0803-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 3 Aug 17, Thursday

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CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTOR: Timothy Polin
THEME: Belt Loop
The circled letters in today’s grid are types of BELT, and they LOOP around the puzzle, starting on the right side of the grid and finishing on the left. That LOOPING action is needed to make sense of today’s themed answers:

61A. Waistband sight … or what 20-, 39- and 55-Across each have? : BELT LOOP

20A. Drawings seen in France’s Rouffignac Cave : WOOLLY MAM(MOTHS) – giving “ammo belt”
39A. Headline after a market crash : STOCKS COLL(APSE) – giving “lap belt”
55A. Stuffed garnishes : PIMIENTO O(LIVES) – giving “tool belt”

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 13m 45s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Tough-to-remove stain : STIGMA
A stigma (plural “stigmata), in a social sense, is a distinguishing mark of disgrace. For example, one might have to suffer the stigma of being in prison. The term derives from the Greek “stigma”, which was a mark or brand.

10. Basketball brand : VOIT
Voit is a sporting goods company that was founded by William J. Voit in 1922. Voit invented the first all-rubber inflatable ball, in the late twenties.

18. Concern for the E.P.A. : CLEAN AIR
The air quality index (AQI) is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

19. Outdoor lighting fixtures? : MOTHS
It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.

20. Drawings seen in France’s Rouffignac Cave : WOOLLY MAM(MOTHS)
A relatively well-preserved set of woolly mammoth remains were discovered in Siberia in 2012. The remains included some intact cells, and there is talk about the possibility of cloning the animal who died between 4,000 and 10,000 years ago. Scary stuff …

21. Grey Goose competitor : SKYY
Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

Grey Goose is a vodka that is produced in France. The beverage was developed especially for the American market using resources and expertise available in the French Cognac region.

23. Striplings : LADS
We’ve been calling youths “striplings” since the 14th century. The name probably originates from the description of a youth as a thin strip of a thing. I was a stripling, a long, long time ago …

24. “Love in the Time of ___” (Gabriel García Márquez novel) : 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 the film was widely panned by the critics as a poor adaptation of a great novel.

31. Actress Anderson : LONI
Loni Anderson’s best-remembered role was Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”. Anderson has been married four times, most famously to actor Burt Reynolds from 1988 to 1993.

38. Indoor recess : APSE
The apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

40. “Walkabout” director Nicolas : ROEG
Nicolas Roeg is a film director from England with quite the pedigree when it comes to association with great movies. He contributed to 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia”, and he himself directed noted films like “Walkabout” (1972), “Don’t Look Now” (1973) and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976).

“Walkabout” is an interesting 1971 film set in Australia that stars the lovely English actress Jenny Agutter.The movie is about a teenage girl and her young brother who are stranded in the Australian outback. They are rescued by an Aboriginal youth who then wanders with them through the desert landscape. The young brother is played by Luc Roeg, the son of Nicolas Roeg who directed the film.

41. Pleasure-seeking : HEDONISTIC
A hedonist is someone who seeks to maximise the amount of pleasure in his or her life. “Hedone” is the Greek word for “pleasure”.

42. Cell tower feature : ANTENNA
An antenna’s job is to convert electrical power into radio waves, and radio waves into an electrical signal. The first antennas were built by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1888.

44. ___ vivant : BON
A bon vivant (plural “bons vivants”) is a person who enjoys the best of food and drink, a person with very refined tastes. The term is French, coming from “good living” in that language.

47. Parris Island grp. : USMC
Parris Island is a military installation in South Carolina that is used for the training of enlisted Marines. All female recruits pass through Parris Island, as do male recruits from east of the Mississippi River. Male recruits from west of the Mississippi receive their training in San Diego.

