0212-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 12 Feb 17, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Lynn Lempel
THEME: The Splits
Each of today’s themed answer is a common phrase in which one word has been SPLIT into two separate words:

23A. Berate some guy for getting too much sun? : GO OFF ON A TAN GENT (from “go off on a tangent”)
37A. Suggestion to a bored short story writer? : POE, TRY READING (from “poetry reading”)
55A. Result of a serious wardrobe malfunction at the beach? : BRA IN WAVES (from “brain waves”)
74A. Scientist’s dilemma regarding work vs. play? : LAB OR PARTY (from “Labor Party”)
86A. Dismaying announcement about disaster aid? : JUST ICE FOR ALL (from “justice for all”)
106A. Roker’s appeal before gastric bypass surgery? : FAT AL ATTRACTION (from “Fatal Attraction”)
16A. “That villain in comics has sure gotta be sore!”? : FU MANCHU MUST ACHE (from “Fu Manchu mustache”)
36A. What a cash-strapped beau might take you on? : UNFUNDED MAN DATES (from “unfunded mandates”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 24m 32s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Topic for Dr. Ruth : LIBIDO
“Libido” is a term first popularized by Sigmund Freud. Freud’s usage was more general than is understood today, as he used “libido” to describe all instinctive energy that arose in the subconscious. He believed that we humans are driven by two desires, the desire for life (the libido, or Eros) and the desire for death (Thanatos). Personally, I don’t agree …

Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a German sex therapist who made a name for herself as a media personality. Westheimer is the daughter of Orthodox Jews and was sent away from Germany by her family just before WWII. She ended up in Palestine and participated in the 1948 Palestine War serving as a scout and sniper. Westheimer was seriously wounded, and spent several months unable to walk. She moved to France in 1950, and soon after arrived in the US. It was in the US where she did her training as a sex therapist.

22. Blue hue : AZURE
The term “azure” came into English from Persian via Old French. The French word “l’azur” was taken from the Persian name for a place in northeastern Afghanistan called “Lazhward” which was the main source of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The stone has a vivid blue color, and “azure” has been describing this color since the 14th century.

25. Like most “Quo Vadis” characters : ROMAN
“Quo Vadis” is an epic drama made in 1951, an adaptation of the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. At the top of the bill are Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr, with Peter Ustinov playing the Emperor Nero. There was also an uncredited extra making her first appearance on the screen, a young lady by the name of Sophia Loren.

27. “A bit of talcum / Is always walcum” writer : NASH
The poet Ogden Nash was well known for his light and humorous verse. Here a couple:

Reflection on Babies
A bit of talcum
Is always walcum.

The Parent
Children aren’t happy with nothing to ignore,
And that’s what parents were created for.

28. Banquet : DINE
A banquet is an elaborate feast. “Banquet” is a term that seems to have reversed in meaning over time. Coming into English via French from Old Italian, “banquet” is derived from “banco” meaning “bench”. The original “banco” meal was simply a snack eaten on a bench, rather than at a table.

29. For whom Nancy was first lady : RONALD
Nancy Davis was working as a Hollywood actress when she met Ronald Reagan for the first time in 1949. Prior to starting a relationship with the future US president, Davis had dated some famous actors, including Clark Gable, Robert Stack and Peter Lawford. Reagan had divorced his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, the year before he met Nancy Davis. Davis and Reagan married in 1952, with actor William Holden serving as the best man.

34. Bearded animal : GNU
A gnu is also known as a wildebeest, an antelope that is native to Africa. Wildebeest is actually the Dutch word for “wild beast”.

37. Suggestion to a bored short story writer? : POE, TRY READING (from “poetry reading”)
Edgar Allan Poe lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious from either drugs or alcohol. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.

40. Book reviewer?: Abbr. : CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

43. Having less heft : LANKER
The term “lank” can describe something that is straight and flat, particularly hair. The usage was extended in the early 1800s (especially in the form “lanky”) to mean “awkwardly tall and thin”.

