1031-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 31 Oct 14, Friday

QuickLinks:
Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
Solution to today’s New York Times crossword found online at the Seattle Times website
Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

CROSSWORD SETTER: Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 33m 53s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Boston and Chicago, but not Seattle : ROCK BANDS
Boston is a rock band from … Boston. Boston’s biggest hit was “Amanda”, released in 1986.

The rock band called Chicago was formed in … Chicago. The band’s biggest hits are “If You Leave Me Now” (1976) and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” (1982). The band’s lineup has changed a lot over the years. The most tragic reason for a change was in 1978 when Terry Kath, one of the band’s founding members, died from an accidentally self-inflicted gun wound. Kath enjoyed playing with guns and as a joke held a pistol with an empty magazine to his temple and pulled the trigger. A round in the chamber killed him instantly.

14. Inuit’s transport : WHALEBOAT
The Inuit peoples live in the Arctic, in parts of the US, Russia, Greenland and Canada.

15. Oscar nominee for “Fiddler on the Roof” : 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”.

17. Photoshop effect : SEPIA
Sepia is that lovely rich, brown-grey color so common in old photographs. “Sepia” is the Latinized version of the Greek word for cuttlefish, as sepia pigment is derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish.The “sepia tone” of old photographs is not the result of deterioration over time. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate preservation process which converts the metallic silver in the photographic image to a more stable silver sulfide. Prints that have been sepia-toned can last in excess of 150 years.

Photoshop is a wonderful piece of software used for editing graphics. When I first bought a copy of Photoshop, it was really expensive (about $300, ten years ago), but now there are cost-effective, stripped-down versions available.

18. Bright lights : NEONS
The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

23. Sea-___ : TAC
Sea-Tac Airport is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

25. Ring of islands? : LEI
“Lei” is the Hawaiian word for “garland, wreath”, although in more general terms a “lei” is any series of objects strung together as an adornment for the body.

26. Barely clear, in a way : AWEIGH
When an anchor is “aweigh” or “atrip”, it is just clear of the bottom, having just been lifted.

29. Expert : COGNOSCENTE
Cognoscenti (singular “cognoscente”) are people with expert knowledge in a particular field, especially in the world of arts and literature. Are similar term might be “connoisseur”. “Cognoscere” is the Latin for “to know”.

32. Like Fortunato, in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” : BURIED ALIVE
33. “The Cask of Amontillado,” e.g. : HORROR STORY
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1846. The story tells of a vengeful man who lures his enemy into the catacombs, locks him in chains and then traps him in a niche by sealing it with a brick wall. Nice man …

35. Predators in the “Predator” films, for short : ETS
“Predator” is a 1987 sci-fi movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a special forces team that comes up against an alien known as the Predator. Rubbish …

36. Some I.R.A.’s : CDS
A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

39. “Be on the lookout” signal, in brief : APB
An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

40. ___ country (rustic locale) : AMISH
The Amish are a group of Christian churches, a sub-group of the Mennonite churches. The Amish church originated in Switzerland and Alsace in 1693 when it was founded by Jakob Ammann. It was Ammann who gave the name to the Amish people. Many Amish people came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

44. Anthrax cousin : METALLICA
Metallica is a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1981. Not my thing …

Anthrax is a thrash metal band that formed in New York City in 1981. I have no idea what thrash metal is …

47. Prey for a dingo : KOALA
The koala bear really does look like a little bear, but it’s not even closely related. The koala is an arboreal marsupial and a herbivore, native to the east and south coasts of Australia. Koalas aren’t primates, and are one of the few mammals other than primates who have fingerprints. In fact, it can be very difficult to tell human fingerprints from koala fingerprints, even under an electron microscope. I’m a little jealous of the koala, as it sleeps up to 20 hours a day …

The dingo is a wild dog of Australia. The dingo is thought to have originated from domesticated dogs that were brought to Australia with humans that settled the land centuries ago.

51. Ora pro ___ : NOBIS
“Ora pro nobis” translates from Latin as “pray for us”. It is a common term used in the Roman Catholic tradition and is often shortened to “OPN”.

52. Having human form : INCARNATE
Something described as “incarnate” has been given a bodily form. The Latin verb “incarnare” means “to make flesh”.

53. ___ chic : TRES
“Très chic” is a French term meaning “very stylish”.

