0206-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 6 Feb 17, Monday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today’s New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

CROSSWORD SETTER: Andy Hinz
THEME: Hidden Camera
The circled letters in today’s grid are HIDDEN words in today’s themed answers, with each being a brand of CAMERA:

51A. Common security device … or a feature of 20-, 33- or 38-Across : HIDDEN CAMERA

20A. “Keeping my fingers crossed” : I CAN ONLY HOPE (hiding “Canon”)
33A. Exercise area for convicts : PRISON YARD (hiding “Sony”)
38A. First satellite to orbit Earth : SPUTNIK ONE (hiding “Nikon”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 5m 29s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

9. Moon-related : LUNAR
“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero.

15. Iris’s place in the eye : UVEA
The uvea is the middle of the three layers that make up the eyeball. The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.

17. Food grown in a paddy : RICE
A paddy field is the flooded piece of land used to grow rice. The water reduces competition from weeds allowing the rice to thrive. The word “paddy” has nothing to do with us Irish folk, and is an anglicized version of the word “padi”, the Malay name for the rice plant.

18. Transport for Huck Finn : RAFT
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain was first published in 1884, not here in the US but rather in England. The original launch planned for the US had to be delayed until the following year because some rascal had defaced the plate for one of the illustrations, making an obscene joke. Once the problem was spotted a new plate had to be made, and 30,000 copies already printed had to be reworked to cover up the obscenity.

20. “Keeping my fingers crossed” : I CAN ONLY HOPE (hiding “Canon”)
The Japanese company called Canon is largely known in the US for producing quality cameras. The company started out as Precision Optical Industry Laboratory in 1937 making camera bodies. The name was changed in 1947 to Canon.

23. Chilled jelly dishes : ASPICS
Aspic is a dish in which the main ingredients are served in a gelatin made from meat stock. “Aspic” is a French word for “jelly”.

24. Philosopher and social activist West : CORNEL
Cornel West is a philosopher, academic and activist who was the first African American to graduate Princeton with a Ph.D. in philosophy.

30. Gabriel García Márquez novel “Love in the Time of ___” : CHOLERA
“Love in the Time of Cholera” (“El amor en los tiempos del cólera” in the original Spanish) is a 1985 novel by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Márquez. The book was first published in English in 1988. A famous Hollywood movie version came out in 2007, although it was widely panned by the critics as a poor adaptation of a great novel.

31. Chunk of ice in the ocean : BERG
An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken off from a glacier or ice shelf. Out use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.

33. Exercise area for convicts : PRISON YARD (hiding “Sony”)
Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The two partners met in the Japanese Navy during WWII.

36. Dictator ___ Amin : IDI
Idi Amin received most of his military training in the British armed forces, eventually achieving the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British Colonial Army in 1959, that of Warrant Officer. On his return to Uganda Amin joined his country’s military and quickly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Army. During that time he was quite the athlete. He was a noted rugby player and swimmer, and for nine years held the Ugandan national light-heavyweight boxing title. By the early seventies, Amin was commander of all the armed forces of Uganda and in 1971 seized power in a military coup, displacing the country’s president Milton Obote. There followed seven years of brutal rule by Amin during which it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered. Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after a war with Tanzania, and fled to Libya where he stayed for a year. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he was financially supported by the Saudi Royal Family for the remainder of his life. Amin died in 2003.

37. ___ v. Wade : ROE
Roe v. Wade was decided in a US District Court in Texas in 1970, and reached the Supreme Court on appeal. The basic decision by the Supreme Court was that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy applied to an abortion, but that this right had to be balanced with a state’s interest in protecting an unborn child and a mother’s health. The Court further defined that the state’s interest became stronger with each trimester of a pregnancy. So, in the first trimester the woman’s right to privacy outweighed any state interest. In the second trimester the state’s interest in maternal health was deemed to be strong enough to allow state regulation of abortion for the sake of the mother. In the third trimester the viability of the fetus dictated that the state’s interest in the unborn child came into play, so states could regulate or prohibit abortions, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. I’m no lawyer, but that’s my understanding of the initial Supreme Court decision …

38. First satellite to orbit Earth : SPUTNIK ONE (hiding “Nikon”)
The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite towards the end of 1957, a development that shocked the establishment in the US. Within months, President Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Space Race had begun …

43. Swiss capital : BERN
Bern (sometimes “Berne”, especially in French) is the capital city of Switzerland. The official language of the city is German, but the language most spoken in Bern is a dialect known as Bernese German.

