0108-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Jan 17, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Peter Broda & Erik Agard
THEME: The Downsizing of Nathaniel Ames (i.e. N Ames)
Our clever theme today has us “downsizing names”. Each themed answer looks like a well-known phrase on the surface. However, the clue interprets it as starting with the name of a famous person, but that name is written using just the initial of the first name with the full family name:

20A. Things smoked by singer Courtney? : C LOVE CIGARETTES (from “clove cigarettes”)
31A. “Charlie Hustle is my name / I am banned from Hall of Fame,” e.g.? : P ROSE POETRY (from “prose poetry”)
56A. Hoopster Steph not playing at home? : S CURRY AWAY (from “scurry away”)
73A. The sport of boxing in the 1960s and ’70s, essentially? : M ALI EMPIRE (from “Mali Empire”)
100A. Hat for pop singer Corey? : C HART TOPPER (from “chart topper”)
112A. Two-time Best Actor winner arriving early? : T HANKS IN ADVANCE (from “thanks in advance”)
3D. Something smoked by comic Chris? : C ROCK POT (from “Crock-Pot”)
8D. Photo of Canada’s former prime minister Stephen? : S HARPER IMAGE (from “Sharper Image”)
61D. Cherry for talk show host Chelsea? : C HANDLER BING (from “Chandler Bing”)
86D. Entourage of a 1990s white rapper? : V ICE UNIT (from “vice unit”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 29m 58s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Loops in, in a way : BCCS
One might loop in a colleague into an email thread by sending him or her a bcc (blind carbon copy).

A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

5. Goddess with a throne headdress : ISIS
Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, as well as the protector of the dead and the goddess of children. She was the personification of the pharaoh’s power. The name “Isis” translates as “throne”, and she is usually depicted with a headdress shaped like a throne.

13. Figs. on drivers’ licenses : HTS
Height (ht.)

16. When repeated, a Pacific tourist destination : BORA
Bora Bora is one of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The name “Bora Bora” is imitative of the Tahitian name for the island and should really be pronounced “pora pora”. “Bora bora” translates as “first born”.

17. Fish whose name is a celebrity’s name minus an R : OPAH
Opah is the more correct name for the fish also known as the sunfish, moonfish or Jerusalem haddock. I’ve seen one in the Monterrey Aquarium. It is one huge fish …

What can you say about Oprah Winfrey that hasn’t been said already? Born into poverty to a single mother and with a harrowing childhood, Oprah is now the greatest African American philanthropist the world has ever known. Oprah’s name was originally meant to be “Orpah” after the Biblical character in the Book of Ruth, and that’s how it appears on her birth certificate. Apparently folks had trouble pronouncing “Orpah”, so she’s now “Oprah”.

18. Old bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name : SUN RA
Sun Ra was the stage name of jazz composer and performer Herman Blount. Sun Ra was a bit “out there”, and claimed that he wasn’t from Earth, but rather was of the Angel Race from the planet Saturn.

20. Things smoked by singer Courtney? : C LOVE CIGARETTES (from “clove cigarettes”)
Courtney Love is a singer-songwriter who was the co-founder of the alternative rock band Hole. Love was married to Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, until his death in 1994.

23. Scandalmaker in 2002 news : ENRON
After all the trials following the exposure of fraud at Enron, several of the key players ended up in jail. Andrew Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer. He plea-bargained and received ten years without parole, and became the key witness in the trials of others. Even Fastow’s wife was involved and she was sentenced to one year for helping her husband hide money. Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO) was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months. Kenneth Lay (CEO) died in 2006 after he had been found guilty but before he could be sentenced. The accounting firm Arthur Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding thousands of pertinent documents and deleting emails and files (a decision that the Supreme Court later overturned on a technicality). But still, Arthur Andersen collapsed under the weight of the scandal and 85,000 people lost their jobs (despite only a handful being directly involved with Enron).

