Announcement
I am away on vacation from Sunday, July 17 to Tuesday, August 2. I fully intend to sneak away to do the crossword each day, but probably won’t find time to do many look-ups. Some days I may be a little late posting the solution, and if that should happen, please let me apologize in advance. Email subscribers should check the blog directly at NTYCrossword.com as the solution may be posted by the time they read check their email. Things will be back to normal very shortly! … Bill
QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
CROSSWORD SETTER: Joel Fagliano
THEME: A WORK IN PROGRESS … all the answers to the starred clues contain the letters ART, and the ART (“work”) “progresses” to the right from answer to answer:
13. *Eloquent : (ART)ICULATE
17. *British novelist who wrote “London Fields” : M(ART)IN AMIS
20. *College near Philadelphia : SW(ART)HMORE
25. *Having both Republican and Democratic support : BIP(ART)ISAN
36. Unfinished project … or, literally, what the answers to the eight starred clues contain? : A WORK IN PROGRESS
45. *National discount store chain : DOLL(AR T)REE
51. *Container next to a bowl of cereal : MILK C(ART)ON
60. *Like some checks and vendors : THIRD P(ART)Y
64. *Gradually separated : MOVED AP(ART)
COMPLETION TIME: 7m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. French-speaking nation in the Americas : HAITI
The Caribbean island of Hispaniola was a target for European settlers, and ended up being a disputed territory between France and Spain. The two countries divided the island, with the French taking control of the western third, which they named Saint-Domingue. Saint-Domingue was later to become the independent, and French-speaking, Republic of Haiti.
CBS introduced its “eye” logo in 1951.
9. ___ colada : PINA
Piña colada is a Spanish term which translates into “strained pineapple”. The cocktail was introduced in the Caribe Hilton in 1954, and since 1978 it has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico. Yum …
16. “Crazy” bird : LOON
The slang term “loon” for a deranged person probably comes from the loud cry of the bird, the loon, but is also probably influenced by the word “lunatic”.
17. *British novelist who wrote “London Fields” : MARTIN AMIS
I suppose the successful English novelist Martin Amis must have writing in his blood. He is the son of the respected author Kingsley Amis, a Booker Prize winner.
20. *College near Philadelphia : SWARTHMORE
Swarthmore College is a liberal arts school located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, just a few miles southwest of Philadelphia. Originally a Quaker school, Swarthmore has been non-sectarian since the early 1900s.
Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York was named after William A. Shea, the man credited with bringing National League baseball back to the city, in the form of the New York Mets.
25. *Having both Republican and Democratic support : BIPARTISAN
I’ll say nothing …
30. Degree after an M.A., perhaps : PH.D
In many countries, including the US, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) is the highest academic degree awarded by universities. However, in Ireland and the UK, “doctorates” can also be awarded, a higher recognition. For example, there is a Doctor of Sciences (DSc) and a Doctor of Letters (DLitt).
42. Go kaput : DIE
Kaput comes to us from French (via German). “Capot” means “not having won a single trick” in the French card game called Piquet.
56. The last “w” in www : WEB
In essence, the World Wide Web is a vast collection of documents that are accessible using the Internet, with each document containing hyperlinks which point to other documents in the collection. So the “Web” is different from the Internet, although the terms are often used interchangeably. The Web is the collection of documents, and the Internet is global network of computers on which the documents reside.
Esai Morales is best known for his role in the 1987 movie “La Bamba”, which depicted the life of Ritchie Valens and his half-brother Bob Morales (played by Esai Morales).
65. Pictures inked on the body, in slang : TATS
The word “tattoo” was first used in English in the writings of Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning skin of Polynesian natives, he anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into “tattoo”.
67. Wigwam relative : TEPEE
A tepee (also written as tipi and teepee) is a cone-shaped tent traditionally made from animal hides, and used by the Great Plains Native Americans. A wigwam is a completely different structure, and is often a misnomer for a tepee. A wigwam is a domed structure built by Native Americans in the West and Southwest, intended to be more permanent. The wigwam can also be covered with hides, but more often was covered with grass, reeds, brush or cloth.
Down
2. Asia’s shrinking ___ Sea : ARAL
The Aral Sea is a great example of how man can have a devastating effect on the environment. In the early sixties the Aral Sea covered 68,000 square miles of Central Asia. Soviet irrigation projects drained the lake to such an extent that today the total area is less than 7,000 square miles, with 90% of the original lake’s volume gone. Sad …
The athletic teams of the University of Alabama are nicknamed the Crimson Tide, a reference to the team colors, crimson and white.
10. Where the Northern Lights occur : IONOSPHERE
The ionosphere is that layer of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation.
11. Dark film genre : NOIR
The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was “created” by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot, with a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.
The 12-hour clock has been around along time, and was even used in sundial format in Ancient Egypt. Our use of AM and PM dates back to Roman times, with AM standing for Ante Meridiem (before noon) and PM standing for Post Meridiem (after noon). However, the Romans originally used the AM concept a little differently, by counting backwards from noon. So, 2AM to the Romans back then would be two hours before noon, or 10AM as we would call it today.
14. Al who won four Indy 500s : UNSER
The Unser family seems to have racing cars in its blood. Al Unser, Sr. won the Indy 500 four times. Al’s brother, Jerry, was the first of the Unsers to compete at Indianapolis. Al’s other brother, Bobby, won the Indy three times. Al’s son, Al Junior, won the Indy twice. Al Junior’s son is also a racing driver who competes at the Indy Speedway.
The great Hank Aaron has many claims to fame. One notable fact is that he is the last major league baseball player to have also played in the Negro League.
26. Antiestablishment figure : ICONOCLAST
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of society’s icons, either religious or cultural. The term applies more to a rebellious action from within a society, as opposed to an act by external forces invading another culture. As such, the term “iconoclast” has come to have a broader meaning, describing anyone who stands up against established convention.
