0508-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 8 May 14, Thursday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Matthew Lees
THEME: Paradox … we have two themed answers that together make up a logic problem, and a paradox:

34A. What 3- and 9-Down are an example of : PARADOX

3D. Statement #1 : NINE-DOWN IS FALSE
9D. Statement #2 : THREE-DOWN IS TRUE

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 8m 28s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Pink-slips : CANS
The term “pink-slip” can be used as a verb meaning “to terminate an employee”. No one really seems to know for sure where the term originated, but there are lots of stories.

5. Two- or three-striper, for short : NCO
An NCO is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces. Usually such an officer is one who has earned his or her rank by promotion through the enlisted ranks. A good example would be a sergeant.

A two-striper is a corporal, and three-striper is a sergeant.

13. Bud competitor : COORS
Adolph Coors founded the Coors brewing company in 1873, in Golden, Colorado. Coors was originally from the Rhine Province in Prussia, and worked in various brewers around what is today Germany before immigrating to the US in 1868. Despite all of his success as a brewer here in America, Coors ended up taking his own life in 1929, by jumping to his death out of a hotel window.

The American beer called Budweiser is named for the Czech town of Budweis (“České Budějovice” in Czech). The name is the subject of a dispute as here is an original Czech beer with a similar name, Budweiser Budvar. American Budweiser is sold in most European countries as “Bud”.

15. Its first capital was Chillicothe, 1803-10 : OHIO
Chillicothe is a city in Ohio that is located close to Columbus. Chillicothe was the first state capital, from 1803 to 1810. Zanesville was made the capital for two years, before the honor returned to Chillicothe where it stayed from 1812 to 1816.

16. Casino staple : KENO
The name “Keno” has French or Latin roots, with the French “quine” being a term for five winning numbers, and the Latin “quini” meaning “five each”. The game originated in China and was introduced into the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.

17. “Yellow Submarine” singer : RINGO
Ringo Starr’s real name is Richard Starkey. Before he joined the Beatles (replacing drummer Pete Best), Starkey played with the Raving Texans. It was with the Raving Texans that he adopted the name “Ringo Starr”, because he wore a lot of rings and he thought it sounded “cowboyish”. Back then his drum solos were billed as “Starr Time”.

Paul McCartney wrote the song “Yellow Submarine” with Ringo Starr in mind as the lead singer. As he said himself, because it was for Ringo, he wrote something that wasn’t “too rangey”. It turned out be more like a children’s song, and a couple of years later in 1968, the song was used as the title for an animated film. The song is full of sound effects, including John Lennon blowing through a straw into a bowl of water to create a “bubbling”, and Lennon and McCartney speaking into tin cans to create the sound of the captain and officer exchanging orders. And at one point in the recording, a backing vocalist leads everyone around the studio on a conga line, while pounding on a bass drum. What a way to make money, and lots of it …

19. Hit the gym : EXERCISE
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed.

21. Many figures of “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel : ANGELS
The Sistine Chapel, in the Pope’s residence in Rome, takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.

“The Last Judgment” is fresco by Michelangelo that he painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo took four years to complete the work, and began painting it twenty-five years after finishing the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.

23. Narrow-brimmed hat : DERBY
I think a bowler hat is usually called a derby here in the US. The bowler was first produced in 1849 in London by hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler, hence the name. The alternative name of “derby” comes from the tradition of wearing bowler hats at the Derby horse race (a major race held annually in England).

24. Title character played by Sarah Jessica Parker on Broadway : ANNIE
The actress Sarah Jessica Parker is famous for playing the lead role of Carrie Bradshaw on HBO’s “Sex and the City”. Much earlier in her career, Parker played “Annie” in the musical on Broadway for a about a year. She has been married to actor Matthew Broderick since 1997, and the couple spend a lot of time in County Donegal in Ireland where they have their second home.

25. Santa Maria is one of them : AZORES
The Azores is an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic lying about 1,000 miles west of Portugal. The Azores are an autonomous region belonging to Portugal.

Santa Maria is the southernmost island in the Azores archipelago.

27. David, when taking on Goliath : UNDERDOG
In the story of David and Goliath, the Israelites and the Philistines faced each other in battle at the Valley of Elah. Goliath was the warrior champion of the Philistines and each day he challenged the Israelites to send out their champion to decide the battle in a one-on-one fight. No one was courageous enough to accept the challenge until young David agreed to face the mighty Goliath. And of course David felled the giant soldier with a stone from his sling.

30. Use a divining rod : DOWSE
Dowsing is the practice of divining for not just water, but also buried metals and gemstones for example. Often a dowser will use a Y-shaped or L-shaped rod as a tool, which can also be called a dowser.

31. Heyward, Stone or Nelson, as each signed the Declaration of Independence : THOS
Thomas Heyward, Jr. was a representative from South Carolina in the Continental Congress. As such, Heyward signed the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Stone signed the Declaration of Independence as a representative from Maryland. Stone also served as President of Congress in 1784.