55. Stuffed garnishes : PIMIENTO O(LIVES)
A pimiento (also “pimento”) is a cherry pepper in the chili family. It used to be stuffed into Spanish olives by a tool that took out the pit the same time. Sadly, in these days of modern technology, the pimiento is usually pureed now, mixed with a gum and formed into neat strips, before being stuffed into the olive. Nothing is what it seems anymore …

59. Code broken by rats : OMERTA
“Omertà” is a code of honor in southern Italian society. The term has been adopted by the Mafia to mean a code of silence designed to prevent a Mafioso from becoming an informer. For example, the famous Joe Valachi was someone who broke the code of silence in 1963, informing on the New York Mafia. Valachi’s story was told in the movie “The Valachi Papers”, with Charles Bronson playing the lead.

65. Otherwise called : AKA
Also known as (aka)

66. Spreads, as straw : TEDS
Spreading out newly-mown grass or straw, particularly for drying in the sun, is knowing as “tedding”.

Down
1. Less than 1%, say : SKIM
The fatty component of milk is known as butterfat (sometime “milkfat”). To be labeled whole milk, the butterfat content must be at least 3.25%. Lowfat milk is defined as milk containing 0.5-2% fat, with levels of 1% and 2% commonly found on grocery store shelves. Skim milk must contain less than 0.5% fat, and typically contains 0.1%.

7. Sci-fi character nicknamed “Bones” : MCCOY
The actor DeForest Kelley is best known for playing Bones McCoy in the original “Star Trek” cast. The show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, originally offered Kelley the role of Spock, but Kelly refused it and so was given the part of the ship’s medical officer.

8. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.

11. President whose initials were also his dog’s name : OBAMA
Sunny and Bo are Portuguese water dogs owned by the Obama family. The former First Family chose the Portuguese water dog largely because it is a hypoallergenic breed, and Malia Obama suffers from an allergy to most dogs.

12. Long, old yarn : ILIAD
“The Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer, which tells the story of the ten-year siege of Ilium (also known as Troy) during the Trojan war. “The Odyssey”, also attributed to Homer, is sometimes described as a sequel to “The Iliad”.

16. Nutritional label abbr. : CAL
I wish we’d stop using the term “calorie”, because it is so confusing. In terms of physics, a calorie is amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree celsius (at one atmosphere of pressure). The so called “food calorie” is one thousand times as large, as is defined in terms of kilograms instead of grams. In attempts to differentiate between these two definitions, the former is sometimes referred to as the “small calorie” and is given the symbol “cal”. The latter is referred to as the “large calorie” and given the symbol “Cal”, with a capital C. If only we’d use the SI system of units, we’d be think in just joules, instead of large and small and food calories.

20. Nemesis of the Clanton gang : WYATT EARP
Wyatt Earp is famous as one of the participants in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Earp was a city policeman in Wichita, Kansas and also in Dodge City, Kansas. Earp was also deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona where the O.K. Corral gunfight took place. Years later, Earp joined the Alaska Gold Rush and with a partner built and operated the Dexter Saloon in Nome.

Ike and Billy Clanton participated in what has to be the most famous gunfight in the history of the Old West, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral that took place in Tombstone, Arizona. Strangely enough, the fight didn’t happen at the O.K. Corral, but took place six doors down the street in a vacant lot next to a photography studio.

22. Deity often depicted with blue skin : KRISHNA
In the Hindu tradition, Krishna is recognized as the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. Krishna is usually depicted as a boy or young man playing a flute.

24. Santa ___ : CLARA
The Santa Clara Valley, located just a few miles from me at the south of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

27. One working for the lord : LIEGE
A liege was a feudal lord, one to whom service or allegiance was owed under feudal law. “Liege” was also the term used for one who owed allegiance or service to a lord. Apparently the term is influenced by the Latin verb “ligare” meaning “to tie, bind”. So, I guess both lord and servant were “bound” to each other.