45. Swinging Ernie : ELS
Ernie Els is a South African golfer. Els a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. He is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

46. 35-nation alliance, briefly : OAS
The Organization of American States (OAS) has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. All the independent states in the Americas are members of the group except Honduras, which had its membership suspended after the country’s 2009 coup.

49. Kids’ TV character who refers to himself in the third person : ELMO
The “Sesame Street” character has a birthday every February 3rd, and on that birthday he always turns 3½ years old. The man behind/under Elmo on “Sesame Street” is Kevin Clash. If you want to learn more about Elmo and Clash, you can watch the 2011 documentary “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”.

51. Greenhorn on the force : RAW RECRUIT
A “greenhorn” is a young-horned animal, and is a term that is now applied to any inexperienced person.

54. Horse for hire : STUD
The word “stud”, meaning “a male horse kept for breeding”, is derived from the Old English word “stod”, which described a whole herd of horses. The term “stud” can be used figuratively for a “ladies’ man”.

60. First name in daredevilry : EVEL
Daredevil Evel Knievel contracted hepatitis C from the many blood transfusions that he needed after injuries incurred during stunts. He had to have a liver transplant as a result, but his health declined after that. Knievel eventually passed away in 2007.

63. He can be seen at the western end of the National Mall, informally : ABE
The Lincoln Memorial is my favorite place to visit in the whole of Washington D.C. The memorial was designed by Henry Bacon, and the sculptor of the magnificent statue of President Lincoln was Daniel Chester French. I spent a wonderful afternoon a few years ago touring the workshop and home of French, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The workshop is stunning, with miniature studies for his magnus opus, the Lincoln Statue, as well as many other beautiful works.

73. It may deliver a punch : LADLE
The drink we call “punch” can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, but usually contains some fruit juice and/or fruit. The original “punch” was served in India, and the name comes from the Hindi word “panch” meaning “five”. This name was used because the traditional drink had “five” ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water and tea or spices.

76. “My only love sprung from my only ___!”: Juliet : HATE
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

80. Archives material : FICHE
A microfiche is a micro-reproduction of some document(s) on a flat sheet of film. Usually a fiche can fit 98 document-size pages, reducing the storage space required by up to 95%.

82. Sight at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park : APE
Gombe Stream National Park was where anthropologist Jane Goodall did her work.

Jane Goodall is a British anthropologist, famous for studying wild chimpanzees in Africa for 45 years. Working at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Goodall made many discoveries. She was the first to see chimps constructing and using tools, an activity thought to be limited to the human species. She also found out that chimpanzees are vegetarians.

91. What’s right in front of the tee? : ESS
In the alphabet, the letter S (ess) is right in front of the letter T (tee).

92. Photographer Arbus : DIANE
Diane Arbus was a photographer famous for producing black & white images of the unusual and less than savory aspects of life. The 2006 movie “Fur” presents a fictionalized account of her life and work, with Nicole Kidman playing Arbus.

94. Old gang weapons : GATS
“Gat” is slang for “gun”. The term is derived from the Gatling gun, the precursor to the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was invented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861. Apparently he was inspired to invent it so that one man could do as much damage as a hundred, thereby reducing the size of armies and diminishing the suffering caused by war. Go figure …

97. Bit of cushioning : PEANUT
Styrofoam is an extruded polystyrene foam made by The Dow Chemical Company. Styrofoam has loads of applications, including home insulation and use as a buoyancy aid. It is also formed into “peanuts” used as a packaging filler.

101. “Waterloo” band : ABBA
We have a big event across Europe every year called the Eurovision Song Contest. Each nation enters one song in competition with each other, and then voters across the whole continent decide on the winner. That’s how ABBA got their big break when they won in 1974 with “Waterloo”.

