0307-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 7 Mar 2018, Wednesday

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Constructed by: Natan Last, Andy Kravis and the J.A.S.A. Crossword Class
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: Parallel Parking

Today’s grid includes three pairs of circled letters. Those circled letters spell out the names of various cars, and each car is PARKED PARALLEL to another in the grid:

  • 57A. Driving test challenge … or a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters : PARALLEL PARKING
  • 13A. Mocker of Hamlet’s “unmanly grief” : CLAUDIUS (hiding “Audi”)
  • 16A. On the table : UP FOR DISCUSSION (hiding “Ford”)
  • 22A. D as in dates? : DOMINI (hiding “Mini”)
  • 24A. “I give up” : IT’S HOPELESS (hiding “Opel”)
  • 42A. Lead singer of Coldplay, once married to Gwyneth Paltrow : CHRIS MARTIN (hiding “Smart”)
  • 46A. Rhimes who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” : SHONDA (hiding “Honda”)

Bill’s time: 7m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Japanese P.M. Shinzo ___ : ABE

Shinzo Abe first became Prime Minister of Japan in 2006, at which time he was the youngest person to hold the post since WWII and was the first PM born after the war. Abe was in office for less than a year, but was voted in again in 2012. Abe is usually characterized as a right-wing nationalist.

8. Heads of families : CAPOS

More properly called a caporegime, a capo is a high-ranking member of the Mafia (Cosa Nostra).

13. Mocker of Hamlet’s “unmanly grief” : CLAUDIUS (hiding “Audi”)

The predecessor to today’s Audi company was called Auto Union. Auto Union was formed with the merger of four individual entities: Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer. The Audi logo comprises four intersecting rings, each representing one of the four companies that merged.

16. On the table : UP FOR DISCUSSION (hiding “Ford”)

The industrialist Henry Ford was born in Michigan, and was the son of an Irish immigrant from County Cork. Ford’s most famous vehicle was the one that revolutionized the industry: the Model T. Ford’s goal with the Model T was to build a car that was simple to drive and and easy and cheap to purchase and repair. The Model T cost $825 in 1908, which isn’t much over $20,000 in today’s money.

18. Controversial food preservative, for short : BHT

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a food additive that is allowed in our food. BHT is an antioxidant.

19. That’s a moray! : EEL

Morays are a large group of about 200 species of eels found across the world’s oceans. They are carnivorous and look pretty scary but they’re quite shy when confronted and present no threat to humans. One interesting thing about morays is that they will sometimes work in cooperation with the grouper fish found in reefs, the two helping each other hunt for food.

20. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid : ALIASES

When the great movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was in development, Paul Newman was always the first choice to play one of the leads, although the initial casting had him in the role of Sundance. Steve McQueen actually accepted the co-starring role, but left over a dispute about the billing (the film was entitled “The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy” at that point). The role of Sundance was then offered to Jack Lemmon, but he turned it down. Warren Beatty and Marlon Brando were considered next, before opting for the relatively unknown Robert Redford. What a great choice …

22. D as in dates? : DOMINI (hiding “Mini”)

The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.

The original mini was a fabulous car, one that I drove all over Ireland in my youth. It had a unique front-wheel-drive layout that took up very little space, allowing for a lot of room (relatively speaking) for passengers and baggage. One space-saving trick was to mount the engine transversely, so it sits rotated 90 degrees from the norm. That engine had a capacity of only 848cc. In 1961, a Mini Cooper model was introduced, which was a sporty version. The Mini Cooper was a phenomenal hit, especially after repeated wins in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Mini marque has been owned by BMW since 1994.

24. “I give up” : IT’S HOPELESS (hiding “Opel”)

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

29. Cozy places? : TEAROOMS

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 …

32. Emmy- and Oscar-winning Melissa : LEO

Melissa Leo is an actress from Manhattan, New York. Leo is currently in the main cast of the HBO drama series “Treme”.

38. Women’s rights activist Mott : LUCRETIA

Lucretia Coffin Mott (what a name!) was an American Quaker, and an advocate for women’s rights. Mott has been called the first American “feminist”. Her first job was teaching in the Quaker school in which she was educated. There she learned that her salary was to be one third of that paid to the males with the same job (she married one of the male teachers!). That injustice initiated her interest in women’s rights.

42. Lead singer of Coldplay, once married to Gwyneth Paltrow : CHRIS MARTIN (hiding “Smart”)

Coldplay is a rock band that was formed in London in 1996 by Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland. Chris Martin was married to the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow for twelve years.

