0308-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 8 Mar 2018, Thursday

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Constructed by: Jim Quinlan
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): “N” Sound to “In” Sound

Themed answers are common phrases in which an “n” sound at the end of the first word has been changed to an “in” sound. This gives us words ending with “in’” (“ing” shortened).

  • 19A. Deceitful ballerinas? : LYIN’ DANCERS (from “line dancers”)
  • 27A. Cow as it strolls around the pasture? : MOOIN’ WALKER (from “moonwalker”)
  • 42A. Band members? : PLAYIN’ FOLKS (from “plain folks”)
  • 53A. Census bureau employee? : BEIN’ COUNTER (from “bean counter”)

Bill’s time: 7m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8. Game with a 90-foot x 13.1-foot court : BOCCE

The Italian bowling game of “bocce” (often anglicized as “bocci” or “boccie”) is based on a game played in Ancient Rome. “Bocce” is the plural of the Italian word “boccia” meaning “bowl”.

15. One down in the mouth? : UVULA

The uvula is that conical fleshy projection hanging down at the back of the soft palate. The uvula plays an important role in human speech, particularly in the making of “guttural” sounds. The Latin word for “grape” is “uva”, so “uvula” is a “little grape”.

22. Golden Bears’ school, familiarly : CAL

The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams of the University of California, Berkeley. The University of California, Berkeley (Cal) is the most difficult public university to get into in the world. It opened in 1869 and is named for Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley.

23. Subject of reunification talks : KOREA

Korea was occupied by the Japanese military from 1910 until Japan surrendered at the end of WWII in 1945. While the UN was working towards a trusteeship administration for Korea, the Soviet Union managed the Korean Peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the US managed the south. The UN’s plans came to naught as the Cold War dictated the establishment of the two separate states of North Korea and South Korea. North Korea invaded the South in 1950, leading to the Korean War. After three years of fighting, the border between the two states became the demarcation line between the two military forces on the day the Armistice Agreement was signed. That line runs diagonally across the 38th parallel, and is better known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

27. Cow as it strolls around the pasture? : MOOIN’ WALKER (from “moonwalker”)

Michael Jackson introduced his one-glove look that same day that he debuted his little dance move known as the Moonwalk. It all took place on an NBC TV special in 1983 called “Motown 25”.

32. Fine wool source : ALPACA

Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. Alpacas were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

48. Singer ___ Del Rey : LANA

“Lana Del Rey” is the stage name of singer/songwriter Elizabeth Grant. Del Rey calls herself a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Nice …

49. Classic railroad name : ERIE

The Erie Railroad operated from 1832 to 1960, and connected New York City with Lake Erie. The Erie Railroad was largely built as compensation for the towns in the Southern Tier of New York who lost business when the Erie Canal was completed in 1825.

52. Old ___ (Yale nickname) : ELI

Elihu Yale was a wealthy merchant born in Boston in 1649. Yale worked for the British East India Company, and for many years served as governor of a settlement at Madras (now Chennai) in India. After India, Yale took over his father’s estate near Wrexham in Wales. It was while resident in Wrexham that Yale responded to a request for financial support for the Collegiate School of Connecticut in 1701. He sent the school a donation, which was used to erect a new building in New Haven that was named “Yale” in his honor. In 1718, the whole school was renamed to “Yale College”. To this day, students of Yale are nicknamed “Elis”, again honoring Elihu.

55. Ronzoni offering : PASTA

Ronzoni is a brand owned by New World Pasta, which is the largest supplier of pasta to the retail North American market.

57. Actress Blanchett : CATE

Cate Blanchett is a great actress from Australia, and a winner of an Academy Award for playing Katherine Hepburn in “The Aviator”. Winning for that role made Blanchett the first person to win an Academy Award for playing an actor (Hepburn) who had also won an Oscar. Now that, that is trivial information …

61. Sushi bar stock : EELS

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.

62. Bomb developed in the 1950s : EDSEL

The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel Ford, son of Henry. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced. When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel on 4 September 1957, Ford proclaimed the day to be “E Day”.

63. ESP : Spain :: ___ : Netherlands : NED

Some Dutch people can get a little annoyed if one refers to their country as “Holland”, as the correct name is “the Netherlands”. North and South Holland are two of the country’s twelve provinces. The use of “Holland” instead of “the Netherlands” is analogous to the former Soviet Union being referred to as “Russia” and the United Kingdom being called “England”. That said, sometimes even the Dutch people themselves refer to the country as Holland, especially at a soccer match!

Down

4. Trattoria bowlful : PENNE

Cylindrical pasta is known in general as “penne”, and there are many variants. For example, ziti is a particularly large and long tube with square-cut ends. “Penne” is the plural of “penna”, the Italian for “feather, quill”.

5. Like Birkenstocks : OPEN-TOE

Birkenstock is a shoe manufacturer based in Germany.

8. Tampa team, informally : BUCS

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976 along with the Seattle Seahawks as expansion teams. The Bucs had a tough start in the NFL, losing their first 26 games. Things went better in the early eighties, but then the team went through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Their luck changed again though, and they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season.

12. Tea choice : EARL GREY

The Earl Grey blend of tea is supposedly named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey who was Prime Minister of the UK from 1830 to 1834. Earl Grey tea has a distinctive flavor that is largely due to the addition of oil from the rind of the bergamot orange.

