1017-22 NY Times Crossword 17 Oct 22, Monday

Constructed by: Caryn L. Robbins
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Reveal Answer: I’m All Ears

Themed answers are each, famously, “ALL EARS”:

  • 61A “You have my full attention” … or something 17-, 24-, 38- and 51-Across might say? : I’M ALL EARS
  • 17A One who asks “Ehh … What’s up, doc?” : BUGS BUNNY
  • 24A Cartoon character who once had a “Club” named after him : MICKEY MOUSE
  • 38A Iconic magazine cover figure who asks “What, me worry?” : ALFRED E NEUMAN
  • 51A Second-in-command on the U.S.S. Enterprise : MISTER SPOCK

Bill’s time: 5m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cain’s brother : ABEL

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve had several children, although only the first three are mentioned by name: Cain, Abel and Seth.

15 “S.N.L.” alum Carvey : DANA

Dana Carvey, along with the likes of Phil Hartman and Kevin Nealon, was part of the new breed of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) comedians credited with resurrecting the show in the late eighties. One of Carvey’s most popular characters was the Church Lady (“Well, isn’t that special?”), and he became so associated with her that among fellow cast members Carvey was often referred to simply as “the Lady”. Another favorite Carvey character was Garth Algar who went to feature in the “Wayne’s World” movies. Carvey had open-heart surgery in 1997 to clear a blocked artery, but the surgical team operated on the wrong blood vessel. To recover, he had to have five more procedures. He ended up suing for medical malpractice and donated his $7.5 million compensation payment to charity.

17 One who asks “Ehh … What’s up, doc?” : BUGS BUNNY

Bugs Bunny debuted in the 1940 animated short “A Wild Hare”. Since then, Bugs has appeared in more films than any other cartoon character.

21 Latin singer ___ Anthony : MARC

“Marc Anthony” is the stage name of Marco Antonio Muñiz, a Puerto Rican-American singer. Anthony’s first wife was Dayanara Torres, a former Miss Universe from Puerto Rico. His second wife was quite famous too: singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. He divorced from the latter in 2014.

24 Cartoon character who once had a “Club” named after him : MICKEY MOUSE

In 2012, President Barack Obama visited Walt Disney World in Florida. He was there on official government business, and included a reference to Mickey Mouse in his speech:

And I confess, I am excited to see Mickey. It’s always nice to meet a world leader who has bigger ears than me.

Good one, Mr. President …

31 Citizen of Belgrade : SERB

Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia. The name “Belgrade” translates into “White City”.

33 John who wrote the sonnet “Death Be Not Proud” : DONNE

John Donne was one of England’s most celebrated poets, and was active at the start of the 17th century. He spent much of his life in poverty and even spent a short time in prison for having married his wife without procuring the appropriate permissions. After his release, his wife bore him 12 children in 16 years, passing away a few days after the twelfth child was born.

I don’t know about here in America, but at school in Ireland we all had to learn John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X”, also known as “Death, Be Not Proud”.

34 Served as the host for, informally : MC’ED

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

38 Iconic magazine cover figure who asks “What, me worry?” : ALFRED E NEUMAN

Alfred E. Neuman is the mascot of “Mad” magazine, although the image of the smiling, jug-eared youth had been around for decades before the magazine. “Mad” first used the likeness in 1955, and young Mr. Neuman has appeared on the cover of almost every issue of the magazine since then. Neuman’s name was inspired by American composer Alfred Newman, a prolific writer of film scores.

42 Terrible mistake : SNAFU

“SNAFU” is an acronym standing for “situation normal: all fouled up” (well, that’s the polite version!). As one might perhaps imagine, the term developed in the US Army, during WWII.

43 Magna ___ : CARTA

The Magna Carta is a landmark document issued in England in 1215. It represents the first time that an English king had to submit to the will of his subjects, a group of barons who sought to limit the powers of the monarchy. In particular the Magna Carta calls out that no freeman could be punished except through the law of the land. And famously, the Magna Carta was an inspiration for the United States Constitution.

44 Response to a relatable meme, in internet slang : IT ME

“It me” is a slang phrase used mainly on the Internet to indicate that one identifies with something. Usually, the phrase is used somewhat humorously.

