0908-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Sep 17, Friday

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Constructed by: Sam Trabucco

Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Syndicated Crossword

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Read Comments/Leave a Comment

Theme: None

Bill’s time: 15m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Place to order sardinas and sangria : TAPAS BAR

“Tapa” is the Spanish word for “lid”, and there is no clear rationale for why this word came to be used for an appetizer. There are lots of explanations cited, all of which seem to involve the temporary covering of one’s glass of wine with a plate or item of food to either preserve the wine or give one extra space at the table.

9. Poison ___ : SUMAC

Sumacs are a group of flowering shrubs and small trees that includes poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac (nasty stuff!). The leaves of some species of sumac contain tannins that are used for tanning leather. Morocco leather is an example of the use of sumac tannins.

15. Wordsmith William : SAFIRE

William Safire was a syndicated columnist for the New York Times. He also worked for the Nixon election campaigns in 1960 and 1968, and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

18. Many a Volga native : TATAR

Tatars are an ethnic group of people, mainly residing in Russia (a population of about 5 1/2 million). One of the more famous people with a Tatar heritage was Hollywood actor Charles Bronson. Bronson’s real name was Charles Buchinsky.

The Volga is the longest river in Europe, and is also considered the national river of Russia.

31. Actor Cage, informally : NIC

The actor Nicolas “Nic” Cage was born Nicolas Coppola. Cage is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, both of whom are his father’s siblings.

33. Wheelchair-bound “Glee” character : ARTIE

Artie Abrams is a character in the Fox television show “Glee”. Abrams is played by the young actor Kevin McHale, and is the character who gets around in a wheelchair.

36. Things like “Which Disney Princess Are You?” : BUZZFEED QUIZZES

BuzzFeed is an Internet media company that was founded in 2006 in New York City.

39. Neighbor of a Bosnian : CROAT

The Republic of Croatia is a Balkan country. The Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia became a member of NATO in 2009, and a member of the European Union in 2013.

48. Double-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA

Steely Dan’s heyday was in the seventies when they toured for a couple of years, although the group mainly focused on studio work. The band was formed in 1972 and broke up in 1981. The core of the band reunited in 1993, and is still performing today despite the passing of founding member Walter Becker in 2017. Steely Dan’s best-selling album is “Aja” (pronounced “Asia”), which was released in 1977.

49. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” detective Diaz : ROSA

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is a sitcom set in the 99th precinct of the NYPD in Brooklyn. Star of the show is “Saturday Night Live” alum Andy Samberg, who plays Detective Jake Peralta.

57. “Adios!” : SAYONARA!

“Sayonara” means “farewell” in Japanese.

60. A.F.C. North team : BROWNS

The Cleveland Browns football team was a charter member of the All-American Football Conference, formed in 1946. Cleveland is the only NFL city that has never hosted nor sent a team to the Super Bowl.

61. “D’oh!” : I’M A MORON!

“The Simpsons” is one of the most successful programs produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer Simpson’s catchphrase is “D’oh!”, which became such a famous exclamation that it has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) since 2001. “D’oh!” can be translated as “I should have thought of that!”

62. Shooting game : SKEET

There are three types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports:

  • Skeet shooting
  • Trap shooting
  • Sporting clays

63. Something that’s assumed : FAKE NAME

Down

1. Chief justice appointed by Harding : TAFT

William Howard Taft may have been the 27th President of the United States, but his lifelong ambition was to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. President Taft was able to realize that dream in 1921, eight years after losing his bid for re-election as president. As Chief Justice, this former US President swore in two new presidents: Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). William Howard Taft is also remembered as the most obese president. In the last year of his presidency, he weighed about 340 pounds (he was 5 feet 11 inches tall). Twelve months after leaving the White House, President Taft had dropped 80 pounds and substantially lowered his blood pressure.

2. Inter ___ : ALIA

“Inter alia” is Latin for “among other things”.

8. Who set the standard for the United States? : ROSS

Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first stars and stripes.

9. Valentine, e.g. : SAINT

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s’ day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

10. Certain pay-per-view event organizer, for short : UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …

12. “Capisce?” : ARE WE CLEAR?

“Capeesh?” is a slang term meaning “do you understand?” It comes from the Italian “capisce” meaning “understand”.

20. First principal character encountered by Ishmael in “Moby-Dick” : QUEEQUEG

Queequeg is a character in Herman Melville’s classic tale “Moby Dick”. Queequeg is the chief harpooner on the boat. He is the son of South Sea chieftain, and is also a cannibal who is covered in tattoos.

23. Israeli city that shares its name with a unit of measure : ACRE

Acre is a port city in northern Israel, on Haifa Bay.

