hate New York City / It’s cold and it’s damp” : I LOVE LA
39. Slowly picked up : GLEANED
40. Comeback : REBIRTH
42. Battled : HAD AT IT
43. Model : EPITOME
44. Early Judaic sect : ESSENES
47. End : DEMISE
50. The Antichrist, with “the” : BEAST
51. They may grab a bite : TONGS
54. Lisbon lady : DONA
56. Beatles title girl with a “little white book” : RITA
58. Boring thing : BIT
59. Came down with : GOT

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6 thoughts on “0819-16 New York Times Crossword Answers 19 Aug 16, Friday”

  1. 20:39, no errors, iPad. Various missteps: I initially put TYRANT instead of DYNAST and, at the end, I had USO HOUR before correcting it to USO TOUR.

  2. As New Yorkers, this past week we spent a day at the Barnes Foundation. It was our first visit to see an amazing collection.

  3. 19:54, no errors. Couple missteps also; 49A EPA/DOE, 54D DAMA/DONA and 59D HAD/GOT.

    Challenging, but not too bad.

  4. I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to Dimepiece Los Angeles celebrity streetwear brand? I seem to be unable to check out on Dimepiecela site. I have read in Vogue that they were bought out by a UK-based hedge fund for $50 million. I’ve just bought the Nostalgia Unisex Crewneck Sweatshirt from Amazon and totally love it xox

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