106. Roker’s appeal before gastric bypass surgery? : FAT AL ATTRACTION (from “Fatal Attraction”)
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 …

“Fatal Attraction” is a an exceptional thriller released in 1987, starring Micheal Douglas and Glenn Close. The movie is about a married man who has a brief affair with a woman who then obsessively stalks him. There’s a famous scene where the Michael Douglas character discovers that his stalker has killed the family pet rabbit and left it stewing in a pot on his stove. In the British Isles “bunny boiler” is now a common enough term used to describe a crazed woman …

110. Bad look : EVIL EYE
The “evil eye” is a curse that is cast by giving a malicious glare.

Down
1. Tour grp. since 1950 : LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women’s sports professional organization in the US.

2. Breakfast chain : IHOP
The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests!

5. “What’s the ___?” : DIF
What’s the dif, the difference?

6. Alito’s Supreme Court predecessor : O’CONNOR
Sandra Day O’Connor is a former Associate justice on the US Supreme Court. O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the court, and was in office from 1981 after being appointed by President Reagan. As the court became more conservative she was viewed as the swing vote in many decisions. As a result, O’Connor was known as one of the most powerful women in the world. She retired in 2006 (replaced by Samuel Alito), and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George W. Bush. Alito is the second Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court (Antonin Scalia was the first). Alito studied law at Yale and while in his final year he left the country for the first time in his life, heading to Italy to work on his thesis about the Italian legal system.

7. Creature on the movie poster for “The Silence of the Lambs” : MOTH
“The Silence of the Lambs” is a 1991 psychological drama based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. Jodie Foster plays FBI trainee Clarice Starling, and Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter. “The Silence of the Lambs” swept the Big Five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay) for that year, being only the third movie ever to do so. The other two so honored were “It Happened One Night” (1934) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975).

8. With 34-Down, longtime public radio host : IRA …
(34D. See 8-Down : … GLASS)
Ira Glass is a well-respected presenter on American Public Radio, most noted for his show “This American Life”. I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira’s first cousin.

11. Docket : AGENDA
“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

A docket is the official summary of proceedings in a court of law. The term is sometimes used (informally) to refer a court’s calendar of cases.

12. With 42-Down, “Frosty the Snowman” singer : GENE …
(42. See 12-Down : … AUTRY)
“Frosty the Snowman” is a song that was recorded first by Gene Autry, in 1950. The song was specifically written in the hope that it would become a follow-up hit to Autry’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” that topped the charts the previous year.

14. Pacific island wrap : SARONG
Sarong is the Malay word for “sheath”, and a sarong was originally the garment worn by Malay men and women around their waists. The Malay sarong is actually a tube of fabric, about a yard wide and two-and-a-half yards “long”. Many variations of the sarong are worn all over South Asia and the Pacific Islands. I had occasion to wear one in Hawaii many years ago, and found it very … freeing!

15. Worry of stratospheric proportions : OZONE
Ozone gets its name from the Greek word ozein, meaning “to smell”. It was given this name as ozone’s formation during lightning storms was detected by the gas’s distinctive smell. Famously, there is a relatively high concentration of the gas in the “ozone layer” in the Earth’s stratosphere. This ozone layer provides a vital function for animal life on the planet as it absorbs most of the sun’s UV radiation. A molecule of ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms, whereas a “normal” oxygen has just two atoms.

17. Desiccated ___ Sea : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on his environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet Union irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the lake now completely dry. Sad …

33. Those who need sound memories, per Montaigne : LIARS
Michel de Montaigne was a prominent writer of the French Renaissance, and is noted for making popular the essay (“essai” in French”) as a legitimate genre of literature.

35. W. Hemisphere treaty of 1994 : NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is between Canada, Mexico and the United States. When NAFTA came into force in 1994 it set up the largest free trade zone in the world.