26. Hit 1998 animated film : ANTZ

“Antz” was the first feature movie released by Dreamworks SKG, the studio founded by Steven Spielberg and two partners in 1994. “Antz” came out in 1998, and has a stellar cast that includes Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman and many, many other big names. The cartoon is quite unique in that the facial features of the voice actors are reflected in the animated characters.

27. “Closing Bell” channel : CNBC

“Closing Bell” is a business show on CNBC that airs each weekday. As the title suggests, the show covers the period just before the end of trading (the “closing bell”) and reviews that that day on the floor after the market has closed.

29. Comics character seen on gum wrappers : BAZOOKA JOE

The Bazooka brand of bubble gum was introduced by the Topps Company soon after the end of WWII. Bazooka have included comic strips in the wrappers for their gum since the early to mid-fifties. The hero of the strip is Bazooka Joe, a young man who wears an eyepatch.

30. Cousins of Spots : FIDOS

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

37. Billy of “Titanic” : ZANE

Billy Zane is an actor from Chicago, Illinois. One of Zane’s most prominent roles was the title character in the 1996 superhero film called “The Phantom”. He also played the somewhat creepy bad guy in the 1989 thriller movie called “Dead Calm”.

38. ___ Major : URSA

The constellation named Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland, the “plough”.

45. What whole-grain foods and sugary drinks have lots of : CARBS

Only relatively small amounts of carbohydrate can be stored by the human body, but those stores are important. The actual storage molecule is a starch-like polysaccharide called glycogen, which is found mainly in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a quick source of energy when required by the body. Most of the body’s energy is stored in the form of fat, a more compact substance that is mobilized less rapidly. Endurance athletes often eat meals high in carbohydrate (carbo-loading) a few hours before an event, so that their body’s glycogen is at optimum levels.

52. ___ Lee : SARA

In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

53. Last dance? : PROM

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

54. Not a candidate for the invoking of the 25th Amendment, say : SANE

The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the US Constitution defines procedures adopted in the event of a vacancy in the office of the US President or Vice President. Adopted in 1967, the amendment also addresses situations in which the president becomes incapacitated.

58. Supporter of the A.C.A. : AMA

American Medical Association (AMA)

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

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Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Place to order sardinas and sangria : TAPAS BAR

9. Poison ___ : SUMAC

14. Plenty of work ahead : A LOT TO DO

15. Wordsmith William : SAFIRE

16. Tools for escaping the heat? : FIRE AXES

17. Like apples and Afros : PICKED

18. Many a Volga native : TATAR

19. Abbr. in many an area measure : SQ IN

21. Rams fan? : EWE

22. Bare place on the side of a mountain : SCAR

25. Live, in a way : UNTAPED

27. Places to get wired, in two senses of the word : CYBERCAFES

31. Actor Cage, informally : NIC

32. “___ thousand times …” : NO A

33. Wheelchair-bound “Glee” character : ARTIE

34. Tired : STALE

36. Things like “Which Disney Princess Are You?” : BUZZFEED QUIZZES

39. Neighbor of a Bosnian : CROAT

40. Group around a king : COURT

41. Be a buzzkill? : ZAP

42. Length of a long wait, in hyperbole : EON

43. Amount before bonuses : BASE SALARY

45. Dessert on a stick : CAKE POP

47. Receipts : GATE

48. Double-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA

49. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” detective Diaz : ROSA

51. Padlock holders : HASPS

55. Meet up with again : REJOIN

57. “Adios!” : SAYONARA!

60. A.F.C. North team : BROWNS

61. “D’oh!” : I’M A MORON!

62. Shooting game : SKEET

63. Something that’s assumed : FAKE NAME

Down

1. Chief justice appointed by Harding : TAFT

2. Inter ___ : ALIA

3. Trading hub : PORT

4. Lolling : AT EASE

5. Hit sci-fi video game set around the 26th century : STARCRAFT

6. Crossword unit : BOX

7. Summertime cooler : ADE

8. Who set the standard for the United States? : ROSS

9. Valentine, e.g. : SAINT

10. Certain pay-per-view event organizer, for short : UFC

11. Catcher who won a record 10 consecutive Silver Slugger Awards : MIKE PIAZZA

12. “Capisce?” : ARE WE CLEAR?