Thomas Nelson, Jr. was a representative in the Continental Congress from Virginia, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Nelson also served as Governor of Virginia in 1781, succeeding Thomas Jefferson.

33. Sea bird : ERN
The ern (also erne) is also called the white-tailed eagle, and the sea-eagle.

37. Jon Stewart display : WIT
Jon Stewart is a political satirist and the current host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central. Stewart started out as a stand-up comic, and took over “The Daily Show” from Craig Kilborn in 1999. Stewart is a great fan of the New York Times Crossword, and appears in the fabulous movie about the puzzle called “Wordplay” (if you love this crossword, you will love this fantastic film!). Stewart actually proposed to his wife using a personalized crossword that he created with the help of Will Shortz!

38. Puccini piece : ARIA
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer, famous for his operas that are so often performed all over the world. Included in the list of his works are “La bohème”, “Tosca”, “Madama Butterfly” and “Turandot”. Puccini died in Brussels, Belgium in 1924 having suffered from throat cancer. An audience attending a performance of “La bohème” in Rome heard of the composer’s death in the middle of the performance. At the news, the opera was stopped, and the orchestra instead played Chopin’s “Funeral March”.

40. Rake : ROUE
“Roue” is a lovely word, I think, describing a less than lovely man. A roue could otherwise be described as a cad, someone of loose morals. “Roue” comes from the French word “rouer” meaning “to break on a wheel”. This describes the ancient form of capital punishment where a poor soul was lashed to a wheel and then beaten to death with cudgels and bars. I guess the suggestion is that a roue, with his loose morals, deserves such a punishment.

A “rake” (short for “rakehell”) is defined as a man who is habituated to immoral conduct (isn’t it always the man??!!). The rake is a character who turns up frequently in novels and films, only interested in wine, women and song and not accepting the responsibilities of life. Good examples would be Wickham in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Daniel Cleaver (the Hugh Grant part) in the movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary”. “Rake” comes from the Old Norse “reikall”, meaning “vagrant or a wanderer”.

41. Cessation of breath : APNEA
Sleep apnea (“apnoea” in British English) can be caused by an obstruction in the airways, possibly due to obesity or enlarged tonsils.

48. Jason of the Harry Potter movies : ISAACS
Jason Isaacs is an English actor from Liverpool that is probably best known these days for portraying Lucius Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series of films. TV viewers might also know him for playing the “bad guy” Michael on the Showtime series “Brotherhood”.

53. Fourth-largest city in Deutschland : KOLN
Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany, and is known as “Koln” in German.

56. The Ronettes, e.g. : TRIO
The Ronettes were a sixties “girl group” from New York City who worked with famed record producer Phil Spector. Their most famous hit was probably “Be My Baby” from 1963. The lead singer of the group was Veronica Bennett, who ended up marrying Spector in 1968, leaving him in 1974 to become “Ronnie” Spector, “the original bad girl of rock and roll”.

57. A.L. or N.L. division : EAST
Baseball’s American League (AL) and National League (NL)

59. Currency with a 20-cent coin : EURO
Euro coins are issued by all the participating European states. The reverse side is a common design used by all countries, whereas the obverse is a design specific to each nation. For example, the one euro coin issued by Malta features the Maltese Cross. That Maltese euro is legal tender right across the eurozone.

61. Stratego piece with a monocle : SPY
The wonderful board game called Stratego derives from a traditional Chinese game called “Jungle” or “Animal Chess”. The major difference between Stratego and Jungle is that in the latter the identity of the pieces is not hidden from one’s opponent.

Down
1. Salad veggie : CUKE
Cucumber (cuke)

6. Retina feature : CONE
The retina is the tissue that lines the inside of the eye, the tissue that is light-sensitive. There are (mainly) two types of cell in the retina that are sensitive to light, called rods and cones. Rods are cells that best function in very dim light and only provide black-and-white vision. Cones on the other hand function in brighter light and can perceive color.

10. Mideast currency : RIAL
The “Rial” is name of the currency of Iran (as well as Yemen, Oman, Cambodia and Tunisia).

22. Dir. from Providence to Boston : NNE
Providence is the capital of the state of Rhode Island. The city was founded way back in 1636 by a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony called Roger Williams. Williams believed that it was “God’s merciful providence” that revealed the location of today’s city as a haven for him and his followers, and so gave the new settlement the name “Providence”.

The city of Boston, Massachusetts was founded in 1630 by Puritan colonists from England. The area was eventually named for the city of Boston in Lincolnshire, England from where several of the colonists hailed.

24. Certain terminal : ANODE
The two terminals of a battery are called the anode and the cathode. Electrons travel from the anode to the cathode creating an electric current.

26. Title role for Antonio Banderas : ZORRO
The character Zorro was created by Johnston McCulley in 1919 for a series of stories and pulp fiction. The name “Zorro” is the secret identity of a Spanish colonial nobleman called Don Diego de la Vega. “Zorro” is Spanish for “fox”.

“The Mask of Zorro” is a 1998 action film starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The movie was a big hit, leading to a less well-recieved sequel called “The Legend of Zorro” in 2005.