Down
1. Where primatologist Dian Fossey worked : RWANDA
Rwanda is a sovereign nation in central Africa that is populated by three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi (aka “Watutsi”) and Twa. The Tutsi are the second largest population of people in Rwanda, with the Hutu being the largest group. The bloody conflict that has existed between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples dates back to about 1880 when Catholic missionaries arrived in the region. The missionaries found that they had more success converting the Hutus than the Tutsi, and when the Germans occupied the area during WWI they confiscated Tutsi land and gave it to Hutu tribes in order to reward religious conversion. This injustice fuels fighting to this very day.

Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda (NB: it was Jane Goodall that worked with chimpanzees). Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1986, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

3. Gambol : CAVORT
“Gambol” is a such a lovely word, meaning to frolic and leap about.

4. TV colonel : KLINK
On the sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes”, Colonel Klink was the Camp Commandant, played by Werner Klemperer. Klemperer was born in Cologne in Germany, and fled the country with his family in 1935 due to Nazi persecution of Jews. Later, Klemperer joined the US Army and ended up using his show business talent to entertain the troops in the Pacific. Werner was the son of renowned conductor Otto Klemperer.

5. 20th-century first lady : BESS
Harry and Bess Truman met when they were very young children, at Sunday school. They were friends right through high school and became engaged in 1918 just before Harry went off to France during WWI, marrying the next year. Bess Truman never really took to the Washington scene when she became First Lady and stayed out of the limelight as much as she could. Perhaps that contributed to her longevity. Mrs. Truman lived to the age of 97, making her the longest living First Lady in US history.

6. Grp. with suits and cases : ABA
American Bar Association (ABA)

8. Start of an Eastern title : DALAI
The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

10. Book after Hosea : JOEL
The Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible is part of the collection known as the Twelve Minor Prophets. These books are referred to as “minor” as the texts are relatively short.

12. Introduction to English? : COINAGE
“Coinage” is the act of making coins. The term is also used for the invention of words.

13. Social gathering : KLATCH
A “klatch” (also “klatsch”) is a casual gathering, particularly for conversation. “Klatch” comes from the German “klatschen” meaning “to gossip”.

15. Grp. with a lot of baggage : TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in 2001, soon after the 9/11 attacks.

20. British kitchen accessory : TEA CLOTH
On the other side of the Atlantic, a tea towel is known as a tea cloth.

22. Like the words “hoagie” and “kitty-corner” : REGIONAL
Hoagy is another name for a submarine sandwich. The term “hoagy” (or hoagie) originated in Philadelphia, apparently introduced by Italians working in the shipyards during WWI. The shipyards were located on Hog Island, and the sandwich was first called the Hog Island, which morphed into the hoagy.

“Kitty-corner” means “diagonally opposite”. The term is used mainly in the north and west of the US.

25. Actor with the line “Rick! Rick, help me!” : LORRE
“Rick! Rick, help me!” is a line from “Casablanca”, spoken by Signor Ugarte to Rick Blaine.

Signor Ugarte is a wonderful character in the classic film “Casablanca”. Ugarte is played by Peter Lorre, and is the man who has possession of the crucial letters of transit that were obtained by murdering two German couriers.

The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. Lorre’s real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. Lorre found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.

28. “___, like lightning, seeks the highest places”: Livy : ENVY
Titus Livius (aka Livy) was a Roman historian who lived from 59 BC to AD 17. Livy wrote the definitive history of Rome at that time.

30. Some E.R. cases : ODS
Overdoses (ODs)

31. Topping for skewered meat : SATE SAUCE
The dish known as “satay” originated in Java, Indonesia and is marinated pieces of meat served on a skewer in a sauce, often a spicy peanut sauce. “Satay” is the Indonesian spelling, and “sate” is the Malay spelling.

32. Idiot box : BOOB TUBE
“Idiot box” and “boob tube” are nicknames for television.

34. The son on “Sanford and Son” : LAMONT
“Sanford and Son” was an American version of a celebrated hit BBC sitcom that I grew up with in Ireland, called “Steptoe and Son”.

36. Adam’s apple coverer : CRAVAT
The cravat originated in Croatia and was an accessory used with a military uniform. Cravats were introduced to the fashion-conscious French by Croatian mercenaries enlisted into a regiment of the French army. The English placed a lot of emphasis on the knot used for the cravat, and in the period after the Battle of Waterloo the cravat came to be known as a “tie”. What we now call a tie in English is still called a “cravate” in French.

The voice box or larynx is where pitch and volume of sound are manipulated when we talk. The structure called the Adam’s apple that protrudes from the human neck is formed by the thyroid cartilage that surrounds the larynx. The Adam’s apple of males tends to increase in size during puberty, so the feature tended to be associated more with males in days gone by, perhaps leading to the name “Adam’s” apple.

