1103-18 NY Times Crossword 3 Nov 18, Saturday

Constructed by: Ryan McCarty
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 23m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. “I Am ___” (2013 best-selling autobiography) : MALALA

“I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” is a memoir co-written by Malala Yousafzai and British journalist Christina Lamb. The title tells the essence of her Malala’s story. She started a blog when she was 11 or 12, outlining her life in northwest Pakistan under occupation by the Taliban. As the Pakistani military regained control of the area, Malala’s story was told in a documentary and she was frequently giving interviews. One day a gunman came looking for her, and found her on a school bus. He shot Malala three times, with one bullet going into her forehead. She survived, and was taken to England to recuperate. She was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17, making her the youngest ever Nobel laureate.

13. Party leader : EMCEE

The term “emcee” comes from “MC”, an initialism used for a Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.

14. Jaguar’s coat, e.g. : CAR PAINT

Auto manufacturer Jaguar started out as a manufacturer of sidecars for motorcycles back in 1922, when the company was known as the Swallow Sidecar Company (SS for short). The company changed its name to Jaguar after WWII, because of the unfortunate connotations of the letters “SS” in that era (i.e. the Nazi paramilitary organization).

19. Exorcism, e.g. : RITE

An exorcist is a religious figure who is believed to be able to cast out demons that have possessed a person or perhaps a building.

22. Addictive pain reliever : VICODIN

Vicodin is a brand name of pain-reliever. The formulation is a mixture of two ingredients: hydrocodone (an opiate) and acetaminophen (a non-opiate analgesic).

26. Nick name : DORA THE EXPLORER

“Dora the Explorer” is a cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon. Part of Dora’s remit is to introduce the show’s young viewers to some Spanish words and phrases.

28. Rapper with the 5x platinum album “… And Then There Was X” : DMX

“DMX” and “Dark Man X” are stage names used by rap artist Earl Simmons. DMX’s biggest hit is “Party Up (Up in Here)” released in 1999 (and even I know that song!). DMX seems to get in trouble with the law a lot, an awful lot …

29. “Crime and Punishment” setting : SAINT PETERSBURG

St. Petersburg in Russia is an absolutely beautiful city to visit. The city was renamed to Petrograd in 1914, Leningrad in 1924 and back to St. Petersburg in 1991.

“Crime and Punishment” is one of the two most famous novels by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, the other being “The Brothers Karamazov”.

43. Sporty Pontiac of old : TRANS AM

The Trans Am was a specialty version of the Pontiac Firebird produced from 1969 to 2002. My favorite Trans Am is KITT, the artificially intelligent car in the eighties TV show “Knight Rider” …

44. Dark and forbidding : STYGIAN

“Stygian” is such a lovely word! Meaning “gloomy, dark” or “infernal, hellish”, it is an adjective coming from the River “Styx”.

45. MacFarlane of “American Dad!” : SETH

“Family Guy” is a very successful animated television show. It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the same guy who came up with “American Dad!”. My kids love them both. Me, I can’t stand ‘em …

46. Capital of the U.S. from 1785 to 1790, in brief : NYC

New York City served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The seat of government back then was Federal Hall, located on Wall Street. It was here that George Washington was inaugurated as the country’s first President, in 1789.

49. Members of familles : PERES

In French, a “père” (father) is a “membre de la famille” (member of the family).

53. Company that once had tremendous “quarterly” profits? : ATARI

Those would be quarters going into video game machines.

55. “Fiddler on the Roof” Oscar nominee : TOPOL

Chaim Topol (usually called just “Topol”) is an actor from Tel Aviv in Israel. I well remember Topol for his marvelous portrayal of Tevye in the original West End performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” in the sixties. He later reprised the role in the 1971 movie of the show, and then again in a 1990 Broadway revival. Famously, Topol also played good guy Milos Columbo in the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only”.

The enduring musical “Fiddler on the Roof” is based on a collection of stories by Sholem Aleichem about Tevye, a milkman living in Tsarist Russia. The musical version of the tales first opened on Broadway in 1964. “Fiddler on the Roof” had such a long run that it became the first musical to reach 3,000 performances.

