0721-17 New York Times Crossword Answers 21 Jul 17, Friday

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CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTOR: Paolo Pasco
THEME: None
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 14m 15s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

1. Many consultants, for short : MBAS
The world’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was offered by Harvard’s Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

9. Wayne’s friend in “Wayne’s World” : GARTH
“Wayne’s World” was originally a “Saturday Night Live” sketch starring Mike Myers (as Wayne Campbell) and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar. The sketch was so successful that it was parlayed into two hit movies, released in 1992 and 1993. Not my cup of tea though …

14. Waterway whose construction began in Rome : ERIE CANAL
The Erie Canal runs from Albany to Buffalo in the state of New York. What the canal does is allow shipping to proceed from New York Harbor right up the Hudson River, through the canal and into the Great Lakes. When it was opened in 1825, the Erie Canal had immediate impact on the economy of New York City and locations along its route. It was the first means of “cheap” transportation from a port on the Atlantic seaboard into the interior of the United States. Arguably it was the most important factor contributing to the growth of New York City over competing ports such as Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was largely because of the Erie Canal that New York became such an economic powerhouse, earning it the nickname of “the Empire State”. Paradoxically, one of the project’s main proponents was severely criticized. New York Governor DeWitt Clinton received so much ridicule that the canal was nicknamed “Clinton’s Folly” and “Clinton’s Ditch”.

It is assumed that Rome, New York is named after the city in Italy, but no one seems to be sure why it is so called. The city, in Upstate New York near Utica, was originally founded as Lynchville. Prior to becoming a city, the settlement was called Fort Stanwix, named for the military outpost that dominated the area.

16. Word repeated before “to you and you and you,” in a show tune : ADIEU
“So Long, Farewell” is a song from the stage musical “The Sound of Music”.

“The Sound of Music” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that was made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers”, a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war, and one family descended from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I live in California.

18. “Ciao” : LATER
“Ciao” is the Italian for “‘bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates as “goodbye”.

26. Sleep phenomena : REMS
“REM” is an acronym that is short for Rapid Eye Movement sleep. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

30. “___-Ami” (Guy de Maupassant novel) : BEL
“Bel Ami” is an 1885 novel by French author Guy de Maupassant. The title translates as “Nice Friend”, although a 1903 translation of the novel is titled “Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel”.

31. Jessica of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” : BIEL
Jessica Biel is an actress who was known by television audiences Mary Camden on “7th Heaven”. Biel’s first film role was playing Peter Fonda’s granddaughter in “Ulee’s Gold”. Biel married singer and actor Justin Timberlake in 2012.

32. Frequent fodder for crossword clues : TRIVIA
Trivia are things of little consequence. “Trivia” is the plural of the Latin word “trivium” which means “a place where three roads meet”. Now that’s what I call a trivial fact …

34. Believer in spirits : ANIMIST
“Animism” comes from the Latin word “anima” meaning “soul, life”. The word “animism” has two related but distinct meanings. In one sense, animism is the belief in souls, and in another sense it is the belief that souls exist for other entities that are not human. I think it is a relatively commonly held belief that animals may have souls (and that one can meet up with one’s pet or cat or in heaven!), but it is less commonly believed that plants and even rocks can have souls too.

37. Bit of finger food : CANAPE
A canapé is a finger food, usually small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original “canapés” were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny “couch”.

39. Lady Gaga’s “___ It Happens to You” : TIL
“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

40. Place for barnacles : KEEL
The barnacle is a marine arthropod related to the crab and the lobster. Barnacles are classified as “encrusters”, meaning that they attach themselves permanently to some solid substrate. It is thought that the name “barnacle” was applied to the marine create from the name of the barnacle goose. According to folklore, the barnacle goose “hatched” underwater, emerging from what we know today as “barnacles”.

43. ___ Martin, French firm since 1724 : REMY
Remy Martin is my favorite brand of cognac (remember that when it’s my birthday!). In China, the name Remy Martin is not used, but rather the more colorful moniker “man-headed horse” which describes the centaur logo on the bottle.