28. Patriarch with 12 sons : JACOB
In the Torah, the Israelites are traced back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Jacob’s twelve sons became the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob’s sons were:

  • Reuben
  • Simeon
  • Levi
  • Judah
  • Dan
  • Naphtali
  • Gad
  • Asher
  • Issachar
  • Zebulun
  • Joseph
  • Benjamin

30. Shellac, e.g. : RESIN
Shellac is a resin that comes not from plants, but from the female lac bug that inhabits forests of India and Thailand. The resin is dissolved in alcohol and sold as “shellac”. Shellac is used today mainly as a wood finish, but it can also be used as a food glaze. Vegans, beware …

34. Also keeps in the know, in a way : CCS
I wonder do the kids of today know that “cc” stands for carbon copy, and do they have any idea what a carbon copy was? Do you remember how messy carbon paper was to handle?

36. Skull and Bones collegian : ELI
Skull and Bones is a secret society at Yale University, founded in 1832. The society is well-funded, and even owns a 40-acre island in Upstate New York that members and alumni use as a retreat. Noted members of Skull and Bones included William F. Buckley, Jr., President Bush (both father and son) and Senator John Kerry. And President William Howard Taft was the son of one of the society’s founders. “Bones” was a male-only society right up until 1991, when alumni voted to accept female members.

37. “Cake Boss” channel : TLC
The cable channel known today as TLC started out life as The Learning Channel. Programming on TLC was originally focused on educational content, but today there is an emphasis on reality television.

“Cake Boss” is a reality show set in Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey. Apparently the show is very popular, and Carlo’s Bake Shop has become quite the tourist attraction.

46. Modern home of ancient Tripolitania : LIBYA
The Italo-Turkish War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 1911 and October 1912. At the end of the conflict the Ottoman Empire ceded to Italy the three provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. These provinces became Italian North Africa, and ultimately the country that we know today as Libya. The name “Libya” comes from the Ancient Greek “Libúē”, the historical name for Northwest Africa.

48. Cache : STORE
A cache is a secret supply. We imported the term into English from French Canadian trappers in the 17th century. Back then, “cache” was a slang term for a “hiding place for stores”, derived from the French verb “cacher” meaning “to hide”.

51. Lucky strike? : LODE
A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The “mother lode” is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

52. Wide-screen format : IMAX
The IMAX Corporation, which is behind the IMAX film format, is a Canadian company. The impetus for developing the system came after Expo ’67 in Montreal. Back then large format screenings were accomplished using multiple projectors with multiple screens, with images basically stitched together. The team behind the IMAX technology set out to simplify things, and developed a single-camera, single-projector system.

53. Magma conduit : VENT
Magma is the molten material below the Earth’s surface. When magma cools, it forms igneous rock. “Magma” is a Greek term used for a thick ointment.

54. “And so …” : ERGO …
“Ergo” is the Latin word for “hence, therefore”.

57. Visitor to Rick’s Café Américain : ILSA
The fictional Rick’s Café Américain is the main setting used in the movie “Casablanca”, with the café owner played by Humphrey Bogart. Should you ever visit Morocco, you might try visiting Rick’s Café Casablanca, an establishment opened in 2004 that largely recreates the look and feel of the memorable movie set.