27. Big name in moving : U-HAUL
The U-Haul company was started by married couple Leonard Shoen and Anna Mary Carty in Ridgefield, Washington in 1945. The Shoens used $5,000 of seed money to build trailers in their garage, and then cleverly recruited gas station owners as franchisees with whom they would split the rental revenue. There are now about 15,000 U-Haul dealers across the country.

28. Annual May announcements : OBIES
The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies are presented annually and the recipients are chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper.

35. Piques : AROUSES
The words “whet” and “pique” can both be used in the sense of sharpening or awaking one’s interest or desire.

39. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace : ATLANTA
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a US Federal holiday taking place on the third Monday of each year. It celebrates the birthday of Dr. King, and was signed into law by President Reagan in 1983 and was first observed in 1986. However, some states “resisted” naming the holiday MLK Day, and gave it alternative names (like “Civil Rights Day”), but it was officially celebrated as MLK Day in all 50 states from the year 2000 onwards.

45. Stand in a studio : EASEL
The word “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey” would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would carry its load.

47. ___ Double : DAILY
The “Daily Double” is an element in the TV game show “Jeopardy”.

The word is that Alex Trebek will step down as host of the game show “Jeopardy” in 2016, when his current contract expires. The list of names mentioned to replace Trebek includes Brian Williams, Dan Patrick, Matt Lauer and Anderson Cooper. I vote for Cooper, but I can’t see him taking the job …

48. Big name in furniture : IKEA
The furniture chain IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, when he was just 17-years-old. IKEA is an acronym that stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (don’t forget now!). Elmtaryd was the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is his home parish in Sweden.

51. Hibernia : EIRE
“Éire”, is the Irish word for “Ireland”. “Erin” is an anglicized version of “Éire” and actually corresponds to “Éirinn”, the dative case of “Éire”.

“Hibernia” is the Latin name for the island of Ireland.

55. What dialing 911 may bring : EMS
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Pink-slips : CANS
5. Two- or three-striper, for short : NCO
8. Civic bldgs. : CTRS
12. ___ arms : UP IN
13. Bud competitor : COORS
15. Its first capital was Chillicothe, 1803-10 : OHIO
16. Casino staple : KENO
17. “Yellow Submarine” singer : RINGO
18. Sandwich style : WRAP
19. Hit the gym : EXERCISE
21. Many figures of “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel : ANGELS
23. Narrow-brimmed hat : DERBY
24. Title character played by Sarah Jessica Parker on Broadway : ANNIE
25. Santa Maria is one of them : AZORES
27. David, when taking on Goliath : UNDERDOG
30. Use a divining rod : DOWSE
31. Heyward, Stone or Nelson, as each signed the Declaration of Independence : THOS
32. Rounded projection : LOBE
33. Sea bird : ERN
34. What 3- and 9-Down are an example of : PARADOX
37. Jon Stewart display : WIT
38. Puccini piece : ARIA
40. Rake : ROUE
41. Cessation of breath : APNEA
43. Person without direction : LOST SOUL
45. What volunteers do : ENLIST
46. Openly disregard : FLOUT
47. Pops : DADAS
48. Jason of the Harry Potter movies : ISAACS
50. Medium for school announcements : PA SYSTEM
53. Fourth-largest city in Deutschland : KOLN
54. Hair-raising : EERIE
56. The Ronettes, e.g. : TRIO
57. A.L. or N.L. division : EAST
58. Whiff : SMELL
59. Currency with a 20-cent coin : EURO
60. Specialty : AREA
61. Stratego piece with a monocle : SPY
62. Stalk : REED

Down
1. Salad veggie : CUKE
2. Top : APEX
3. Statement #1 : NINE-DOWN IS FALSE
4. Bad bedfellows, say : SNORERS
5. Like 4-Down : NOISY
6. Retina feature : CONE
7. Assn. : ORG
8. Lassoing lass : COWGIRL
9. Statement #2 : THREE-DOWN IS TRUE
10. Mideast currency : RIAL
11. Biscuits and rolls, sometimes : SOPS
13. Places for mobiles : CRIBS
14. Scoundrel : SO-AND-SO
20. Scoundrel : CREEP
22. Dir. from Providence to Boston : NNE
24. Certain terminal : ANODE
25. “It’s ___!” : A DEAL
26. Title role for Antonio Banderas : ZORRO
27. Big name in moving : U-HAUL
28. Annual May announcements : OBIES
29. Suggest : GET AT
31. Word after lake or sea : TROUT
35. Piques : AROUSES
36. Familiar axes : X AND Y
39. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace : ATLANTA
42. Coat heavily : PLASTER
44. Assn. : SOC
45. Stand in a studio : EASEL
47. ___ Double : DAILY
48. Big name in furniture : IKEA
49. Go sky-high : SOAR
50. Some kitchen work, informally : PREP
51. Hibernia : EIRE
52. It may be happy or grumpy : MOOD
55. What dialing 911 may bring : EMS

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