44. Beatrix Potter’s genre : KIDDIE LIT
Beatrix Potter was an English author, famous for the children’s books she wrote and illustrated. The most famous character in her stories was Peter Rabbit, whose sisters were Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. Potter put her talent as an artist to good use in the scientific world as well. She recorded many images of lichens and fungi as seen through her microscope. As a result of her work, she was respected as an expert mycologist.

50. ___ Palmas (Spanish province) : LAS
The Spanish province of Las Palmas comprises about half of the islands of Gran Canaria, and several other small islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa. Gran Canaria is perhaps better known as the “Canary Islands” in English.

55. Club cousins : BLTS
The BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) is the second most popular sandwich in the US, after the plain old ham sandwich.

The club sandwich is a double-decker affair with three layers of bread and two layers of filling. This style of sandwich has been around since the end of the 19th century, and some say it was invented at an exclusive gambling “club” in Saratoga Springs, New York.

56. Utah’s ___ State University : WEBER
Weber State University is located in Ogden, Utah. The school was founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is named for a fur trader named John Henry Weber.

59. Cap similar to a tam-o’-shanter : BERET
A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap traditionally worn by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam O’Shanter”.

61. London tea accessory : COSY
A tea cozy is an insulated cover for a teapot, something to keep the tea hot. I don’t know what I’d do without my tea cosy/cozy …

64. 1950s French president René : COTY
René Coty was the President of France from 1954 to 1959 (succeeding Vincent Auriol), and notably presided over the Algerian War. Coty resigned after five years, making way for the 7-year term of Charles de Gaulle.

66. Abductor of Persephone : HADES
Hades was the god of the underworld to the ancient Greeks. Over time, Hades gave his name to the underworld itself, the place where the dead reside. The term “Hades” was also adopted into the Christian tradition, as an alternative name for hell. But, the concept of hell in Christianity is more akin to the Greek “Tartarus”, which is a dark and gloomy dungeon located in Hades, a place of suffering and torment.

In Greek mythology, Persephone was made queen of the underworld after having been abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.

67. Exhibitor at 1863’s Salon des Refusés : MANET
Édouard Manet was a French painter whose works are mainly classified as Realist. Manet was friends with Impressionists masters like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and greatly influenced the Impressionist movement. The list of Manet’s marvelous paintings includes “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe”, “Le Repose” and “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”.

69. “Grand Hotel” star, 1932 : GARBO
Famously, Greta Garbo lived a life of seclusion in New York City after she retired from the entertainment business. Commentators often associated her need for privacy with a line she uttered in the great 1932 movie “Grand Hotel”. Her character Grusinskaya the Russian ballerina said, “I want to be alone (…) I just want to be alone”.

“Grand Hotel” is a marvelous film released in 1932 based on a book of the same name by William A. Drake. Drake himself had based his book on a novel by Vicki Baum titled “Menschen im Hotel”. The 1932 movie has a stellar cast including Greta Garbo and John Barrymore. “Grand Hotel” was remade in 1945 as ‘Week-End at the Waldorf”, a film I saw not that long ago starring Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon.

70. A.A. or AAA : ORG
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935, by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. As the organization grew, the guiding principles established by the founders were formatted into a 12-step program that was in place by the forties.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

72. Tool parts used for bending things : PEENS
The peen of a hammer is on the head, and is the side of the head that is opposite the striking surface. Often the peen is in the shape of a hemisphere (as in a ball-peen hammer), but usually it is shaped like a claw (mainly for removing nails).

75. High hairdos : POUFS
The “pouf” is an “updo” type of hairstyle that was popularized in the 18th-century France by Marie Antoinette. The French queen first sported the pouf at the coronation of her husband, Louis XVI. Ladies of the day would often wear many ornaments and decorations in their hair set in a pouf, such as pearls, feathers and even ships.

86. Devil-may-care : JAUNTY
Our words “jaunty” and “genteel” are related in that they both derive from the French “gentil” meaning “nice, pleasing”. In modern usage, someone described as jaunty has a buoyant air. Someone described as genteel is refined in manner.