45. Rolling Stones album “Get Yer ___ Out!” : YA-YA’S
“Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!” is a live album that the Rolling Stones released in 1970. The title “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!” is a slang phrase exhorting one to live life to the full.

55. Edible mushroom : MOREL
The morel is that genus of mushroom with the honeycomb-like structure on the cap. They’re highly prized, especially in French cuisine. Morels should never be eaten raw as they are toxic, with the toxins being removed by thorough cooking.

61. Book between Matthew and Luke : MARK
“Gospel” is a term that came to us via Old English. The Old English term is “godspel” meaning “good story”, and referred to the glad tidings announced by Jesus. There are four Gospels in the Christian New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

63. Recurrent theme : TROPE
A “trope” is a figure of speech, from the Greek word “tropos” that has the same meaning.

65. “___ small world after all” : IT’S A
“It’s a Small World” is the name of a surprisingly (to me!) popular ride in Disneyland. The ride was created for the 1964 World’s Fair that was held in New York, and was moved to Disneyland in 1966 after the fair closed. The song that accompanies the ride was written soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the message of peace in the lyrics perhaps reflects the “sigh of relief” that pervaded the globe at the time. The song actually gives its name to the ride, which was originally to be called “Children of the World”.

Down
1. Santa ___ (one of Columbus’s ships) : MARIA
When Columbus made his famous voyage of discovery, the largest of his three ships was the Santa Maria. The Santa Maria ran aground on the coast of Hispaniola on Christmas Day in 1492 and was lost. 39 of Columbus’s men were left behind with the permission of the locals. These men stripped the timbers from the Santa Maria and used them to build a settlement they called La Navidad (Spanish for “Christmas”). La Navidad is now the modern town of Môle-Saint-Nicolas in the Republic of Haiti.

2. “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” for two : EPICS
Homer was a famous poet of Ancient Greece, believed to be the author of the two classic epic poems, the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey”. However, some scholars believe that Homer did not actually exist, but rather he is the personification of oral tradition that was passed down through the ages.

4. Loudly lamenting : KEENING
“To keen” is to wail in lamentation. The word “keening” has its roots in Ireland, coming from the Irish word “caoinim” meaning “I weep, wail, lament”.

12. Aardvark’s morsel : ANT
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.

21. Mil. training academy : OCS
Officer Candidate School (OCS)

29. Actor Estrada and others : ERIKS
Actor Erik Estrada’s big break came with the movie “Airport 1975”, in which he played the doomed flight engineer of a Boeing 747. A couple of years later, Estrada began a six-year gig, co-starring on the television show “CHiPs” as motorcycle police officer Poncherello.

30. TV procedural set in the Big Apple : CSI: NY
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. 1930s British P.M. Chamberlain : NEVILLE
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was in office at the outbreak of WWII. Chamberlain is remembered most perhaps for signing the 1938 Munich Agreement, and what became known as his appeasement policy. The Munich Agreement ceded Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia to Germany, with the intent that this would put an end to Hitler’s aggression. Of course a few month’s later Hitler invaded Poland, and Chamberlain led Britain into war with Germany. A few months into the war, Chamberlain resigned and was succeeded in office by Winston Churchill.

42. What Marie Antoinette supposedly said to “let them” do : EAT CAKE
Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI, the last king of France. Marie Antoinette was the fifteenth of sixteen children born to the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The marriage to Louis, her second cousin once removed, was arranged while the two were very young. The prospective bride was “handed over” to the French at a border crossing in 1770 and two weeks later she was married to the future king. Marie Antoinette was just 14 years of age at the time, and Louis only a year her senior. Both Louis and Marie Antoinette were doomed to lose their heads courtesy of the guillotine during the French Revolution.

43. Indian variety of 17-Across : BASMATI
Basmati is a long grain rice that is commonly used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. The name “basmati” comes from the Sanskrit word “vasmati” meaning “fragrant”. I am a big fan …

49. Brockovich and Burnett : ERINS
Erin Brockovich is an environmental activists who is famous for the role she played in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating drinking water. Her story was told in a 2000 film title “Erin Brockovich” that starred Julia Roberts. Brockovich herself actually appeared in the film as she was given a cameo as a waitress in a restaurant scene.

Erin Burnett is a television journalist, the host of her own show on CNN called “Erin Burnett OutFront”. Apparently Burnett also shows up occasionally as advisor to Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.

50. Many a reggae musician, informally : RASTA
I must admit that I don’t really know much about Rastafarianism. I do know that a “Rasta”, like Bob Marley, is a follower of the movement. Some say that Rastafarianism is a religion, some not. I also know that it involves the worship of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.