14. Org. whose mission involves emissions : EPA

The Clean Air Act of 1963 is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

28. Greeting in Rio : OLA

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

34. Ragtime entertainers, e.g. : PIANISTS

Ragtime music was at the height of it popularity in the early 1900s. It takes its name from its characteristic “ragged” rhythms. The most famous ragtime composer was Scott Joplin, who had a big hit with his “Maple Leaf Rag” when it was published in 1899. He followed that up with a string of hits, including the “Pine Apple Rag” (sic). Ragtime fell out of favor about 1917 when the public turned to jazz. It had a resurgence in the forties when jazz musicians started to include ragtime tunes in their repertoires. But it was the 1973 movie “The Sting” that brought the true revival, as the hit soundtrack included numerous ragtime tunes by Scott Joplin, including the celebrated “The Entertainer” originally published in 1902.

36. Some detectives’ work, for short : CSI

Crime scene investigator (CSI)

39. Like the earliest humans : AFRICAN

The Olduvai Gorge is an important paleoanthropological in Tanzania. It is home to the earliest evidence of human ancestors. Discoveries of fossilized bones and tools have led the paleoanthropological community to conclude that humans evolved in Africa.

44. “Law & Order” spinoff, colloquially : SVU

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is a spin-off from the TV crime drama “Law & Order”. “SVU” has been on the air since 1999, and is set in New York City. Interestingly (to me), there is a very successful Russian adaptation of the show that is set in Moscow.

53. Event for Cinderella : BALL

The folk tale about “Cinderella” was first published by French author Charles Perrault in 1697, although it was later included by the Brothers Grimm in their famous 1812 collection. The storyline of the tale may date back as far as the days of Ancient Greece. A common alternative title to the story is “The Little Glass Slipper”.

54. Voluminous ref. : OED

Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.

56. It can give drivers a lift : TEE

That would be golf.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Reach a breaking point : SNAP
5. Photo ___ : OPS
8. Game with a 90-foot x 13.1-foot court : BOCCE
13. Donor gift, perhaps : TOTE
14. To be remembered for a very long time : EPIC
15. One down in the mouth? : UVULA
16. Routing abbr. : ATTN
17. Mrazek or Nedved of the N.H.L. : PETR
18. Skip about : CAPER
19. Deceitful ballerinas? : LYIN’ DANCERS (from “line dancers”)
22. Golden Bears’ school, familiarly : CAL
23. Subject of reunification talks : KOREA
24. Teddy, by another name : THEO
25. Sucker for vampire stories? : FANG
26. Bit of lawyerly advice : SUE
27. Cow as it strolls around the pasture? : MOOIN’ WALKER (from “moonwalker”)
30. Part of the eye : LENS
31. Birds that cronk : GEESE
32. Fine wool source : ALPACA
37. Sitting next to a fireplace, say : TOASTY
38. You might take them to do a good job : PAINS
39. Super-duper : ACES
42. Band members? : PLAYIN’ FOLKS (from “plain folks”)
45. Corner key : ESC
48. Singer ___ Del Rey : LANA
49. Classic railroad name : ERIE
50. Look from Lookout Point : VISTA
52. Old ___ (Yale nickname) : ELI
53. Census bureau employee? : BEIN’ COUNTER (from “bean counter”)
55. Ronzoni offering : PASTA
57. Actress Blanchett : CATE
58. Edit out : DELE
59. Enemy plans, e.g. : INTEL
60. Like fine wines : AGED
61. Sushi bar stock : EELS
62. Bomb developed in the 1950s : EDSEL
63. ESP : Spain :: ___ : Netherlands : NED
64. Holiday shortening : XMAS

Down

1. Follows closely : STALKS
2. “I meant somebody else” : NOT YOU
3. Wear : ATTIRE
4. Trattoria bowlful : PENNE
5. Like Birkenstocks : OPEN-TOE
6. Do one’s part : PITCH IN
7. Some basketball tactics : SCREENS
8. Tampa team, informally : BUCS
9. Eggs in a lab : OVA
10. Bakery trayful : CUPCAKES
11. Most upright : CLEANEST
12. Tea choice : EARL GREY
14. Org. whose mission involves emissions : EPA
20. Stop the flow of : DAM
21. Do crew : ROW
25. ___ collar : FLEA
28. Greeting in Rio : OLA
29. Past : AGO
32. McDonald’s offering since 1968 : APPLE PIE
33. Dreamy state : LA-LA LAND
34. Ragtime entertainers, e.g. : PIANISTS
35. Actress Taylor-Joy of 2015’s “The Witch” : ANYA
36. Some detectives’ work, for short : CSI
37. Shaming sound : TSK!
39. Like the earliest humans : AFRICAN
40. Word that no one has ever said before : COINAGE
41. Chose : ELECTED
43. Marriage announcement word : NEE
44. “Law & Order” spinoff, colloquially : SVU
45. Revere : ESTEEM
46. Adler with a noted acting studio : STELLA
47. Nice touch : CARESS
51. Search simplifier : INDEX
53. Event for Cinderella : BALL
54. Voluminous ref. : OED
56. It can give drivers a lift : TEE