90. Gaming trailblazer : ATARI
At one point, the electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was the fastest growing company in US history. However, Atari never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983.

96. Having no room for more : SATED
“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

97. Fuel from a fen : PEAT
When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because this decaying matter can form peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs.

100. Editor’s override : STET
“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

104. Presently : ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once” and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon” apparently just because the word was misused over time.

108. Corp. bigwig : CFO
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Topic for Dr. Ruth : LIBIDO
7. Reimbursed expense for a commuter, maybe : MILEAGE
14. As yet : SO FAR
19. Sound system? : PHONICS
21. Major export of Florida : ORANGES
22. Blue hue : AZURE
23. Berate some guy for getting too much sun? : GO OFF ON A TAN GENT (from “go off on a tangent”)
25. Like most “Quo Vadis” characters : ROMAN
26. Altar spot : APSE
27. “A bit of talcum / Is always walcum” writer : NASH
28. Banquet : DINE
29. For whom Nancy was first lady : RONALD
30. Gives an order : RANKS
32. Remain undecided : PEND
33. Fabric from flax : LINEN
34. Bearded animal : GNU
37. Suggestion to a bored short story writer? : POE, TRY READING (from “poetry reading”)
40. Book reviewer?: Abbr. : CPA
43. Having less heft : LANKER
45. Swinging Ernie : ELS
46. 35-nation alliance, briefly : OAS
47. Drive-___ : THRU
48. Fasten : AFFIX
49. Kids’ TV character who refers to himself in the third person : ELMO
51. Greenhorn on the force : RAW RECRUIT
54. Horse for hire : STUD
55. Result of a serious wardrobe malfunction at the beach? : BRA IN WAVES (from “brain waves”)
57. Hit one out : HOMER
58. Clean with a pressurized spray : SANDBLAST
60. First name in daredevilry : EVEL
61. Turbid : CLOUDY
62. Weighty matters? : DIETS
63. He can be seen at the western end of the National Mall, informally : ABE
64. Pens for hens : COOPS
65. Toast word : CHEERS
67. M, on a form : MALE
69. March movement : GOOSE STEP
73. It may deliver a punch : LADLE
74. Scientist’s dilemma regarding work vs. play? : LAB OR PARTY (from “Labor Party”)
76. “My only love sprung from my only ___!”: Juliet : HATE
77. Entry : ADMITTANCE
79. Wild revelry : ORGY
80. Archives material : FICHE
81. Gist : MEAT
82. Sight at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park : APE
83. Gist : NUB
84. It’s a drain : SIPHON
85. Entry on an I.R.S. form: Abbr. : SSN
86. Dismaying announcement about disaster aid? : JUST ICE FOR ALL (from “justice for all”)
91. What’s right in front of the tee? : ESS
92. Photographer Arbus : DIANE
94. Old gang weapons : GATS
95. Heart of the matter? : ATOMS
97. Bit of cushioning : PEANUT
99. Arrears : DEBT
100. Glitch : SNAG
101. “Waterloo” band : ABBA
105. Corroded : EATEN
106. Roker’s appeal before gastric bypass surgery? : FAT AL ATTRACTION (from “Fatal Attraction”)
109. Turn aside : AVERT
110. Bad look : EVIL EYE
111. Five-alarmer : INFERNO
112. Irritable : TESTY
113. Spreadsheet contents : DATA SET
114. Dripping : SODDEN