25. Headwear the N.B.A. banned in 2005 : DO-RAG
Hip-hoppers might wear do-rags today, but they have been around for centuries. If you recall the famous image of Rosie the Riveter, she was wearing a do-rag. The etymology is pretty evident, a piece of cloth (rag) to hold a hairstyle (do) in place.

29. 1950s prez : IKE
When the future president was growing up, the Eisenhower family used the nickname “Ike” for all seven boys in the family, as “Ike” was seen as an abbreviation for the family name. “Big Ike” was Edgar, the second oldest boy. “Little/Young Ike” was Dwight, who was the third son born. Dwight had no sisters.

31. “Charlie Hustle is my name / I am banned from Hall of Fame,” e.g.? : P ROSE POETRY (from “prose poetry”)
Pete Rose was a talented baseball player who holds the record for all-time Major League hits. Rose’s nickname was “Charlie Hustle”. In recent years of course his reputation has been tarnished by admissions that he bet on games in which he played and managed.

33. Fist bump : DAP
The dap is a form of handshake, nowadays often a complicated and showy routine of fist bumps, slaps and shakes. Some say that “dap” is an acronym standing for “Dignity And Pride”.

37. “Eureka!” moments : AHAS
“Eureka” translates from Greek as “I have found it”. The word is usually associated with Archimedes, uttered as he stepped into his bath one day. His discovery was that the volume of water that was displaced was equal to that of the object (presumably his foot) that had been submerged. He used this fact to determine the volume of a crown, something he needed in order to determine if it was made of pure gold or was a forgery.

43. Feature of Africa : HORN
The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent, containing the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. The Horn of Africa is also known as the Somali Peninsula.

44. ___ oil : CANOLA
Canola is a type of rapeseed, and Canola oil is made from the seeds. The particular cultivar used in oil production was developed in Canada, and the name Canola in fact comes from “CANadian Oil, Low Acid”.

51. Pugnacious Olympian : ARES
The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Ares united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos, Deimos and Eros. The Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

53. Relative of a ferret : MINK
There are two species of mink extant: the European Mink and the American Mink. There used to be a Sea Mink which was much larger than its two cousins, but it was hunted to extinction (for its fur) in the late 1800s. American Minks are farmed over in Europe for fur, and animal rights activists have released many of these animals into the wild when raiding mink farms. As a result the European Mink population has declined due to the presence of its larger and more adaptable American cousin.

55. F.B.I.’s div. : DOJ
Attorneys General (AGs) head up the Department of Justice (DOJ). When the office of the Attorney General was created in 1789 it was a part-time job, with no departmental support. The Department of Justice came into being in 1870.

What we know today as the FBI was set up in 1908 as the BOI, the Bureau of Investigation. The name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. The Bureau was set up at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was largely moved to do so after the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, as there was a perception that anarchists were threatening law and order. The FBI’s motto uses the organization’s initialism, and is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity”.

56. Hoopster Steph not playing at home? : S CURRY AWAY (from “scurry away”)
Steph Curry is a professional basketball player who was named the league’s MVP in 2015, the same season that he led the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975. Steph’s father is former NBA player Dell Curry, and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry.

62. Japanese watchmaker : SEIKO
Seiko Epson is a Japanese company, one of the largest manufacturers of printers in the world. The company has its roots in the watch business, roots that go back to 1942. Seiko was chosen as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was asked to supply a timer that produced a printed record. This request brought Seiko into the business of printer production. The company developed the world’s first mini-printer for the 1964 Games and called it EP-101 (EP standing for Electronic Printer). In 1975 Seiko introduced the next generation of EP printers which was called EPSON, from “SON of EP”. Cute, huh?

64. Like Granny Smith apples : TART
The Granny Smith apple originated in Australia, a chance propagation by Maria Ann Smith in 1868. Ms. Smith was in her late sixties at the time, so the new cultivar of apple was called a Granny Smith. We’ve only been eating Granny Smiths in the US since 1972.