Down

1. First name of two Wimbledon winners in the 1980s and ’90s : MARTINA

Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss tennis player and former World No. 1 professional. She retired in 2007 after testing positive for cocaine during Wimbledon, although she denied using the drug.

Martina Navratilova is a retired tennis player who is thought by many to have been the greatest player of all time. Navratilova won the Wimbledon singles title a record nine times, which is one of many records that she holds. She was born in Czechoslovakia but asked for political asylum in the US in 1975 at 18 years of age. Navratilova was granted temporary residency in the US and as a result was stripped of her Czech citizenship. That Czech citizenship was restored in 2008, making her a dual citizen.

2. Political organization : APPARAT

An apparat is a political power structure. The term “apparat” comes into English via Russian ultimately from the Latin word “apparatus” meaning “tools”. The use of “apparat” is usually derogatory due to the terms’ historical association with the oppressive communist political structure that held sway in the Soviet Union.

6. Ones not calling the shots? : ANTI-VAXXERS

“Anti-vaxxers” is a term that applies to members of the anti-vaccination movement.

7. Chest part, informally : PEC

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is a the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

8. Lovingly, in scores : AMOROSO

“Amoroso” is the Italian word for “lovingly”, and is used as a direction on a musical score.

9. Classic blues song with the line “I’d rather be dead than to stay here and be your dog” : CC RIDER

Chuck Willis was an R&B singer from Atlanta, Georgia. Willis had a number-one hit in 1957 with the blues classic “C. C. Rider”, a song which inspired a popular new dance called ‘The Stroll”. His association with the Stroll led to Willis getting the nickname “the King of Stroll”.

10. When to start on a course : TEE TIME

That would be golf.

12. Singer in Jewish services : CANTOR

“Canto” is the Latin word for “singer”. In some religious traditions, a “cantor” is the person assigned to lead the singing of ecclesiastical music.

14. Small part : CAMEO

Even in my day, a cameo role was more than just a short appearance in a movie (or other artistic piece). For the appearance to be a cameo, the actor had to playing himself or herself, and was instantly recognizable. With this meaning it’s easy to see the etymology of the term, as a cameo brooch is one with the recognizable carving of the silhouette of a person. Nowadays, a cameo is any minor role played by a celebrity or famous actor, regardless of the character played.

18. Hobble : GIMP

The term “gimp” emerged in the 1920s, describing a lame leg. Within a few years, the usage extended to describe a person with a lame leg. I think that nowadays, such a usage is considered quite derogatory and is best avoided.

21. Press secretary who inspired C. J. Cregg of “The West Wing” : DEE DEE MYERS

Dee Dee Myers was a very capable White House Press Secretary in the first two years of the Clinton administration, and was the first woman to hold that post. After leaving the White House, Myers acted as a consultant on the TV show “The West Wing”, and I am sure helped add that touch of authenticity to a great television program.

23. ___-de-sac : CUL

Even though “cul-de-sac” can indeed mean “bottom of the bag” in French, the term cul-de-sac is of English origin (the use of “cul” in French is actually quite rude). The term was introduced in aristocratic circles at a time when it was considered very fashionable to speak French. Dead-end streets in France are usually signposted with just a symbol and no accompanying words, but if words are included they are “voie sans issue”, meaning “way without exit”.

27. Graduate of a Red Cross training course, for short : EMT

Emergency medical technician (EMT)

Back in 1859, a Swiss businessman called Henri Dunant went to meet French emperor Napoleon III, to discuss making it easier to conduct commerce in French-occupied Algeria. The Emperor was billeted at Solferino, where France and Austria were engaged in a major battle. In one day, Dunant witnessed 40,000 soldiers die in battle and countless wounded suffering on the battlefield without any organized medical care. Dunant abandoned his business agenda and instead spent a week caring for the sick and wounded. Within a few years he had founded the precursor to the Red Cross, and in 1901 he was awarded the first ever Nobel Peace Prize.