58. Figures in the 2016 film “Arrival,” for short : ETS
Extraterrestrial (ET)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Tough-to-remove stain : STIGMA
7. Cracked : MAD
10. Basketball brand : VOIT
14. Big report : KABOOM!
15. Severe test : CRUCIBLE
17. Gets frosty : ICES UP
18. Concern for the E.P.A. : CLEAN AIR
19. Outdoor lighting fixtures? : MOTHS
20. Drawings seen in France’s Rouffignac Cave : WOOLLY MAM(MOTHS)
21. Grey Goose competitor : SKYY
23. Striplings : LADS
24. “Love in the Time of ___” (Gabriel García Márquez novel) : CHOLERA
28. Shake : JAR
31. Actress Anderson : LONI
32. What putting one’s finger to one’s lips may mean : IT’S A SECRET
38. Indoor recess : APSE
39. Headline after a market crash : STOCKS COLL(APSE)
40. “Walkabout” director Nicolas : ROEG
41. Pleasure-seeking : HEDONISTIC
42. Cell tower feature : ANTENNA
44. ___ vivant : BON
45. British title holder : EARL
47. Parris Island grp. : USMC
51. Video game units : LIVES
55. Stuffed garnishes : PIMIENTO O(LIVES)
59. Code broken by rats : OMERTA
61. Waistband sight … or what 20-, 39- and 55-Across each have? : BELT LOOP
62. What red may mean : DANGER
63. “You got it!” : YES, SIREE!
64. Acquire via blackmail : EXTORT
65. Otherwise called : AKA
66. Spreads, as straw : TEDS

Down
1. Less than 1%, say : SKIM
2. Order across the border : TACO
3. Sarcastic response : I BET!
4. “Holy smokes!” : GOSH!
5. Salon stuff : MOUSSE
6. Hype (up) : AMP
7. Sci-fi character nicknamed “Bones” : MCCOY
8. 1968 self-titled folk album : ARLO
9. Drawing contest? : DUEL
10. Like records that are easily broken? : VINYL
11. President whose initials were also his dog’s name : OBAMA
12. Long, old yarn : ILIAD
13. Come to ___ : TERMS
16. Nutritional label abbr. : CAL
20. Nemesis of the Clanton gang : WYATT EARP
22. Deity often depicted with blue skin : KRISHNA
24. Santa ___ : CLARA
25. Biker’s invitation : HOP ON
26. Dawn : ONSET
27. One working for the lord : LIEGE
28. Patriarch with 12 sons : JACOB
29. ___ quarter (refuse mercy) : ASK NO
30. Shellac, e.g. : RESIN
33. What might make up for lost ground? : SOD
34. Also keeps in the know, in a way : CCS
35. Corruption : ROT
36. Skull and Bones collegian : ELI
37. “Cake Boss” channel : TLC
43. One living in the sticks, e.g. : NESTER
46. Modern home of ancient Tripolitania : LIBYA
47. Dark : UNLIT
48. Cache : STORE
49. Made field calls? : MOOED
50. Carries on through difficulty : COPES
51. Lucky strike? : LODE
52. Wide-screen format : IMAX
53. Magma conduit : VENT
54. “And so …” : ERGO …
56. Not assertive : MEEK
57. Visitor to Rick’s Café Américain : ILSA
58. Figures in the 2016 film “Arrival,” for short : ETS
60. Works in a salon : ART

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6 thoughts on “0803-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 3 Aug 17, Thursday”

  1. 28 minutes for this one. I finished the entire puzzle without getting the theme, but the clock was still ticking so I had an error. I discovered the error and the theme at the same time. Better late than never. Good one.

    Best –

  2. 18:31, no errors. Did it late Wednesday night and forgot to post my results the next day. Didn't fully understand the theme until I came here, either. (Got the "looping" part, but didn't notice the circled letters. Just out of it, I guess … 🙂

  3. 20:57, no errors. Got APSE and LIVES without seeing the theme, but not MOTHS. Figured out the LOOPing part while trying to fill in 20A, 39A and 55A. Initially entered BELT LINE, before BELT LOOP. Figured out the AMMO, LAP and TOOL gimmick, after the solving the puzzle.

  4. 23:51, and 2 mistakes, caused by thinking "STOCKS COLD" was the fill for 39A. Lucky there werren't more. It took forever for STIGMA and SKIM to emerge from the haze for me, testament to the cynical clueing.

    The "theme" (if you can really call it that) was just horrible. Too clever for its own good by half.

  5. Fun, dense theme, which was fun to piece together. One error: MCCOY/SKYY cross. Ended carelessly with MCOe/SKYe, even though an occasional imbiber of SKYY vodka.

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