46. Rhimes who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” : SHONDA (hiding “Honda”)

Shonda Rhimes is the creator and head writer of the TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal”. She also serves as executive producer for the crime shows “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Catch”. Rhimes also runs her own production company called Shondaland.

53. Item under a fairy tale princess’ mattress : PEA

“The Princess and the Pea” is a fairy tale from the pen of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The essence of the story is that a prince’s mother tests the royal blood of an apparent princess by placing a pea under a pile of mattresses on which the young girl sleeps. The girl complains of a restless night, demonstrating a physical sensitivity that can only be attributed to a princess. And they all live happily ever after …

63. Music purchases of the 1990s and early 2000s : CDS

The compact disc was developed jointly by Philips and Sony as a medium for storing and playing sound recordings. When the first commercial CD was introduced back in 1982, a CD’s storage capacity was far greater than the amount of data that could be stored on the hard drive of personal computers available at that time.

Down

1. Kind of gear for a diver : SCUBA

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

3. Pact inveighed against by Trump : 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.

7. Start of something? : ESS

The start of the word “something” is a letter S (ess).

8. Secant’s reciprocal : COSINE

The most familiar trigonometric functions are sine, cosine and tangent (abbreviated to “sin, cos and tan”). Each of these is a ratio, a ratio of two sides of a right-angled triangle. The “reciprocal” of these three functions are secant, cosecant and cotangent. The reciprocal functions are simply the inverted ratios, the inverted sine, cosine and tangent. These inverted ratios should not be confused with the “inverse” trigonometric functions e.g. arcsine, arccosine and arctangent. These inverse functions are the reverse of the sine, cosine and tangent.

10. Trident-shaped letters : PSIS

Psi is the 23rd letter in the Greek alphabet, and the one that looks a bit like a trident or a pitchfork.

11. Early tribe met by Lewis and Clark : OTOE

The Native American people known as the Otoe and the Missouri were the first tribes encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The meeting took place in 1804 at a point on the Missouri River that is now known as Council Bluffs.

15. Dutch export : TULIP

We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” which means “muslin, gauze”.

17. Paintball gear, familiarly : CAMOS

The “paint” in paintball isn’t actually paint, but rather a mix of gelatin and food coloring.

25. Chinese secret society : TONG

A “tong”, in the sense of being an organization within the Chinese immigrant community, is a North American phenomenon. The original intent of the tongs was to provide benevolent support and protection for members, but even since the early 1800s some tongs have been associated with crime. The word “tong” means “hall” or “gathering place”.

28. Slugger Sammy : SOSA

Sammy Sosa was firmly in the public eye in 1998 when he and Mark McGwire were vying to be the first to surpass the home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire fell out of public favor due to stories of steroid abuse (stories which he later admitted were true) while Sosa fell out of favor when he was found to be using a corked bat in a 2003 game.

31. Gibbon, e.g. : APE

Gibbons are referred to as lesser apes as they differ in size and behavior from the great apes e.g. chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans.

33. ___ II (Gillette razor) : TRAC

Gillette introduced the Trac II in 1971. The Trac II was the world’s first twin-blade razor.

41. Mother of Perseus : DANAE

In Greek mythology, Danaë was the mortal mother of the heroic slayer of monsters Perseus, with the father being Zeus. Danaë herself was the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and his wife Queen Eurydice.

43. Singapore, e.g. : ISLAND

The Asian city-state of Singapore takes its name from the Malay word “Singapura” which means “Lion City”. However, lions in the wild never made it to Singapore, so the city is probably misnamed and perhaps should have been called “Tiger City”.

44. Sources of oil : SHALES

Shale oil can be extracted from oil shale (!), although the extraction process is more expensive than that used to produce crude oil.

45. Gangsters’ gals : MOLLS

The slang term “moll” is a used for the female companion of a gangster. “Moll” is short for “Molly”, which is a nickname for “Mary”. In 17th-century England a moll was a prostitute.

52. Gershwin’s “Summertime,” e.g. : ARIA

“Porgy and Bess” is an opera with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and libretto by DuBose Heyward. The storyline of the opera is based on the novel “Porgy” written by DuBose Heyward and and wife Dorothy. “Porgy and Bess” was first performed in 1935, in New York City, but really wasn’t accepted as legitimate opera until 1976 after a landmark production by the Houston Grand Opera. The most famous song from the piece is probably the wonderful aria “Summertime”.

