0316-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 16 Mar 2018, Friday

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Constructed by: Robyn Weintraub
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 8m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13. Successor to Paar’s successor : LENO

“The Tonight Show” has had six permanent hosts so far:

  • Steve Allen (1954-57)
  • Jack Paar (1957-62)
  • Johnny Carson (1962–92)
  • Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–14)
  • Conan O’Brien (2009–10)
  • Jimmy Fallon (2014–present)

19. Pulitzer winner for “Sunday in the Park With George” : SONDHEIM

Stephen Sondheim has won more Tony Awards than any other composer, a total of eight. He has a long list of stage (and big screen) successes including “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, “A Little Night Music”, “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods”. Sondheim is big fan of crosswords and had a whole series of cryptic crosswords published in “New York” magazine in the sixties.

23. Boarding pass info, for short : ETD

Estimated time of departure (ETD)

24. Celestial beast : 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”.

25. Cheese made from goat’s milk : CHEVRE

Chèvre is a goat cheese. It takes its name from “chèvre”, the French word for “goat”.

31. Hepatologist’s study : LIVER

The human liver has many functions, one of which is to store vital substances. The list of substances stored in the liver includes glucose (as glycogen), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin K, iron and copper. Another function of the liver is to produce bile, a substance stored in the gallbladder that aids in the digestion of fats.

32. Product introduced in 1984 with an ad titled “1984” : MACINTOSH

Macintosh (also “Mac”) is a line of computers from Apple Inc. The first Mac was introduced in 1984, and I remember someone showing me one at work in those early days of personal computing. There was a piece of white plastic connected to the main computer by a cord, and I was amazed when the guy showed me that it controlled where the cursor was on the screen. My colleague told me that this lump of plastic was called “a mouse” …

33. Restaurant cook on TV’s “2 Broke Girls” : OLEG

“2 Broke Girls” is a sitcom about two young ladies sharing an apartment in Brooklyn, and their attempts to launch a cupcake business. The title characters are played by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs.

34. 2017 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom : BIDEN

Vice President Joe Biden was a US Senator representing the state of Delaware from 1973 until he joined the Obama administration. While he was a senator, Vice President Biden commuted to Washington from Wilmington, Delaware almost every working day. He was such an active customer and supporter of Amtrak that the Wilmington Station was renamed as the Joseph R. Biden Railroad Station in 2011. Biden has made over 7,000 trips from that station, and the Amtrak crews were known to even hold the last train for a few minutes so that he could catch it. Biden earned himself the nickname “Amtrak Joe”.

36. Port authority? : WINEMAKER

Portugal’s city of Oporto (“Porto” in Portuguese) gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s. Oporto was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified red wine was exported.

40. Cousin of a corset : GIRDLE

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

41. Yard sale caveat : AS IS

A caveat is a warning or a qualification. “Caveat” is the Latin for “let him beware”.

43. Three-ingredient sandwich : BLT

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

44. Largest moon of Pluto : CHARON

The dwarf planet Pluto has five moons, that we know of. The first of these, Charon, was discovered as recently as 1978. The five moons are named Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.

49. Zombies : LIVING DEAD

A zombie is a corpse that has been brought back to life by some mystical means. Our modern use of the term largely stems from the undead creatures featured in the 1968 horror movie called “Night of the Living Dead”. Now that film I haven’t seen, and probably never will …

52. Billy the Kid, for one : ALIAS

I’m guessing that the notorious Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid was of Irish stock as his family name was McCarty. Another indication of an Irish connection is that he also used the aliases William Antrim, Henry Antrim and Kid Antrim, as Antrim is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.

56. Carriage : MIEN

One’s mien is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.

57. Durango direction : ESTE

The cardinal directions in Spanish are “norte” (north), “este” (east), “sur” (south) and “oeste” (west).

Durango is one of the 31 states of Mexico. Durango is landlocked, and is located in the northwest of the country.

Down

5. Worn out : EFFETE

Something effete is degenerate, infertile, no longer productive. “Effete” comes from the Latin “ex-fetus”, literally “out of offspring”.

6. Mitchum rival : ARRID

Arrid is an antiperspirant deodorant brand introduced in the thirties. Slogans associated with Arrid have been “Don’t be half-safe – use Arrid to be sure”, “Stress stinks! Arrid works!” and “Get a little closer”.

9. Character in “Camelot” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” : KING ARTHUR

King Arthur (and his Round Table) probably never really existed, but his legend is very persistent. Arthur was supposedly a leader of the Romano-British as they tried to resist the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.

10. Fictional queen of Arendelle : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

12. eHarmony info : TYPE

eHarmony is a high-profile online dating service based in Pasadena, California.

15. Big Bird attended his memorial : HENSON

Jim Henson was a puppeteer, and most famously the creator the Muppets characters. Henson produced his first puppets for a local television station in Hyattsville, Maryland while he was still in high school. As well as the famous Muppet characters, Henson created, operated and voiced the character Yoda in most of the “Star Wars” movies. Henson died from a streptococcal infection in 1990, on the same day that Sammy Davis, Jr. passed away.

The man “inside” Big Bird on “Sesame Street” is Caroll Spinney, who has been playing the character since 1969. That’s a long time, so Matt Vogel has been Spinney’s understudy since 1998.

