0919-18 NY Times Crossword 19 Sep 18, Wednesday

Bill’s time: 9m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Hosp. hookups : IVS

One might see an intravenous drips (IV) in an intensive care unit (ICU).

13. Part of XXX : TIC

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

14. Churchill prop : CIGAR

Tiruchirappalli Is a city located about 200 miles south of Chennai, India. The Tiruchirappalli name is perhaps most familiar internationally due to the Trichinopoly cigar, which was a major export from the city in the 19th century. Winston Churchill was a fan of Black Tiger brand Trichinopoly cigars.

15. Not so cordial : ICIER

Back in the 14th century, we used the word “cordial” to mean “from the heart”. The most common meaning today is “courteous and gracious”. The original usage also evolved into the name for a drink that “stimulated the heart”. Today’s cordial beverages are strong, sweetened liqueurs.

16. Knickknack : TCHOTCHKE

“Tchotchke” is a slang term meaning “cheap, showy trinket”.

18. Painter’s primer : GESSO

“Gesso” is the Italian word for “chalk” and gives its name to the powdered calcium carbonate that is used as a primer coat under artistic panel paintings. The gesso is mixed with a glue and applied to wood so that it acts as an absorbent surface for paint.

20. Excessive sentimentality : SCHMALTZ

“Schmaltz” is an informal term used to describe things that are excessively sentimental. The word comes from the Yiddish “shmalts”, which means “melted fat”. Indeed, the modern German word for fat or grease is Schmaltz, and it can be used in the same figurative way in that language.

22. The Falcons, on a scoreboard : ATL

The Atlanta Falcons joined the NFL in 1965. The team name was suggest by a schoolteacher called Miss Julia Elliott. Elliot suggested that “the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”

23. Some steak orders : T-BONES

The T-bone and porterhouse are related cuts of meat, with the latter being a larger version of the former, and both being cut from the short loin.

24. Shameless audacity : CHUTZPAH

Our word “chutzpah” meaning “nerve, gall, impudence” is derived from the Yiddish “khutspe”, which has the same meaning.

30. “Frank, ___ & Sammy: The Ultimate Event” (1989 documentary) : LIZA

“Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event” is a 1989 documentary film that followed Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis, Jr. for three nights on their “Ultimate Event” tour.

33. Follower of “Twice-Told” or “old wives'” : TALES

“Twice-Told Tales” is a two-volume collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne that were published in 1837 and 1842. The books earned the title as each story had previously been published in a magazine or annual.

40. One of the Gulf states: Abbr. : ALA

Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State, in honor of the state bird. Alabama is also called the “Heart of Dixie”.

41. Italian city known for its cheese : PARMA

Genuine Parmesan cheese is made in and around the province of Parma in northern Italy, which province gives the cheese its name.

44. Rose Bowl, e.g. : OVAL

The Rose Bowl is the stadium in Pasadena, California that is home to the UCLA football team. It is also host to the Rose Bowl football game held annually on New Year’s Day.

47. “Jeez!” : OY GEVALT!

The Yiddish expression “oy gevalt” is often translated as “enough already”.

53. Long, involved account : MEGILLAH

“Megillah” is the Hebrew word for “scroll”. In the Hebrew Bible there are Five Scrolls (Megillot), namely “Song of Songs”, “Ruth”, “Lamentations”, “Ecclesiastes” and “Esther”.

55. Mount that Moses mounted : SINAI

According to the Bible, Mount Sinai is the mountain on which Moses was given the Ten Commandments. The Biblical Mount Sinai is probably not the mountain in Egypt that today has the same name, although this is the subject of much debate. The Egyptian Mount Sinai has two developed routes that one can take to reach the summit. The longer gentler climb takes about 2 1/2 hours, but there is also the steeper climb up the 3,750 “steps of penitence”.

58. Choked up with emotion : VERKLEMPT

“Verklempt” is a Yiddish adjective meaning “overcome with emotion”.

61. Backless sofa : DIVAN

Divans are essentially couches without backs or arms. The design originated in the Middle East, where the couches were commonly found lining the walls of an office that was known as a “divan” or “diwan”, meaning “government office”.

62. Naïvely optimistic Muppet : ERNIE

The muppet character named Bert usually plays the straight man to his partner character Ernie. Bert has a unibrow, while Ernie has no brows at all.

63. For whom the Edgar Award is named : POE

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgars) are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America. There are several categories of awards. For example, the Ellery Queen Award honors “writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry”. The Raven Award is presented to non-writers, who contribute to the mystery genre.

64. John who invented the steel plow : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

66. W-2 datum: Abbr. : SSN

Form W-2 is provided by US employers to their employees by January 31 each year. The form reports wages paid to the employees and taxes withheld.

Down

1. Cousin of Gomez Addams : ITT

In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

Gomez and Morticia (“Tish”) Addams were the parents in “The Addams Family”, a creation of the cartoonist Charles Addams. In the sixties television show, Gomez was played by John Astin and Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones.

2. End of Caesar’s boast : VICI

The oft-quoted statement “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is believed by many to have been written by Julius Caesar. The words date back to 47 BCE and refer to the short war between Rome and Pharnaces II of Pontus.

3. Dog with a bearded muzzle : SCHNAUZER

The schnauzer breed of dog originated in Germany in the 1600s. The name “schnauzer” is a colloquial term meaning “moustache”, derived from the German for “snout”. The name is apt, given the breed’s distinctive snout.