Down
1. Tour grp. since 1950 : LPGA
2. Breakfast chain : IHOP
3. Disapproving sounds : BOOS
4. Gather : INFER
5. “What’s the ___?” : DIF
6. Alito’s Supreme Court predecessor : O’CONNOR
7. Creature on the movie poster for “The Silence of the Lambs” : MOTH
8. With 34-Down, longtime public radio host : IRA
9. Some space vehicles : LANDERS
10. It must turn over to start : ENGINE
11. Docket : AGENDA
12. With 42-Down, “Frosty the Snowman” singer : GENE
13. Super suffix? : -EST
14. Pacific island wrap : SARONG
15. Worry of stratospheric proportions : OZONE
16. “That villain in comics has sure gotta be sore!”? : FU MANCHU MUST ACHE (from “Fu Manchu mustache”)
17. Desiccated ___ Sea : ARAL
18. Tear apart : REND
20. Plunger alternative : SNAKE
24. Deputy: Abbr. : ASST
29. Dentist’s directive : RINSE
31. Tip : APEX
32. Traffic cone : PYLON
33. Those who need sound memories, per Montaigne : LIARS
34. See 8-Down : GLASS
35. W. Hemisphere treaty of 1994 : NAFTA
36. What a cash-strapped beau might take you on? : UNFUNDED MAN DATES (from “unfunded mandates”)
38. Pay : REMIT
39. Certain rod : DOWEL
41. Was a busybody : PRIED
42. See 12-Down : AUTRY
44. Beatrix Potter’s genre : KIDDIE LIT
47. Conveyance for soldiers : TROOPSHIP
49. Timeline sections : ERAS
50. ___ Palmas (Spanish province) : LAS
51. Talk wildly : RAVE
52. Way to go: Abbr. : AVE
53. Pricey French fashion label : CHLOE
55. Club cousins : BLTS
56. Utah’s ___ State University : WEBER
59. Cap similar to a tam-o’-shanter : BERET
61. London tea accessory : COSY
63. Fleshy-leaved succulent : ALOE
64. 1950s French president René : COTY
65. Steamed seafood dish : CLAMS
66. Abductor of Persephone : HADES
67. Exhibitor at 1863’s Salon des Refusés : MANET
68. Something easy, so they say : ABC
69. “Grand Hotel” star, 1932 : GARBO
70. A.A. or AAA : ORG
71. Group’s basic beliefs : ETHOS
72. Tool parts used for bending things : PEENS
74. Run out : LAPSE
75. High hairdos : POUFS
78. Jeer : TAUNT
80. Take some shots : FILM
83. Annoys : NETTLES
84. Ad agency output : SLOGANS
86. Devil-may-care : JAUNTY
87. “Aha!” : I GET IT!
88. Mystical doctrine : CABALA
89. Talk wildly : RANT
90. Gaming trailblazer : ATARI
93. Sluggish : INERT
96. Having no room for more : SATED
97. Fuel from a fen : PEAT
98. Building’s rain diverter : EAVE
99. Sobel who wrote the Pulitzer-nominated “Galileo’s Daughter” : DAVA
100. Editor’s override : STET
102. One with a lot of tweets : BIRD
103. Treat for a dog : BONE
104. Presently : ANON
106. Supplied : FED
107. Parliamentary support : AYE
108. Corp. bigwig : CFO

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5 thoughts on “0212-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 12 Feb 17, Sunday”

  1. 34:18, no errors. Not too difficult, but I made my share of missteps along the way. I didn't remember the name DAVA Sobel, but apparently she wrote the book "Longitude", which I read and very much enjoyed.

  2. 40:37, no errors. Also committed several missteps along the way. 3D TSKS before BOOS; 30A TASKS before RANKS; 51A NEW RECRUIT > RAW RECRUIT; 68D PIE > ABC.

  3. 44 mins 44 sec, and I had to give in, with 90% filled in properly. The rest were blanks or mistakes. That's the nature of these punny puzzles… sometimes you can get 'em, sometimes you can't.

  4. Got more kicks out of this one than I usually do on a Sunday. Theme answers varied from clever and amusing to not-all-that-good, I thought, but on the whole I enjoyed it.

  5. Didn't get to time this one, but had a lot of trouble with it – I'd hate to see what my actual time was (2-3 hrs for sure). Finished with 2 errors (one stupid, one relatively not).

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