45 South and Central American mammal related to the raccoon : COATI

A coati is a member of the raccoon family and is also known as the Brazilian aardvark, or the snookum bear. The coati is native to Central and South America, but can also be found in the southwest of the United States.

51 Second-in-command on the U.S.S. Enterprise : MISTER SPOCK

Leonard Nimoy played the logical Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series. Spock has to be the most popular character on the show, and he kept popping up in “Star Trek” spin offs. Nimoy first worked alongside William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in an episode of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (I loved that show as a kid!), with Nimoy playing a bad guy and Shatner playing an U.N.C.L.E. recruit.

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the “Star Trek” universe (pun!). There have been several generations of starships with the name Enterprise, starting with the vessel numbered NCC-1701, which appeared in the original TV series. My favorite “Star Trek” series is “Next Generation”, which features USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

54 Mother of 1-Across : EVE
[1A Cain’s brother : ABEL]

According to the Bible, Eve was created as Adam’s companion by God, creating her from Adam’s rib.

55 Baseball legend Willie known as the “Say Hey Kid” : MAYS

Willie Mays’ nickname was “Say Hey Kid”, although his friends and teammates were more likely to refer to him as “Buck”. When Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was asked who was the best player he’d ever seen in the game. He replied, “I don’t mean to be bashful, but I was.”

66 Golfer’s warning shout : FORE!

No one seems to know for sure where the golfing term “fore!” comes from. It has been used at least as far back as 1881, and since then has been called out to warn other golfers that a wayward ball might be heading their way. My favorite possibility for its origin is that it is a contraction of the Gaelic warning cry “Faugh a Ballagh!” (clear the way!) which is still called out in the sport of road bowling. Road bowling is an Irish game where players bowl balls along roads between villages, trying to reach the end of the course in as few bowls as possible, just like in golf!

69 Village People classic with a pantomimed chorus : YMCA

“YMCA” was released in 1978 by Village People and has been adopted as an anthem by the gay community. The song was written by Victor Willis, a straight member of the mostly gay band, and he clarifies that the lyrics are extolling the virtues of the “YMCA” as a source of recreation for black urban youth. I think he might have been winking when he said that …

Village People is a disco group formed in New York City in 1977. From day one, the band’s act and music was aimed at the gay community. The name refers to New York’s Greenwich Village, which at the time had a large gay population. The group’s members dressed up as characters associated with stereotypical gay culture, including a cop, Native American, GI, construction worker and cowboy. The biggest hits for Village People are “Y.M.C.A.” and “In the Navy”.

Down

4 Like Bo-Peep’s sheep : LOST

The lines that are most commonly quoted from the rhyme about “Little Bo Peep” are:

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, And they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

But, there are actually four more verses, including this one:

It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

5 College URL ender : EDU

The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

  • .com (commercial enterprise)
  • .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
  • .mil (US military)
  • .org (not-for-profit organization)
  • .gov (US federal government entity)
  • .edu (college-level educational institution)

6 Vehicle for moving day : VAN

The vehicle we call a “van” takes its name from “caravan”, and so “van” is a shortened version of the older term. Back in the 1600s, a caravan was a covered cart. We still use the word “caravan” in Ireland to describe what we call a “mobile home” or “recreational vehicle” here in the US.

13 Summer: Fr. : ETE

In French, “été” (summer) follows “printemps” (spring).

22 Popeye’s assent : AYE

Popeye first appeared in 1929 in a comic strip called “Thimble Theatre”. The strip, created by E. C. Segar, ran for ten years before Popeye made an appearance. Popeye received such a great welcome from readers that he soon “took over” the strip, and eventually even hogged the strip’s title. Before Popeye turned up, Olive Oyl was the main character.

25 “This’ll be the day that ___” (final words in the song “American Pie”) : IDIE

Don McLean released his greatest hit, “American Pie”, back in 1971. Despite the song’s iconic position in the pop repertoire, McLean has been remarkably reticent about its origins and the meaning of the lyrics. We do know that it was inspired by the death of Buddy Holly in a plane crash (“the day the music died”). McLean has also told us that he first read about the death of his idol when delivering newspapers the day after the crash (“February made me shiver/with every paper I’d deliver”). Although the lyrics have been analyzed and interpreted in depth by many, McLean’s stance remains that it is just a poem set to music.