66. Dickens’s Uriah : HEEP
Uriah Heep is a sniveling insincere character in the novel “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. The character is such a “yes man” that today, if we know someone who behaves the same way, then we might call that person a “Uriah Heep”.

68. Sega Genesis competitor, in brief : SNES
The name Super NES (or SNES) stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our kids probably have one somewhere …

73. The sport of boxing in the 1960s and ’70s, essentially? : M ALI EMPIRE (from “Mali Empire”)
Muhammad Ali won 56 professional fights, 37 of which were knockouts. He lost 5 fights, 4 being decisions and one being a technical knockout (TKO). The TKO-loss was Ali’s second-last fight, against Larry Holmes. By the time Ali took on Holmes, he was already showing signs of Parkinson’s Syndrome, although the diagnosis would not come until four years later.

The Mali Empire reigned supreme in West Africa from about 1230 AD to about 1600 AD. Today’s Mandinka people are descended from the people of the Mali Empire.

76. Groups with co-pays, briefly : HMOS
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

80. “Star Trek: T.N.G.” role : TROI
Deanna Troi is a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who is played by the lovely Marina Sirtis. Sirtis is a naturalized American citizen and has what I would call a soft American accent on the show. However, she was born in the East End of London and has a natural accent off-stage that is more like that of a true Cockney.

85. Valet in P. G. Wodehouse stories : JEEVES
English author P. G. Wodehouse’s full name was Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. He is most famous for penning the stories about the goofy Bertie Wooster and his wise and wonderful valet Jeeves. Wodehouse moved to France in 1934, to minimize his tax liability. During WWII he was interned by the Germans for nearly a year, and made broadcasts to the US for the enemy from Germany. Even though his on air talks were relatively apolitical and humorous, they were not well received in his homeland. Wodehouse never returned to England, and died in New York in 1975.

89. Contemporary hybrid music genre : NU JAZZ
The musical genre of Nu Jazz is also known as electronic jazz, and combines elements of traditional jazz with contemporary electronic music.

90. Sots’ sounds : HICS
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning “fool”. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol and not just foolery in the late 1500s.

99. El operator in the Windy City, briefly : CTA
The Chicago “L” is the second largest rapid transit system in the US, with the New York City Subway being the largest. The “L” is also the second oldest, again with the New York City Subway system having the honor of being around the longest. Note that the official nickname for the system is the “L” (originally short for “elevated railroad”), although the term “El” is also in common use (especially in crosswords as “ELS”). The L is managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

It seems that the derivation of Chicago’s nickname as the “Windy City” isn’t as obvious as I would have thought. There are two viable theories. First that the weather can be breezy, with wind blowing in off Lake Michigan. The effect of the wind is exaggerated by the grid-layout adopted by city planners after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The second theory is that “windy” means “being full of bluster”. Sportswriters from the rival city of Cincinnati were fond of calling Chicago supporters “windy” in the 1860s and 1870s, meaning that they were full of hot air in their claims that the Chicago White Stockings were superior to the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

100. Hat for pop singer Corey? : C HART TOPPER (from “chart topper”)
Corey Hart is a singer from Montreal who is best known for the songs “Sunglasses at Night” (1984) and “Never Surrender” (1985). Hart was once asked by Steven Spielberg to consider the role of Marty McFly in the 1985 film “Back to the Future”. Hart politely declined, and the role went to fellow-Canadian Michael J. Fox.

103. Anthem contraction : O’ER
The words “o’er the ramparts we watched” come from “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key.

111. Obstinate one, astrologically : ARIES
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”.

112. Two-time Best Actor winner arriving early? : T HANKS IN ADVANCE (from “thanks in advance”)
Tom Hanks is a such a great actor, I think. He has played so many iconic roles in a relatively short career. Hanks is from California, and studied theater for a couple of years in Hayward, California not far from here. Hanks is married to the talented actress Rita Wilson.