58. Business letters? : LLC

A limited liability company (LLC) is a company structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

59. He’s a doll : KEN

Barbie’s male counterpart doll is Ken, and Ken’s family name is Carson. Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. When Ken was introduced in 1959, it was as Barbie’s boyfriend. In 2004 it was announced that Ken and Barbie were splitting up, and needed to spend quality time apart. Soon after the split, Barbie “met” Blaine, a boogie boarder from Australia.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Beach makeup : SAND
5. Japanese P.M. Shinzo ___ : ABE
8. Heads of families : CAPOS
13. Mocker of Hamlet’s “unmanly grief” : CLAUDIUS (hiding “Audi”)
15. Throw in the direction of : TOSS TO
16. On the table : UP FOR DISCUSSION (hiding “Ford”)
18. Controversial food preservative, for short : BHT
19. That’s a moray! : EEL
20. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid : ALIASES
21. Like the baseball of the New Orleans Baby Cakes : AAA
22. D as in dates? : DOMINI (hiding “Mini”)
24. “I give up” : IT’S HOPELESS (hiding “Opel”)
29. Cozy places? : TEAROOMS
32. Emmy- and Oscar-winning Melissa : LEO
33. Denoting a 3″ nail, so-called from its original cost : TENPENNY
34. “Doggone it!” : AW RATS!
37. Like family-friendly films : RATED-G
38. Women’s rights activist Mott : LUCRETIA
40. Nail : ACE
41. “You’re really testing my patience right now …” : DON’T EVEN …
42. Lead singer of Coldplay, once married to Gwyneth Paltrow : CHRIS MARTIN (hiding “Smart”)
46. Rhimes who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” : SHONDA (hiding “Honda”)
47. Nail : NAB
50. Refrain syllables : SHA-LA-LA
53. Item under a fairy tale princess’ mattress : PEA
56. Impersonal “you” : ONE
57. Driving test challenge … or a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters : PARALLEL PARKING
60. Web issues : E-ZINES
61. Chin stroker’s comment : LET ME SEE
62. Couples : DYADS
63. Music purchases of the 1990s and early 2000s : CDS
64. First in line : NEXT

Down

1. Kind of gear for a diver : SCUBA
2. Top dog : ALPHA
3. Pact inveighed against by Trump : NAFTA
4. Couple : DUO
5. Congressional staffer : AIDE
6. Uses as a foundation : BUILDS ON
7. Start of something? : ESS
8. Secant’s reciprocal : COSINE
9. Attack : ASSAIL
10. Trident-shaped letters : PSIS
11. Early tribe met by Lewis and Clark : OTOE
12. Some heirs : SONS
14. Eazy-E collaborator, informally : DRE
15. Dutch export : TULIP
17. Paintball gear, familiarly : CAMOS
23. “Heavens!” : OH MY LORD!
24. Plenty angry : IRED
25. Chinese secret society : TONG
26. Send : ELATE
27. Take effect : SET IN
28. Slugger Sammy : SOSA
29. Head of a classroom, in slang : TEACH
30. Put in : ENTER
31. Gibbon, e.g. : APE
33. ___ II (Gillette razor) : TRAC
34. It starts when an overture’s over : ACT I
35. Carolina ___ (state bird) : WREN
36. Power (up) : REV
39. Not yet used : UNTAPPED
41. Mother of Perseus : DANAE
43. Singapore, e.g. : ISLAND
44. Sources of oil : SHALES
45. Gangsters’ gals : MOLLS
47. Statistical distractions : NOISE
48. Take without asking : ANNEX
49. Sire : BEGET
50. Hit 100, say : SPED
51. Blurred : HAZY
52. Gershwin’s “Summertime,” e.g. : ARIA
54. Grub : EATS
55. Branch : ARM
58. Business letters? : LLC
59. He’s a doll : KEN

9 thoughts on “0307-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 7 Mar 2018, Wednesday”

  1. 13:33 Figured out the theme pretty quickly. Had a bit of trouble in the middle right. I put in AWnuTS first so that slowed me down. Also had some trouble in the bottom left as I put in tra at the beginning of 50A.

  2. 27:31. Did this last night. Tough for a Wednesday. I had a similar experience with the LAT puzzle. Nothing seemed to come easy in this one. A couple of clusters of proper names slowed me down as well.

    Best –

  3. 13:21, no errors. Zipped quickly through the top third, then hit the proper names: LEO, LUCRETIA, CHRIS MARTIN, SHONDA, all unfamiliar to me and filled by crosses.

  4. No errors. A good challenge. Got the theme early and it was helpful. Same slow-downs on proper names as @BruceB. I did not know that a SMART was an actual name for a brand of car. I thought it was just a generic description. Nice to know.

  5. Liked this one by a group of constructors who did a very nice job on it. Thanks, all.

    Took most time to sort out a tricky SE corner. NW corner gave a quick start, though BHT required all three crosses.

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