Reggae is a genre of music that developed in the late sixties, evolving out of the genres of ska and rocksteady.

53. Biblical son of Isaac : ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

55. Summer hours in Denver: Abbr. : MDT
Denver, Colorado is nicknamed the “Mile-High City” because its official elevation is listed as exactly one mile. Denver City was founded in 1858 as a mining town. The name was chosen in honor of the Kansas Territorial Governor at the time, James W. Denver.

56. Bobby who played 10 seasons with the Boston Bruins : ORR
Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking.

The Boston Bruins professional ice hockey team goes way back, and has been in existence since 1924. The National Hockey League back then was a Canadian-only league, but was expanded to include the US in 1923. The Bruins were the first US-team in the expanded league.

57. ___ Grande : RIO
The Rio Grande (Spanish for “big river”) is a river forming part of the border between Mexico and the United States. Although we call the river the Rio Grande on this side of the border, in Mexico it is called the Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte (Spanish for “furious river of the north”).

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Submissive : MEEK
5. Heading on a list of errands : TO DO
9. Moon-related : LUNAR
14. Church recess : APSE
15. Iris’s place in the eye : UVEA
16. Make amends (for) : ATONE
17. Food grown in a paddy : RICE
18. Transport for Huck Finn : RAFT
19. Days of the week in a calendar heading : M-T-W-T-F
20. “Keeping my fingers crossed” : I CAN ONLY HOPE (hiding “Canon”)
23. Chilled jelly dishes : ASPICS
24. Philosopher and social activist West : CORNEL
28. Follow : ENSUE
30. Gabriel García Márquez novel “Love in the Time of ___” : CHOLERA
31. Chunk of ice in the ocean : BERG
33. Exercise area for convicts : PRISON YARD (hiding “Sony”)
35. Prefix with skeleton : EXO-
36. Dictator ___ Amin : IDI
37. ___ v. Wade : ROE
38. First satellite to orbit Earth : SPUTNIK ONE (hiding “Nikon”)
43. Swiss capital : BERN
44. Attaches by rope, as a ball to a pole : TETHERS
45. Rolling Stones album “Get Yer ___ Out!” : YA-YAS
47. Place to wear one’s heart, in a phrase : SLEEVE
48. Employee at a perfumery : TESTER
51. Common security device … or a feature of 20-, 33- or 38-Across : HIDDEN CAMERA
55. Edible mushroom : MOREL
58. Out on the ocean : ASEA
59. Graph line : AXIS
60. Dentist’s tool : DRILL
61. Book between Matthew and Luke : MARK
62. Color shade : TINT
63. Recurrent theme : TROPE
64. Naked : NUDE
65. “___ small world after all” : IT’S A

Down
1. Santa ___ (one of Columbus’s ships) : MARIA
2. “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” for two : EPICS
3. Means of getaway : ESCAPE ROUTE
4. Loudly lamenting : KEENING
5. Appears after being lost : TURNS UP
6. Egg-shaped : OVAL
7. Challenge : DEFY
8. Inauguration recitation : OATH
9. National ___, bygone humor magazine : LAMPOON
10. Downright : UTTERLY
11. Immediately : NOW
12. Aardvark’s morsel : ANT
13. Coin flipper at the Super Bowl, informally : REF
21. Mil. training academy : OCS
22. Spanish eight : OCHO
25. Something to look for in an emergency : NEAREST EXIT
26. Goof : ERROR
27. Weighed down (with) : LADEN
29. Actor Estrada and others : ERIKS
30. TV procedural set in the Big Apple : CSI: NY
31. Defeats : BESTS
32. Kick out of school : EXPEL
34. Words at the altar : I DO
39. 2011 Oscar-nominated picture set in 1960s Mississippi : THE HELP
40. 1930s British P.M. Chamberlain : NEVILLE
41. Ticked off : IRED
42. What Marie Antoinette supposedly said to “let them” do : EAT CAKE
43. Indian variety of 17-Across : BASMATI
46. Nay’s opposite : YEA
49. Brockovich and Burnett : ERINS
50. Many a reggae musician, informally : RASTA
52. Send to hell : DAMN
53. Biblical son of Isaac : ESAU
54. Jock’s antithesis : NERD
55. Summer hours in Denver: Abbr. : MDT
56. Bobby who played 10 seasons with the Boston Bruins : ORR
57. ___ Grande : RIO

Return to top of page