4. Crosstown rival of the University of Houston : RICE

Rice University is a private school in Houston, Texas. William Marsh Rice had made a will endowing the funds for the establishment of the school at the time of his death. When he was found dead one morning in his bed, his lawyer announced that his will had been changed, with the bulk of Rice’s estate actually going to the lawyer making the announcement. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the lawyer had paid Rice’s valet to murder his employer using chloroform and a fake will was written. Eventually, the original will was deemed valid and the funds were disbursed so that the school could be built.

6. Noted Fifth Avenue emporium : SAKS

Saks Fifth Avenue is a high-end specialty store that competes with the likes of Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus. The original Saks & Company business was founded by Andrew Saks in 1867. The first Saks Fifth Avenue store was opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1924. There are now Saks Fifth Avenue stores in many major cities in the US, as well in several locations worldwide.

9. Locale of Tuvalu and Nauru : OCEANIA

The part of the Pacific Ocean known as “Oceania” is roughly equivalent to the tropical islands of the South Pacific. Oceania can be divided into the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation that was formerly called the Ellice Islands. It lies midway between Hawaii and Australia. Tuvalu is the third least populous sovereign state in the world with under 11,000 inhabitants, ahead of Vatican City and Nauru.

Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation, and is located in the South Pacific 300 km to the east of Kiribati. The island was taken as a colony by Germany in the late 1800s, and came under the administration of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom after WWI. The Japanese invaded during WWII, but Nauru was one of the islands that was bypassed in the US advance across the Pacific towards Japan. Nauru achieved independence in 1968.

12. Physician who was once a regular on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” : DR OZ

Mehmet Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon, and a TV personality known simply as “Dr. Oz”. Oz appeared as a health expert for several seasons on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Now he has his own “The Dr. Oz Show” on radio and television that is backed by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.

21. TV debut of 1972 : HBO

Home Box Office (HBO) is the oldest continuously-operating pay TV service in the US, having launched in 1972. HBO is a favorite of mine as I really like many of the HBO made-for-television movies and especially the HBO original series. Among the list of original series from HBO are “Mildred Pierce”, “The Pacific”, “John Adams”, “Big Love”, “Extras”, “The Wire”, “Sex and the City”, “From the Earth to the Moon”, “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers”. What great television …

26. Tire gauge meas. : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

27. Actor nominated for 34 Emmys : ALDA

Alan Alda has had a great television career, especially of course as a lead actor in “M*A*S*H”. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He also won an Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Senator Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

34. 1960s fad light sources : LAVA LAMPS

The lava lamp was invented in 1960 by a British man, Edward Craven-Walker. The “lava” is a mixture of wax and carbon tetrachloride, floating in a water/glycerol mix. The wax reduces in density as it picks up heat from the incandescent bulb in the lamp’s base. The wax rises, cools, and then sinks to the bottom of the liquid only to be heated again.

35. Alternative to Israir Airlines : EL AL

Israir and El Al are both airlines based in Israel. El Al is the flag carrier for the country, and Israir is said to model itself on the American low-cost airline JetBlue.

44. Sheeplike : OVINE

The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine” meaning “like a sheep”.

46. Sushi roll fish : EEL

Anyone going to a sushi restaurant can order all types of raw fish (known collectively as “sashimi”). However, eel is always served cooked, and that’s because the blood of eels contains a protein that cramps muscles if eaten. If the heart muscle “cramps”, the result can be death. The protein is easily rendered harmless by applying heat, i.e. by cooking.

48. Author Zola : EMILE

The most famous work by French writer Émile Zola is his 1898 open letter “J’Accuse!” written to French president Félix Faure. The letter was published on the front page of a leading Paris newspaper, and accused the government of anti-Semitism in its handling of the trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish military officer in the French army, falsely accused and convicted of spying for Germany. Even after the error was discovered, the government refused to back down and let Dreyfus rot away on Devil’s Island rather than admit to the mistake. It wasn’t until 1906, 12 years after the wrongful conviction, that Dreyfus was freed and reinstated, largely due to the advocacy of Emile Zola.

49. Misrepresent : BELIE

The verbs “to confute” and “to belie” both mean “to show to be false”.

50. “Uncle!” : I GIVE!

“To say uncle” is an American expression meaning “to submit, yield”. Its usage dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”

51. Opposite of pans : RAVES

To pan something is to criticize it harshly.

53. Org. advocating highway safety : MADD

Candace Lightner lost her 13-year-old child to a drink driver in 1980. Soon after, Lightner formed the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

54. Bolívar, in much of South America : HERO

Simón Bolívar was a military and political leader who led a revolution that overthrew Spanish rule in Venezuela. Bolívar’s military exploits continued after independence, resulting in the conquest of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The latter was named was named for Simón Bolívar.

55. Problem with a 45-r.p.m. record : SKIP

The first vinyl records designed to play at 33⅓ rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first long play (LP) 33⅓ rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

56. Major N.Y.S.E. events : IPOS

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

59. Genetic inits. : RNA

Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

60. Half a score … or a perfect score : TEN

Our verb “to score” meaning “to tally”, comes from the Old Norse “skor”, which is a “mark, notch”. It is likely that items such a livestock were counted by placing a notch in a stick for each set of twenty, hence our use of the noun “score” to mean “twenty”.