43. Betty Boop and Bugs Bunny : TOONS
Betty Boop made her first appearance on the screen in 1930, in a cartoon called “Dizzy Dishes”. Her character was modeled on the the It-girl, the sexy Clara Bow of movie fame. Back then Betty Boop was a sexy poodle and it wasn’t until 1932 that she morphed into completely human form. Betty was quite the risqué figure, but her vampish ways only lasted a few years. When the Production Code of 1934 came into force, Betty started to dress more modestly and toned down her behavior.

Bugs Bunny first said “What’s up, Doc?” in the 1940 cartoon short “A Wild Hare”, addressing the hunter Elmer Fudd.

47. Actress Russell of “Felicity” : KERI
Actress Keri Russell got her big break on television when she was cast in the title role in the drama show “Felicity” that ran from 1998 from 2002. The lead character in the show is Felicity Porter, a young lady introduced to the audience with a head of long curly blonde hair. Famously, Russell cut her hair extremely short at the start of the second season, an action that was associated with a significant drop in the show’s viewership. Russell had to grow out her hair over the season. I haven’t seen “Felicity”, but I really do enjoy Russell playing one of the leads in the entertaining Cold War drama called “The Americans” that is aired by FX.

50. Adolphe with an instrument named after him : SAX
The saxophone was invented by Belgian Adolphe Sax. Sax developed lip cancer at one point in his life, and one has to wonder if his affliction was related to his saxophone playing (I am sure not!). I had the privilege of visiting Sax’s grave in the Cemetery of Montmartre in Paris a few years ago.

Share today’s solution with a friend:
FacebookTwitterGoogleEmail

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Boston and Chicago, but not Seattle : ROCK BANDS
10. Diddly-squat : JACK
14. Inuit’s transport : WHALEBOAT
15. Oscar nominee for “Fiddler on the Roof” : TOPOL
16. Recommended : ADVISABLE
17. Photoshop effect : SEPIA
18. Bright lights : NEONS
19. What naturals have : RAW TALENT
21. With 24-Across, witchcraft, e.g. : DARK
22. Up : RAISE
23. Sea-___ : TAC
24. See 21-Across : ART
25. Ring of islands? : LEI
26. Barely clear, in a way : AWEIGH
29. Expert : COGNOSCENTE
32. Like Fortunato, in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” : BURIED ALIVE
33. “The Cask of Amontillado,” e.g. : HORROR STORY
34. Ease : LOOSEN
35. Predators in the “Predator” films, for short : ETS
36. Some I.R.A.’s : CDS
39. “Be on the lookout” signal, in brief : APB
40. ___ country (rustic locale) : AMISH
43. Gallows ___ : TREE
44. Anthrax cousin : METALLICA
47. Prey for a dingo : KOALA
48. Helpful : OF USE
49. Get ready to click, maybe : MOUSE OVER
51. Ora pro ___ : NOBIS
52. Having human form : INCARNATE
53. ___ chic : TRES
54. Didn’t kill each other : COEXISTED

Down
1. Where primatologist Dian Fossey worked : RWANDA
2. “We’re in trouble now!” : OH DEAR!
3. Gambol : CAVORT
4. TV colonel : KLINK
5. 20th-century first lady : BESS
6. Grp. with suits and cases : ABA
7. Easy decision : NO-BRAINER
8. Start of an Eastern title : DALAI
9. Fusses : STEWS
10. Book after Hosea : JOEL
11. Desire : APPETITE
12. Introduction to English? : COINAGE
13. Social gathering : KLATCH
15. Grp. with a lot of baggage : TSA
20. British kitchen accessory : TEA CLOTH
22. Like the words “hoagie” and “kitty-corner” : REGIONAL
25. Actor with the line “Rick! Rick, help me!” : LORRE
27. Small dams : WEIRS
28. “___, like lightning, seeks the highest places”: Livy : ENVY
29. Base men? : CURS
30. Some E.R. cases : ODS
31. Topping for skewered meat : SATE SAUCE
32. Idiot box : BOOB TUBE
33. Desire : HOPE FOR
34. The son on “Sanford and Son” : LAMONT
36. Adam’s apple coverer : CRAVAT
37. X : DELETE
38. Blackened : SEARED
41. Parrot : MIMIC
42. Prefix with -graphic : ICONO-
43. Betty Boop and Bugs Bunny : TOONS
45. “The way things are …” : AS IS …
46. Tous ___ jours (daily: Fr.) : LES
47. Actress Russell of “Felicity” : KERI
50. Adolphe with an instrument named after him : SAX

Return to top of page

The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections
Amazon.com Widgets