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

27 Middle of the leg : KNEECAP

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

28 The Bruins of the N.C.A.A. : UCLA

The Bruins are the athletic teams representing the University of California, Los Angeles. When the school was founded in 1919, as the Southern Branch of the University of California, the nickname “Cubs” was used by the football team. The “Cubs” name was chosen as the school was regarded as the younger partner of the California Bears in the existing University of California, Berkeley. That name was changed to “Grizzlies” in 1923, and finally to Bruins in 1926.

29 Connery who played James Bond seven times : SEAN

Sean Connery was most famous for playing the original James Bond in the successful series of movies. Back in his native Scotland, Connery was very active in politics and was a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party. He actively campaigned for Scottish independence from Britain and stated that he believed Scotland would achieve that goal within his own lifetime. That had not happened by the time Connery passed away in 2020.

Here are the first seven actors to portray the iconic English spy in the “James Bond” series of movies:

  1. Sean Connery: 1961–1967, 1970–1971 and 1982–1983
  2. David Niven: 1967
  3. George Lazenby: 1968–1969
  4. Roger Moore: 1972–1985
  5. Timothy Dalton: 1986–1994
  6. Pierce Brosnan: 1994–2004
  7. Daniel Craig: 2005–2021

30 Ice cream mogul Joseph : EDY

Dreyer’s ice cream sells its products under the name Dreyer’s in the Western United States, and Edy’s in the Eastern states. The company’s founders were William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

32 Bill of fare at a smorgasbord : BUFFET MENU

Our word “buffet” comes from the French “bufet” meaning “bench, sideboard”. So, a buffet is a meal served from a “bufet”.

A smorgasbord is a buffet-style meal that originated in Sweden. “Smörgåsbord” is a Swedish word comprised of “smörgås” meaning “slice of bread and butter” and “bord” meaning “table”.

36 Author Capote, to friends : TRU

The larger-than-life Truman “Tru” Capote was an author and comedian. Capote is perhaps most associated with his novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his true crime novel “In Cold Blood”. Truman Capote grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. There he met, and became lifelong friends with, fellow novelist Harper Lee. Capote was the inspiration for the character “Dill” in Lee’s celebrated work “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In turn, Harper Lee was the inspiration for the character “Idabel” in Capote’s “Other Voices, Other Rooms”.

38 Prefix with lock or freeze : ANTI-

The first anti-lock braking system (ABS) was developed for use on aircraft, in 1929. The system reduced braking distances for aircraft by 30% because pilots were able to apply a full braking force immediately on landing instead of applying gradual pressure to avoid skidding.

The antifreeze that we put into our cars has ethylene glycol as the active ingredient. Ethylene glycol is dangerous stuff, and is very poisonous. Ingestion causes calcium oxalate crystals to form in the kidneys. It sounds like a horrible way to go …

39 Hasty escapes : LAMS

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, scram”.

40 Peacekeeping grp. since 1949 : NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

41 Obama attorney general ___ Holder : ERIC

Eric Holder was the Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015, the first African American to hold the position. Holder was close to President Obama during the presidential campaign. Holder was the campaign’s legal advisor and was also one of the three members on the Obama vice-presidential selection committee that recommended future Vice President Joe Biden.

42 Resident of a virtual “City” : SIM

SimCity is a very clever computer game. Players build and grow cities and societies by creating the conditions necessary for people (the Sims) to move in and thrive. SimCity was launched in 1989, and to this day it is consistently ranked as one of the greatest computer games of all time.

46 Harden into bone : OSSIFY

To ossify is to become rigid or inflexible in attitude. The original and alternative meaning of the verb is “to cause to harden like bone”, from the Latin “os” meaning “bone”.

53 ___ Kan (dog food brand) : KAL

Kal Kan is a brand of pet food that has been marketed since 1936, but is now sold exclusively in Walmart stores.

58 Participated in a marathon, e.g. : RAN

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.