33. Nothing : NADA
“Nada” is the Spanish word for “nothing”. “De nada” translates literally from the Spanish as “of nothing”, and is used to mean “you’re welcome” or “don’t mention it”. The French have the same expression “de rien”, also translating to “of nothing” and used the same way.
Stan Getz was a jazz saxophonist. His playing style earned him the nickname “The Sound”.
40. With 43-Across, yttrium or scandium : RARE
43. See 40-Down : EARTH
Rare earth elements are so called because they are rarely found in mineral form in a sufficient concentration for exploitation.
“Doc Martens” is the more familiar term for the British shoe brand “Dr. Martens”. The first Doc Martens were made in Germany just after WWII, by a doctor named Klaus Martens. He found his army-issue boots too uncomfortable for an injured foot, so he developed a boot with soft leather and an air-cushioned sole, the trademarks of today’s Doc Martens.
47. Corp. creativity department : R AND D
Research and Development.
49. Dust Bowl migrants : OKIES
The Dust Bowl was the name given to a period in which severe dust storms ravaged the American and Canadian Prairies in the thirties. A major factor in the storms was the loss of the deep-rooted grasses native to the land, displaced by intensive farming. Without the grasses the topsoil was blown away in a period of drought.
52. Jamaica, por ejemplo : ISLA
In Spanish, Jamaica, for example (“por ejemplo”), is an island (“isla”).
Rho is the Greek letter that looks just like our Roman letter “p”.
55. Record for later viewing, in a way : TIVO
TiVo was introduced in 1999, the world’s first commercially successful DVR (Digital Video Recorder). If you don’t have a DVR, you might want to consider getting one. For those who enjoy television, it’s very liberating.
58. Tiny part of a computer’s memory : BYTE
In the world of computers, a “bit” is the basic unit of information. It has a value of 0 or 1. A “byte” is a small collection of bits (usually 8), the number of bits needed to uniquely identify a character of text. The prefix mega- stands for 10 to the power of 6, so a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes. And the prefix giga- means 10 to the power of 9, so a gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 bytes.
What a classic movie “King Kong” is, starring Fay Wray as the young woman that Kong falls for. Apparently Wray was very interested in the role in which she was told she would be playing opposite the “tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood”. She thought it might be Clark Gable. Boy was she wrong …
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. French-speaking nation in the Americas : HAITI
6. Network with an eye logo : CBS
9. ___ colada : PINA
13. *Eloquent : ARTICULATE
16. “Crazy” bird : LOON
17. *British novelist who wrote “London Fields” : MARTIN AMIS
18. Liter or meter : UNIT
19. Crafty : SLY
20. *College near Philadelphia : SWARTHMORE
22. Mets’ ballpark until 2008 : SHEA
24. Symbol on Superman’s chest : ESS
25. *Having both Republican and Democratic support : BIPARTISAN
30. Degree after an M.A., perhaps : PH.D
33. “___ do” (“Not possible”) : NO CAN
34. Hot cocoa container, maybe : MUG
35. Japanese “yes” : HAI
36. Unfinished project … or, literally, what the answers to the eight starred clues contain? : A WORK IN PROGRESS
41. Where a bear hibernates : DEN
42. Go kaput : DIE
43. See 40-Down : EARTH
44. Kerfuffle : ADO
45. *National discount store chain : DOLLAR TREE
48. Dove’s sound : COO
50. Whacked-out mental state : DAZE
51. *Container next to a bowl of cereal : MILK CARTON
56. The last “w” in www : WEB
59. Morales of “NYPD Blue” : ESAI
60. *Like some checks and vendors : THIRD PARTY
63. “Or ___!” (threat) : ELSE
64. *Gradually separated : MOVED APART
65. Pictures inked on the body, in slang : TATS
66. Lawn base : SOD
67. Wigwam relative : TEPEE
Down
1. Easter roasts : HAMS
2. Asia’s shrinking ___ Sea : ARAL
3. Humble response to a compliment : I TRY
4. Palindromic bird : TIT
5. Here, in 1-Across : ICI
6. Scratch, as a cat might a sofa : CLAW AT
7. Crimson Tide school, for short : BAMA
8. Start to wake up : STIR
9. Prunes, originally : PLUMS
10. Where the Northern Lights occur : IONOSPHERE
11. Dark film genre : NOIR
12. ___ meridiem (morning: Lat.) : ANTE
14. Al who won four Indy 500s : UNSER
15. D.C. winter hrs. : EST
21. Rooster’s mate : HEN
22. Train for a boxing match : SPAR
23. Baseball’s Hammerin’ ___ : HANK
25. Bent at a curtain call : BOWED
26. Antiestablishment figure : ICONOCLAST
27. Urge : IMPEL
28. Spanish “south” : SUR
29. In the past : AGO
31. Hurry : HASTE
32. What everyone brings to a potluck dinner : DISH
33. Nothing : NADA
37. Words before “You may kiss the bride” : I DO
38. Nothing : NIL
39. Saxophonist Stan : GETZ
40. With 43-Across, yttrium or scandium : RARE
45. ___ Martens (shoes) : DOC
46. Loved to pieces : ADORED
47. Corp. creativity department : R AND D
49. Dust Bowl migrants : OKIES
51. Encounter : MEET
52. Jamaica, por ejemplo : ISLA
53. Place to enter a PIN : ATM
54. Letters after pis : RHOS
55. Record for later viewing, in a way : TIVO
56. Shawl, e.g. : WRAP
57. French “to be” : ETRE
58. Tiny part of a computer’s memory : BYTE
61. Congratulate nonverbally : PAT
62. King Kong, e.g. : APE
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