116. Monopoly purchase : HOUSE
The commercial game of Monopoly is supposedly a remake of “The Landlord’s Game” created in 1903 by a Quaker woman called Lizzie Phillips. Phillips used her game as a tool to explain the single tax theory of American economist Henry George. The Landlord’s Game was first produced commercially in 1924. The incredibly successful derivative game called Monopoly was introduced in 1933 by Charles Darrow, who became a very rich man when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game just two years later in 1935.

117. Singer/songwriter Laura : NYRO
Laura Nyro was a singer-songwriter from the Bronx, New York. Nyro had success with her own recordings, but her songs were even more successful when recorded by other big names. Two of Nyro’s compositions were “Eli’s Coming” recorded by Three Dog Night, and “Stoney End” by Barbra Streisand.

118. Little foxes : KITS
A kit is a young mammal of several species, including the ferret and the fox. “Kit” is probably a shortened form of “kitten”.

121. Wanders (about) : GADS
“To gad about” is to move around with little purpose. The word “gad” comes from the Middle English “gadden” meaning “to hurry”.

122. They begin in juin : ETES
In French, the season of “été” (summer) starts in “juin” (June).

Down
1. Original airer of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” : BBC RADIO
The English writer and dramatist Douglas Adams is best known for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide …” started out life as a comedy series on BBC radio in 1978, but it certainly had legs. It was adapted into stage shows, five books, a television series, computer game and a 2005 film.

2. Pop competition : COLA WARS
“Cola Wars” is the phrase used to describe the competing marketing campaigns of Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Coke is winning …

3. Something smoked by comic Chris? : C ROCK POT (from “Crock-Pot”)
Chris Rock is a great stand-up comedian. Interestingly, Rock cites his paternal grandfather as an influence on his performing style. Grandfather Allen Rock was a preacher.

We often use the term “crockpot” as an alternative for “slow cooker”. The generic term comes from the trademark “Crock-Pot”, now owned by Sunbeam products.

5. Org. against doping : IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894, and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

7. Shakespeare villain : IAGO
Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. He is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. Iago hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife.

8. Photo of Canada’s former prime minister Stephen? : S HARPER IMAGE (from “Sharper Image”)
Stephen Harper was Prime of Canada from 2006 until his Conservative Party was defeated in the 2015 federal election. In 2003. Harper helped create the modern Conservative Party of Canada by brokering a deal that merged his Canadian Alliance party with the Progressive Conservative Party.

10. Aardvarks, by another name : ANT BEARS
The aardvark is the oddest looking of creatures, a nocturnal burrowing animal, native to Africa. Even though it is sometimes called the African ant bear, the name “aardvark” is Afrikaans for “earth pig”. Aardvarks are noted, among other things, for their unique teeth. Their teeth have no enamel and wear away quite readily, but continuously regrow. The aardvark feeds mainly on ants and termites.

13. He was buried in 1915 and died in 1926 : HARRY HOUDINI
Harry Houdini was the stage name of Hungarian-born escapologist and magician Erik Weisz (later changed to “Harry Weiss”). Many people are under the impression that Houdini died while performing an escape that went wrong, an impression created by the storyline in a couple of movies about his life. The truth is that he died of peritonitis from a burst appendix. It is also true that a few days prior to his death Houdini took a series of punches to his stomach as part of his act, but doctors believe that his appendix would have burst regardless.

Harry Houdini performed a stunt in Santa Ana, California in 1915, allowing himself to be “buried alive” under six feet of earth without a casket. As he tried to claw himself from the ground, Houdini became exhausted and barely managed to break the surface with one hand. He fell unconscious and had to be rescued by his assistants.

14. Dressage gait : TROT
The equestrian sport of dressage involves demonstration of how well as horse responds to training. “Dressage” is a French word meaning “training”.