13. Gave up : CEDED

15. Does some postdebate political commentary : SPINS

20. First principal character encountered by Ishmael in “Moby-Dick” : QUEEQUEG

23. Israeli city that shares its name with a unit of measure : ACRE

24. Some loan specifications : RATE CAPS

26. Hit 1998 animated film : ANTZ

27. “Closing Bell” channel : CNBC

28. Intemperate put-down : YOU’RE A JERK!

29. Comics character seen on gum wrappers : BAZOOKA JOE

30. Cousins of Spots : FIDOS

34. Not go out : SIT AT HOME

35. Spot : ESPY

37. Billy of “Titanic” : ZANE

38. ___ Major : URSA

43. Unexpected benefits : BOONS

44. Pressure : LEAN ON

45. What whole-grain foods and sugary drinks have lots of : CARBS

46. Counterpart to digital : PRINT

50. Expression of doubt : AS IF

52. ___ Lee : SARA

53. Last dance? : PROM

54. Not a candidate for the invoking of the 25th Amendment, say : SANE

56. “How much do I ___?” : OWE

58. Supporter of the A.C.A. : AMA

59. Go on and on : YAK

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13 thoughts on “0908-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 Sep 17, Friday”

  1. 29:38, no errors, but with a number of lucky guesses at things half-remembered and/or completely unknown to me – another one of those puzzles which, if turned into a simple fill-in-the-blanks quiz instead of a crossword, I would fail miserably on. Strange.

  2. Sadly, Walter Becker of Steely Dan passed away this fall. Hence, the band is not “still going strong today.”

    1. @Daniel Humiston
      Thanks for that sad news about Walter Becker. I’ve update my little blurb accordingly. As always, I appreciate the editorial help.

  3. 22:42, no errors. I was lucky there were a couple of entries that allowed me to gain a fingerhold in each section of the puzzle. TAPAS BAR, MIKE PIAZZA, AJA and SARA/I’M A MORON allowed me to crack each of the corners. Strangely, AJA gave me BAZOOKA JOE, who I remember fondly from my childhood addiction to Bazooka Bubble Gum.

  4. What a fun and friendly Friday puzzle. Especially good that it made clear the proper distinction between D’OH (I’M A MORON) and Duh (YOU’RE A JERK) that was recently a source of some controversy.

    1. @Tom … Well, of course, I disagree with your second observation … but you knew that … ?. As I found when I researched DUH and D’OH, and as I said in my post on Monday, dictionaries I checked agree that they are used interchangeably. The fact that a particular choice was made here does not change that.

  5. @Dave—Here’s my reasoning: DUH, according to the Unabridged M-W, dates back to the 1940’s. D’OH has been around now for some time in “The Simpson’s” era. Ergo, D’OH has superseded DUH as an exclamation of self-reproach, not as a put-down on others. (I have to grant, though, that if DUH still covers both meanings in current dictionaries, it’s acceptable at least for crosswords if not for recent generations.)

    1. @Tom … I follow your reasoning, I appreciate your providing it, and I agree with it. I mostly researched DUH because that was the answer the setter expected in the puzzle and, as I said, I found that it may be applied to oneself or to another. As you say, Homer Simpson’s usage of D’OH is probably properly restricted to oneself (though I haven’t really looked into that).

      I wish someone would look at my post from Wednesday and tell me what they think of my comments regarding COUP and QUEUE. I speculated that people objected because they were mispronouncing (perhaps I should say “differently pronouncing”) one or the other of the words in question, which could reflect some kind of regional difference. Using standard pronunciation, one hears the same subtle vowel shift in each of the pairs of theme words.

      At any rate, I thank you for your comments …

  6. 27:07 and two errors, where FAKE NAME and AS IF cross. This puzzle had me so perplexed, (CAKEPOP, QUEEQUEG, MIKE PIAZZA, STARCRAFT and BAZOOKA JOE [one for us Baby Boomers only to divine!] each giving me considerable pause, and soaking up the minutes!!) in the end, with the finish line in sight, I was looking at the wrong clues for the spaces, and so had blown any chance to fill in those two correctly. 61A applies to me in this case. Still, it was suitably Friday-tough, and I’m glad I escaped with only the two boo-boos.

    @Dave: upon further perusal, I can see that I somehow didn’t “get” fully the “Y-sound” aspect of that puzzle earlier this week. So, QUEUE would be a result of COUP with the y sound added. It was *still* a terrible theme, but it did “work”. I got sucked in regardless. And I *can* admit when I’m wrong.

  7. Regarding DUH and DOH…

    I finished today’s puzzle. I didn’t finish Monday’s puzzle. that is ass-backwards.

    Last Monday… when I get stuck, I normally would go through the alphabet and probably get the right solution. I didn’t care at that point though, because I was already fed up with ‘Kahlil’ and ‘t-slot’. which are both bullshit Monday clues.

    so. No. I finished Friday this week and didn’t finish Monday. and that is bullshit. I want an easy solve on Monday, after Friday and Saturday… (I skip Sunday because they are usually not overly difficult and instead tediously long)

    So on Monday, I don’t want to feel like “I’m a moron.” I want to feel like I’m good at solving crosswords. You jerk.

  8. the coup/queue thing… I did think it was a stretch. and again… this week I didn’t care. this week was a …. “whatever” week. I was out by Monday. so… “okay, military queue. whatever”

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