33. “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” network : TBS

The tbs cable television station started out in 1967 as local broadcast TV station in Atlanta. The station’s first call letters were WJRJ-TV, and this was changed to WTCG in 1970 when it was acquired by Ted Turner (the TCG stood for Turner Communications Group). In 1976, Turner started distributing WTCG via satellite making its programming available in other parts of the country. WTCG was only the second channel to transmit via satellite, following HBO. The difference was that WTCG was broadcast without requiring a premium subscription. The station’s call sign was changed again in 1979 to WTBS, with TBS standing for Turner Broadcasting System. In 1981, the channel adopted the moniker “Superstation WTBS”.

Samantha Bee is a comedian from Toronto who found fame as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” starting way back in 2003. Bee left “The Daily Show” in 2015 to host her own late-night talk show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS.

35. One letting you know before going for a bite? : RATTLER

The scales covering the tip of a rattlesnake’s tail are made of keratin, the same structural protein that makes up the outer layer of human skin, as well as our hair and nails. The rattlesnake shakes its tail vigorously to warn off potential predators, causing the hollow scales to vibrate against one another and resulting in that scary “rattle” sound. The rattler’s tail muscles “fire” an incredible fifty times a second to achieve that effect, demonstrating one of the fastest muscular movements in the whole animal kingdom.

36. Some malicious programs : SPYWARE

Spyware is software that is installed on a computer to gather information without the owner’s knowledge. Nasty stuff …

37. Intolerant : BIGOTED

“Bigot” is a French word that back in the late 1500s meant “sanctimonious person, religious hypocrite”. We use the term today to describe someone who is biased towards his or her own group, and who is intolerant of those outside of that group.

40. Millennials, by another name : GEN-Y

The Millennial Generation are sometimes referred to as “Generation Y” (Gen-Y). Millennials were born after the “Gen-Xers”, from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

50. Part of R.S.V.P. : S’IL

RSVP stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

52. Morale-boosting grp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. “I Am ___” (2013 best-selling autobiography) : MALALA
7. Deals : PACTS
12. 1998 Paul Simon/Derek Walcott musical, with “The” : CAPEMAN
13. Party leader : EMCEE
14. Jaguar’s coat, e.g. : CAR PAINT
15. Apple ___ : CORER
16. Classified : WANT AD
17. Little put-down : DIG
19. Exorcism, e.g. : RITE
20. [Yawn] : I’M TIRED
22. Addictive pain reliever : VICODIN
24. Baby during its first four weeks : NEONATE
25. “Do something funny!” : AMUSE ME!
26. Nick name : DORA THE EXPLORER
28. Rapper with the 5x platinum album “… And Then There Was X” : DMX
29. “Crime and Punishment” setting : SAINT PETERSBURG
41. Low : IGNOBLE
42. U.S. women’s soccer star Megan ___ : RAPINOE
43. Sporty Pontiac of old : TRANS AM
44. Dark and forbidding : STYGIAN
45. MacFarlane of “American Dad!” : SETH
46. Capital of the U.S. from 1785 to 1790, in brief : NYC
48. Thick, as toilet tissue : TWO-PLY
49. Members of familles : PERES
51. Tried to follow : EMULATED
53. Company that once had tremendous “quarterly” profits? : ATARI
54. Light crimson : ROSE RED
55. “Fiddler on the Roof” Oscar nominee : TOPOL
56. Showed signs of congestion, maybe : SNORED

Down

1. First name of two Wimbledon winners in the 1980s and ’90s : MARTINA
2. Political organization : APPARAT
3. Shepherds, in the Bible : LEADETH
4. Le Pen pal? : AMI
5. International treaty subject : LAND
6. Ones not calling the shots? : ANTI-VAXXERS
7. Chest part, informally : PEC
8. Lovingly, in scores : AMOROSO
9. Classic blues song with the line “I’d rather be dead than to stay here and be your dog” : CC RIDER
10. When to start on a course : TEE TIME
11. Less stressed : SERENER
12. Singer in Jewish services : CANTOR
14. Small part : CAMEO
16. Tucker out, in a way : WIND
18. Hobble : GIMP
21. Press secretary who inspired C. J. Cregg of “The West Wing” : DEE DEE MYERS
23. ___-de-sac : CUL
27. Graduate of a Red Cross training course, for short : EMT
29. Resists change : SITS PAT
30. Go along with : AGREE TO
31. Stuck : IN A TRAP
32. Ordinary joe : NON-HERO
33. “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” network : TBS
34. Word with game or building : … PLAN
35. One letting you know before going for a bite? : RATTLER
36. Some malicious programs : SPYWARE
37. Intolerant : BIGOTED
38. One-footed creature : UNIPED
39. South Pole discoverer Amundsen : ROALD
40. Millennials, by another name : GEN-Y
47. “Seriously?!” : C’MON!
50. Part of R.S.V.P. : S’IL
52. Morale-boosting grp. : USO