18. Narc’s concern : HEROIN

The commercialization of the drug heroin was led by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in Germany. The drug had been re-discovered in Bayer’s labs, and was named by the company’s head of research “heroin” from the German “heroisch” meaning “heroic, strong”. This was a reference to the perceived “heroic” effects on the user. Bayer lost the trademark rights to heroin (along with their “aspirin”) as part of WWI reparations.

20. Mozart title : HERR

The Austrian composer’s full name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The name “Wolfgang” translates literally as “wolf journey”. Amadeus translates as “love god”!

37. Accelerator particles : MESONS

A meson is an unstable subatomic particle, one made up of a quark and an antiquark.

38. Marathoner’s focus : TIME

The marathon commemorates the legendary messenger-run by Pheidippides from the site of the Battle of Marathon back to Athens, and is run over 26 miles and 385 yards. The first modern Olympic marathon races were run over a distance that approximated the length of the modern-day Marathon-Athens highway, although the actual length of the race varied from games to games. For the 1908 Olympics in London, a course starting at Windsor Castle and ending in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium was defined. That course was 26 miles and 385 yards, the standard length now used at all Olympic Games. Organizers of subsequent games continued to vary the length of the race, until a decision was made in 1921 to adopt the distance used in London in 1908.

42. Memphis blues street : BEALE

Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee is a major tourist attraction. In 1977, by act of Congress, the street was officially declared the “Home of the Blues” due to its long association with the musical genre. Apparently “Beale” is the name of some forgotten military hero.

45. It has views of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea : HILO

Hilo is the largest settlement on the big island of Hawaii, with a population of over 43,000 (that’s not very many!). I love the Big Island …

46. Asics competitor : AVIA

The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.

ASICS is a Japanese company that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The name comes from the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano” which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.

47. Force-ful one? : JEDI

The Jedi are the “good guys” in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Pot component : CHIP
5. “Calm down, ace” : EASY
9. Saved : KEPT
13. Successor to Paar’s successor : LENO
14. Partner of 5-Across : FREE
15. Full of ups and downs : HILLY
16. Everyone included, after “to” : A MAN
17. Attends to some personal care : FRESHENS UP
19. Pulitzer winner for “Sunday in the Park With George” : SONDHEIM
21. Captivate : ENGAGE
22. Bug expert? : SPY
23. Boarding pass info, for short : ETD
24. Celestial beast : URSA
25. Cheese made from goat’s milk : CHEVRE
27. Puts the pedal to the metal : FLOORS IT
31. Hepatologist’s study : LIVER
32. Product introduced in 1984 with an ad titled “1984” : MACINTOSH
33. Restaurant cook on TV’s “2 Broke Girls” : OLEG
34. 2017 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom : BIDEN
35. Actor Cronyn : HUME
36. Port authority? : WINEMAKER
38. It gets you from station to station : TUNER
39. Talked too much : NATTERED
40. Cousin of a corset : GIRDLE
41. Yard sale caveat : AS IS
42. “Just like that!” : BAM!
43. Three-ingredient sandwich : BLT
44. Largest moon of Pluto : CHARON
47. The Weeping Prophet : JEREMIAH
49. Zombies : LIVING DEAD
51. Parisian being : ETRE
52. Billy the Kid, for one : ALIAS
53. Kind of speculation : IDLE
54. Parent : REAR
55. Indication of pain or pleasure : MOAN
56. Carriage : MIEN
57. Durango direction : ESTE

Down

1. School card : CLASS CLOWN
2. Genetic disorder carried by Queen Victoria : HEMOPHILIA
3. “Regardless …” : IN ANY EVENT …
4. Where you might hear someone say “Duck!” : POND
5. Worn out : EFFETE
6. Mitchum rival : ARRID
7. Look like : SEEM
8. “You rang?” : YES?
9. Character in “Camelot” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” : KING ARTHUR
10. Fictional queen of Arendelle : ELSA
11. Commercial pitch : PLUG
12. eHarmony info : TYPE
15. Big Bird attended his memorial : HENSON
18. Narc’s concern : HEROIN
20. Mozart title : HERR
24. Sore spot : ULCER
26. Menu heading : VEGETARIAN
27. Not as bright : FADED
28. Media-friendly audio clips : SOUND BITES
29. “Something’s not right here …” : I SMELL A RAT …
30. Words of consolation : THERE THERE
32. Press conference sights : MIKES
34. Revealing : BARING
37. Accelerator particles : MESONS
38. Marathoner’s focus : TIME
40. Make a bed? : GARDEN
42. Memphis blues street : BEALE
44. Silent sort : CLAM
45. It has views of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea : HILO
46. Asics competitor : AVIA
47. Force-ful one? : JEDI
48. Only : MERE
50. Murky : DIM

6 thoughts on “0316-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 16 Mar 2018, Friday”

  1. 15:14, no errors. Looked, initially, like it would be more difficult than it was. The long entries seemed to be easier than the short ones.

  2. 19:37, no errors. Although I had a few moments of despair, I suppose this WAS relatively easy for a Friday. I just worked my way round it, and suddenly, I was finished!!

    I cursed the setter mightily for that 1D clue, though: *evil,* *spiteful* little heteronym there!!!

    1. About the clue for 1D (“School card”): Heteronyms are words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently for different meanings (as in “getting a tear in my favorite shirt brought a tear to my eye”). I can’t think of any heteronyms of either “school” or “card”. Am I missing something? (The clue does involve an alternate meaning of “card”, but … this is a crossword puzzle, yes? … ?)

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