15. Invoice figs. : SSNS
Social Security number (SSN)

18. ___ lily : SEGO
The Sego Lily is the state flower of Utah, and is a perennial plant found throughout the Western United States.

19. Fulminating : ON A RANT
To “fulminate” is to explode or detonate, perhaps in rage. It’s a lovely word derived from the Latin “fulminare” meaning “to hurl lightning”.

21. Dwarf planet more massive than Pluto : ERIS
Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system. It is also the ninth largest body orbiting the sun, a fact that helped relegate Pluto (the tenth largest body) from its status of planet in 2006. Eris was discovered in 2005.

27. Literary device used to address plot inconsistencies : RETCON
Authors will often use a device called “retroactive continuity” to add new information to facts that have already been established in the narrative.

30. Nephrologists study them : KIDNEYS
Nephrology is the medical field specializing in the treatment of kidney problems. “Nephros” is the Greek word for “kidney”.

35. M.L.K.’s title: Abbr. : REV
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 35 years old when he won the Nobel Peace Prize, making him the youngest person to be so honored. King was given the award for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination using non-violent means. The following year he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Community.

38. “Today” personality : AL ROKER
Al Roker is best known as the meteorologist on the “Today” show on NBC. He has successfully branched out from that platform though, and even co-wrote a novel called “The Morning Show Murders”, about a celebrity chef and TV host who get entangled in mystery. Topical stuff …

39. Shark’s home : SAN JOSE
The San Jose Sharks hockey team play their home games at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, a venue that we locals call “the Shark Tank”.


45. Arctic fliers : AUKS
Auks are penguin-like sea birds that live in colder northern waters including the Arctic. Like penguins, auks are great swimmers, but unlike penguins, auks can fly.

56. Filament sites, in botany : STAMENS
The stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower. The part of the stamen known as the anther sits on a stalk called the filament, and carried carries the pollen. The pollen is picked up by insects, especially bees, who then transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and it accepts the pollen.

58. Underhanded use of someone else’s domain name : URL HIJACKING
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

61. Cherry for talk show host Chelsea? : C HANDLER BING (from “Chandler Bing”)
Chelsea Handler is a comedian who has been making a name for herself as a late-night talk show host on the E! network. Handler has her own talk show called “Chelsea Lately”.

The bing cherry is the most widely grown sweet cherry in the US. The cultivar was created in Oregon in 1875 by Seth Lewelling. Lewelling was a horticulturist, and he named the cherry for his Chinese foreman Ah Bing.

Matthew Perry is an actor best known for his television work, especially playing Chandler Bing on the incredibly successful sitcom “Friends”. More recently, Perry has been playing Oscar Madison on the latest TV adaptation of the Neil Simon play “The Odd Couple”.

72. Arm muscle, informally : TRICEP
The triceps brachii muscle is found at the back of the upper arm. The muscle’s name translates to “three-headed arm muscle”, fitting as it is actually made up of three bundles of muscles.

73. ___ drop : MIC
A “mic drop” takes place when a performer has done particularly well and decides to celebrate by throwing or dropping the microphone to the floor. That doesn’t seem to happen at the performances I tend to frequent …

74. Miney follower : MOE

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!

77. “Idomeneo” composer : MOZART
“Idomeneo” is a Mozart opera first performed in 1781, when Mozart was just 25 years old.

79. “All My ___ Live in Texas” : EX’S
“All My Ex’s Live in Texas” is a song released in 1987 by country singer George Strait.

82. U.N.C. student : TAR HEEL
Tar Heel is a nickname for anyone living in, or from, the state of North Carolina. As such, it is the nickname also of the athletic teams of the University of North Carolina. No one seems to know for sure where the term “Tar Heel” originated, but it is thought to be related to the historical importance of the tar, pitch and turpentine industries that thrived in the state due to the presence of vast forests of pine trees.