16 thoughts on “1103-18 NY Times Crossword 3 Nov 18, Saturday”

  1. 38:25 after getting the “almost there” message and searching for my error. The basic problem was that I had put in LIMP instead of GIMP and therefore couldn’t imagine what letter would work at the intersection of 5D and 17A. I used Google to verify some educated guesses (that I thought might be in error) in other places, scratched my head a lot, and finally thought of GIMP, after which LAND and DIG came to mind. (In other words, your basic display of incompetence … 😜.)

    1. I’m beginning to side with anonymous you are a bit much. And if you don’t put PEN to paper you are not a purist! I don’t try to solve fast , I like to get it right…. that’s what she says

      1. @Anonymous2 …

        Actually, I do lots of crossword puzzles, all on paper except for the NYT (which is now a kind of long-running experiment that started when I was on a trip, with no access to paper). And I don’t try to go as fast as possible, either. And I do like to “get it right”. So we’re somewhat in agreement (though I definitely disagree that there is only one right way to do the puzzles).

        I’ve never been quite sure what it is that @Anonymous1 is trying to say (either with the previous batch of posts claiming that Bill and I cheat or with the latest tedious batch).

        I post my times and describe my errors in emulation of Bill and I suppose I sometimes go overboard because I’m old and chatty and have too much time on my hands 😜. (Also, when I post, it’s often kind of lonely here: most of the posters show up five weeks later.)

        I’m sorry if you were offended, but I have to observe that, if you find my posts to be of no interest, you are certainly free to ignore them … 😜

  2. About 90 min. And one error.
    I had dmc for dmx and never heard of antivaxxers
    Two rap singers or groups (my favorite clues)

  3. About 30 mins. No errors after figuring that dis and simp was actually dig and gimp. Initially rejected ‘gimp’ as being too non-PC to be the answer. I don’t think ‘gimp’ is an appropriate word in today’s world.

  4. 43:38, 5 errors: CA(V)EMAN; A(V)PARAT; LAN(L); (L)I(L); (L)IMP. Us ‘pencil and paper’ solvers don’t get an ‘almost there’ message. Obviously a big challenge for me today. APPARAT is a word I will remember in the future.

  5. I’ve never doubted the veracity of Bill or Dave or Bruce B , but if you got antivexxers without referencing something I will kiss your… Malala!!!!

  6. I take issue with 27 down. Becoming a certified EMT takes much more training than a Red Cross training course. In New York state, to become a basic EMT requires 100 hours classroom, 10 hours in the ER, a state written test, and a state practical test performing all the emergency procedures while being timed. The first ten ambulance runs have to be accompanied before going solo. And the EMT has to be recertified every three years. And that is just for Basic. To become Level 2 and 3 and Paramedic requires many more hours training. Even though I was with a volunteer rural ambulance corps, I took the classes and tests along side the professionals.

    Regarding the anti-vaxxers: I now live in PA, and because of religious beliefs, many young children are not being vaccinated, and diseases like measles and whooping cough are making a big comeback.

  7. Never doubted the veracity of Bill Dave orBruce b until this puzzle. …. antivaxxers crossed by a rap name? You gave yourselves away.. yo! I think the other posers might say! Very disappointed.

  8. Both “MALALA” and “ANTI-VAXXERS” have been in the news (and in other crosswords) a lot, so … both answers were gimmes … gifts … obvious answers … 😳.

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