63 Season-long story line : ARC

A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Cain’s brother : ABEL
5 Like a stereotypical fairy-tale stepmother : EVIL
9 Not sleeping : AWAKE
14 Kind of list with check boxes : TO-DO
15 “S.N.L.” alum Carvey : DANA
16 For real, colloquially : LEGIT
17 One who asks “Ehh … What’s up, doc?” : BUGS BUNNY
19 Flying solo : ALONE
20 Feeling of anxiety : AGITA
21 Latin singer ___ Anthony : MARC
23 Casualty of casual Fridays : TIE
24 Cartoon character who once had a “Club” named after him : MICKEY MOUSE
31 Citizen of Belgrade : SERB
33 John who wrote the sonnet “Death Be Not Proud” : DONNE
34 Served as the host for, informally : MC’ED
35 Serving a purpose : UTILE
37 Race with a baton : RELAY
38 Iconic magazine cover figure who asks “What, me worry?” : ALFRED E NEUMAN
42 Terrible mistake : SNAFU
43 Magna ___ : CARTA
44 Response to a relatable meme, in internet slang : IT ME
45 South and Central American mammal related to the raccoon : COATI
47 Snare : TRAP
51 Second-in-command on the U.S.S. Enterprise : MISTER SPOCK
54 Mother of 1-Across : EVE
55 Baseball legend Willie known as the “Say Hey Kid” : MAYS
56 Infuriate : ANGER
58 Send elsewhere, as to a specialist : REFER
61 “You have my full attention” … or something 17-, 24-, 38- and 51-Across might say? : I’M ALL EARS
65 Hollywood representative : AGENT
66 Golfer’s warning shout : FORE!
67 In addition : ALSO
68 Mocking retort to Captain Obvious : NO DUH!
69 Village People classic with a pantomimed chorus : YMCA
70 Many a new driver : TEEN

Down

1 Opportunities to face a pitcher : AT-BATS
2 Having a concern for wealth and respectability, in slang : BOUGIE
3 Like humor that’s even more far out : EDGIER
4 Like Bo-Peep’s sheep : LOST
5 College URL ender : EDU
6 Vehicle for moving day : VAN
7 Traveler’s stopover : INN
8 Nonexperts : LAYMEN
9 Jarring noise at 6 a.m. : ALARM
10 Something just outside the front door : WELCOME MAT
11 Back in time : AGO
12 Family members : KIN
13 Summer: Fr. : ETE
18 Comic book sound effect : BAM!
22 Popeye’s assent : AYE
25 “This’ll be the day that ___” (final words in the song “American Pie”) : IDIE
26 Icy : COLD
27 Middle of the leg : KNEECAP
28 The Bruins of the N.C.A.A. : UCLA
29 Connery who played James Bond seven times : SEAN
30 Ice cream mogul Joseph : EDY
32 Bill of fare at a smorgasbord : BUFFET MENU
36 Author Capote, to friends : TRU
37 “Same old” place to be stuck : RUT
38 Prefix with lock or freeze : ANTI-
39 Hasty escapes : LAMS
40 Peacekeeping grp. since 1949 : NATO
41 Obama attorney general ___ Holder : ERIC
42 Resident of a virtual “City” : SIM
45 Weep : CRY
46 Harden into bone : OSSIFY
48 Entertain lavishly : REGALE
49 Opposed (to) : AVERSE
50 ___, place or thing : PERSON
52 You are here : EARTH
53 ___ Kan (dog food brand) : KAL
57 Served without ice, at a bar : NEAT
58 Participated in a marathon, e.g. : RAN
59 Cause of a swelled head : EGO
60 Put coins into, as a meter : FED
62 Honoree of many classic tattoos : MOM
63 Season-long story line : ARC
64 Meadow : LEA

5 thoughts on “1017-22 NY Times Crossword 17 Oct 22, Monday”

  1. 4:40. If only I could do difficult puzzles as well as these easy ones.

    In junior high (ish?) we had to read a book called “Death Be Not Proud” about a young man with a brain tumor back in the 40’s. I had no idea the title came from some classic sonnet. I probably wasn’t paying attention that day.

    Best –

  2. 7:22 interesting that Alfred E. Neuman has appeared twice recently…it must be a conspiracy:- )

  3. 5:37, no errors. If only these “easy ones” weren’t as difficult as the later week ones for me (mostly).

Comments are closed.