83. Figure at the center of a maze : MINOTAUR
Minos was the King of Crete in Greek mythology, and the son of Zeus and Europa. Minos had an elaborate labyrinth built under the island, designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus (who famously died trying to escape from the island by “flying” away). In the labyrinth, King Minos kept the Minotaur, a dreadful creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man.

84. Tahoe, for one : SUV
The Chevrolet Tahoe is basically the same design as the GMC Yukon, both cars being sports utility vehicles. The Tahoe is rated at 15 mpg for city driving, but there is a hybrid version which is rated at a whopping 21 mpg …

86. Entourage of a 1990s white rapper? : V ICE UNIT (from “vice unit”)
Vanilla Ice is the stage name of rapper Robert Van Winkle. Van Winkle used to breakdance with a band of friends when he was a young teenager and, as he was the only Caucasian in the group, he was given the nickname “Vanilla”.

87. Musical intermission : ENTR’ACTE
The term “entr’acte” comes to us from French, and is the interval “between two acts” (“entre deux actes”) of a theatrical performance. The term often describes some entertainment provided during that interval.

92. Trampolinist’s wear : LEOTARD
The garment known as a leotard was named for French trapeze artist Jules Léotard. Léotard wore such a garment when he was performing.

The first modern trampoline was developed in 1936. The apparatus was given its name from the Spanish “trampolín” meaning “diving board”. Trampolines were used during WWII in the training of pilots, to give them exposure to some spatial orientations that would be encountered during flight. Trampolines were also used by astronauts training in the space flight program. The sport of trampolining became in Olympic event starting in the 2000 Games.

96. Start to -scope : STETHO-
The word “stethoscope” comes from the Greek word for “chest examination”. The stethoscope was invented back in 1816 in France by René Laennec, although back then it looked just like an ear trumpet, a wooden tube with flared ends.

97. Cincinnati squad : REDS
The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.

108. “Dark Sky Island” singer : ENYA
Enya’s real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, which can translate from Irish into Enya Brennan. Her Donegal family (in the northwest of Ireland) formed a band called Clannad, which included Enya. In 1980 Enya launched her very successful solo career, eventually becoming Ireland’s best-selling solo musician. And, she sure does turn up a lot in crosswords!

110. Drink sometimes served hot : SAKE
We refer to the Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice as “sake”. We’ve gotten things a bit mixed up in the West. “Sake” is actually the word that the Japanese use for all alcoholic drinks. What we know as sake, we sometimes refer to as rice wine. Also, the starch in the rice is first converted to sugars that are then fermented into alcohol. This is more akin to a beer-brewing process than wine production, so the end product is really a rice “beer” rather than a rice “wine”.

113. “Snowden” org. : NSA
“Snowden” is a 2016 film co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. It tells the story of computer professional Edward Snowden, who leaked information from the NSA to “The Guardian” newspaper in 2013. The bulk of the leaked material revealed extensive illegal cyber-snooping by the NSA on millions of American citizens, without the knowledge of the US Congress. The title role is played by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

114. ___, cuatro, seis, ocho … : DOS
In Spanish, “dos, cuatro, seis, ocho” translates as “two, four, six, eight”.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Loops in, in a way : BCCS
5. Goddess with a throne headdress : ISIS
9. Tempo : PACE
13. Figs. on drivers’ licenses : HTS
16. When repeated, a Pacific tourist destination : BORA
17. Fish whose name is a celebrity’s name minus an R : OPAH
18. Old bandleader with an Egyptian-inspired name : SUN RA
19. Outrigger projections : OARS
20. Things smoked by singer Courtney? : C LOVE CIGARETTES (from “clove cigarettes”)
23. Scandalmaker in 2002 news : ENRON
24. Speed demon : RACER
25. Headwear the N.B.A. banned in 2005 : DO-RAG
26. Game involving sharp projectiles and alcohol : BEER DARTS
28. Parrot’s cry : AWK!
29. 1950s prez : IKE
31. “Charlie Hustle is my name / I am banned from Hall of Fame,” e.g.? : P ROSE POETRY (from “prose poetry”)
33. Fist bump : DAP
34. “Yes, ___!” : SIRREE
36. Put a coat on : PAINT
37. “Eureka!” moments : AHAS
40. Press : IRON
42. Cloth colorist : DYER
43. Feature of Africa : HORN
44. ___ oil : CANOLA
46. Televangelist Joel : OSTEEN
48. Alternative to “News” and “Maps” in a Google search : VIDEOS
50. Road restriction : NO U-TURN
51. Pugnacious Olympian : ARES
53. Relative of a ferret : MINK
54. Cold and wet : DANK
55. F.B.I.’s div. : DOJ
56. Hoopster Steph not playing at home? : S CURRY AWAY (from “scurry away”)
60. Riffraff : SCUM
62. Japanese watchmaker : SEIKO
64. Like Granny Smith apples : TART
65. Endless chore : SLOG
66. Dickens’s Uriah : HEEP
68. Sega Genesis competitor, in brief : SNES
69. Radiant : AGLOW
71. Intersect : MEET
73. The sport of boxing in the 1960s and ’70s, essentially? : M ALI EMPIRE (from “Mali Empire”)
75. “Nothing to write home about” : MEH
76. Groups with co-pays, briefly : HMOS
78. Jockey strap : REIN
80. “Star Trek: T.N.G.” role : TROI
81. Installment : EDITION
83. Personalized gifts for music lovers : MIX CDS
85. Valet in P. G. Wodehouse stories : JEEVES
89. Contemporary hybrid music genre : NU JAZZ
90. Sots’ sounds : HICS
91. Nickname for Louise : LULU
93. Feast : DINE
94. Sail support : SPAR
95. In unison : AS ONE
97. Echo effect : REVERB
99. El operator in the Windy City, briefly : CTA
100. Hat for pop singer Corey? : C HART TOPPER (from “chart topper”)
103. Anthem contraction : O’ER
104. “Uhh …” : ERM …
105. Show what you know, say : TAKE A TEST
107. “In all probability” : I’D BET
109. Regular : USUAL
111. Obstinate one, astrologically : ARIES
112. Two-time Best Actor winner arriving early? : T HANKS IN ADVANCE (from “thanks in advance”)
115. Four-star rank: Abbr. : GENL
116. Monopoly purchase : HOUSE
117. Singer/songwriter Laura : NYRO
118. Little foxes : KITS
119. Slump : SAG
120. ___ cosa (something else: Sp.) : OTRA
121. Wanders (about) : GADS
122. They begin in juin : ETES

Down
1. Original airer of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” : BBC RADIO
2. Pop competition : COLA WARS
3. Something smoked by comic Chris? : C ROCK POT (from “Crock-Pot”)
4. Hang on to : SAVE
5. Org. against doping : IOC
6. Spindly-limbed : SPIDERY
7. Shakespeare villain : IAGO
8. Photo of Canada’s former prime minister Stephen? : S HARPER IMAGE (from “Sharper Image”)
9. “Stay ___” : PUT
10. Aardvarks, by another name : ANT BEARS
11. Enter surreptitiously : CREEP IN
12. Press lightly, as the brakes : EASE ON
13. He was buried in 1915 and died in 1926 : HARRY HOUDINI
14. Dressage gait : TROT
15. Invoice figs. : SSNS
18. ___ lily : SEGO
19. Fulminating : ON A RANT
21. Dwarf planet more massive than Pluto : ERIS
22. Atypical : RARE
23. Summer hrs. in Phila. : EDT
27. Literary device used to address plot inconsistencies : RETCON
30. Nephrologists study them : KIDNEYS
32. Spies, informally : SPOOKS
35. M.L.K.’s title: Abbr. : REV
38. “Today” personality : AL ROKER
39. Shark’s home : SAN JOSE
41. Close by : NEAR TO
43. Egg producer : HEN
45. Arctic fliers : AUKS
47. Blow it : ERR
49. Like a handyman’s projects, for short : DIY
50. “Anything! Anything at all!” : NAME IT!
52. Shade of pink : SALMON
54. Sword fight, e.g. : DUEL
56. Filament sites, in botany : STAMENS
57. Imprisoned : CAGED UP
58. Underhanded use of someone else’s domain name : URL HIJACKING
59. Troubles : WOES
61. Cherry for talk show host Chelsea? : C HANDLER BING (from “Chandler Bing”)
63. Glimpsed : ESPIED
67. Forswear : PERJURE
70. Genius : WHIZ
72. Arm muscle, informally : TRICEP
73. ___ drop : MIC
74. Miney follower : MOE
77. “Idomeneo” composer : MOZART
79. “All My ___ Live in Texas” : EX’S
82. U.N.C. student : TAR HEEL
83. Figure at the center of a maze : MINOTAUR
84. Tahoe, for one : SUV
86. Entourage of a 1990s white rapper? : V ICE UNIT (from “vice unit”)
87. Musical intermission : ENTR’ACTE
88. Continuous : SEAMLESS
90. Flamboyantly successful sort : HOTSHOT
92. Trampolinist’s wear : LEOTARD
96. Start to -scope : STETHO-
97. Cincinnati squad : REDS
98. Dude, in British lingo : BRUV
101. Smallish batteries : AAS
102. Long spear : PIKE
105. Makes “it” : TAGS
106. Zone : AREA
108. “Dark Sky Island” singer : ENYA
110. Drink sometimes served hot : SAKE
113. “Snowden” org. : NSA
114. ___, cuatro, seis, ocho … : DOS

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10 thoughts on “0108-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Jan 17, Sunday”

  1. 41:07, no errors. I attempted to do this one on my iPad when it first became available yesterday afternoon and it somehow caused the NYT crossword app to freeze, so I had to use my iMac instead. The iPad app is now unfrozen and the "statistics" have been updated to reflect my having done this puzzle, but when I try to retrieve the puzzle, the app freezes again, so I think I may have to delete the app and reinstall it. Computers! Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em!

    Anyway, my solve was complicated by using a slightly different tool and by the fact that Steph Curry, Corey Hart, Stephen Harper, Chelsea Handler, and V (Viscous? Vapid? Vicious? Variety?) Ice were all unknown to me. But I soldiered bravely on … 🙂

  2. 87 down entracte caused a lot of problems, for us.

    along with 104 across erm

    It is done. We are looking forward to next weeks puzzle.

  3. 45:26, no errors. This one was a definite work out for me. Many people and terms were unfamiliar. After finishing the puzzle, and coming here to see the solution, I still needed to go to the Urban Dictionary to find 104A ERM. Seems to be a rather stupid conflation of 'er' and 'um'. Why not just use either er or um and save a letter?

  4. 42:25 and 3 errors in the top left. I agree fully with Lee Sander's summation: STOOPID indeed.

    Dave: V ICE would be Vanilla Ice, maybe you're unfortunate enough to remember his "15 minutes of fame" with "Ice-Ice Baby"?

    As for ERM, that's the British version of "uh" or "umm"; Brits actually pronounce it like that. To hear it, look up any video interviews with Elvis Costello, he uses it quite a bit. Would've made a better clue to make that "intra-english" distinction. But then, that's the thing with puzzles like this. They're neither well constructed, nor well-edited.

    Big thumbs down for this steaming pile.

  5. 1 error in 50 minutes (a wrong guess on 91A-67D). For most part, a very smoothly and well done puzzle with a well-executed theme, in comparison to some over at LAT land as of late.

  6. Regarding SUCH AS: "83D Figure at the center of a maze : MINOTAUR", Bill explains the etymology of its answer word, yet says zip about the clue; i.e., as I don't know of any "Figure at the center of a maze", I was looking forward to learning about it.

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