47. “Mo Money Mo Problems” rapper : BIGGIE SMALLS
“The Notorious B.I.G.” was the stage name of rap star Christopher Wallace, who also went by the names “Biggie Smalls” and “Biggie”. While at the height of his fame Wallace was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, a murder case that has never been solved. The 2009 movie “Notorious” is about Wallace’s life and stars fellow rap artist Jamal Woolard (aka Gravy) in the title role.

51. Early Indus Valley settler : ARYAN
The Indo-Aryans are a collection of peoples that speak languages that share the same linguistic roots, traced back to the ancient Indo-Iranian peoples. Included in the Indo-Aryan group of peoples are the Bengali people, the Gurkhas, the Kashmiri people and the Punjabi people.

The Indus river rises in Tibet and flows through the length of Pakistan and empties into the Arabian Sea, the part of the Indian Ocean lying to the west of the Indian subcontinent. The Indus gives its name to the country of India as “India” used to be the name of the region along the eastern banks of the river, which paradoxically is now in modern-day Pakistan.

52. Devotee of Mötley Crüe or Megadeth : METALHEAD
Mötley Crüe is an American rock band, from Los Angeles. They’ve been around since 1981, co-founded by the famous drummer Tommy Lee. Tommy Lee is also known for his two celebrated marriages, the first with Heather Locklear and the second with Pamela Anderson. The name “Mötley Crüe” was chosen as someone once described the band members as a “motley looking crew”. The spelling was made to look a little more exotic, with the umlauts added over the “o” and “u” one day, as the band were drinking bottles of “Löwenbräu” beer!

The “Big Four” of thrash metal were Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth. I have no idea what thrash metal is …

56. Spike who directed “Being John Malkovich” : JONZE
Spike Jonze is a movie director whose first feature film was “Being John Malkovich” (1999). Jonze also directed a couple of films for which he wrote the screenplays, namely “Where the Wild things Are” (2009) and “Her” (2013). Jonze also co-created the MTV show “Jackass”. Can’t stand that show, said he grumpily …

“Being John Malkovich” is a 1999 fantasy comedy starring John Cusack and Cameron Diaz, and of course John Malkovich playing himself. The crazy storyline features a puppeteer (played by Cusack) who discovers a portal into Malkovich’s mind.

57. Player of a drug kingpin on “The Wire” : IDRIS ELBA
The English actor Idris Elba is probably best known in North America for playing the drug lord Stringer Bell in the marvelous HBO drama series “The Wire”, and the title character in the 2013 film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. Off the screen, Elba occasionally works as a disk jockey using the name DJ Big Driis.

60. Plan, for short : SKED
Schedule (sked)

Down
1. Dudes : MEN
2. Dude : BRO
Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, Easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

5. “___ the Virgin” (CW show) : JANE
The WB Television Network was launched in 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and Tribune Broadcasting. The WB (for “Warner Bros.”) was shut down in 2006 and replaced by the CW (for “CBS” and “Warner Bros.”).

7. DraftKings competitor : FANDUEL
DraftKings and FanDuel are companies offering fantasy sports games and leagues.

9. Polka forerunner : GALOP
A galop is a type of dance, very popular in Parisian society in the 1800s. It is a fast-paced dance, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (a gallop). The most famous exponent of the form was Johann Strauss II.

The polka is a dance from central Europe, one that originated in Bohemia in the mid-1800s. It’s thought that “polka” comes from a Czech word meaning “little half”, reflecting the little half-steps included in the basic dance.

10. 1949 Hepburn/Tracy courtroom film : ADAM’S RIB
And here it is, my favorite movie of all time! “Adam’s Rib” is a classic romantic comedy starring the powerful duo, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, playing two lawyers married to each other. Inevitably, the married couple have to take opposite sides in a high-profile court case, and hilarity ensues. The film is an interesting exploration of the roles of men and women in 1949 American society.

15. Christmas decoration : CANE
Apparently, candy canes were created at the behest of the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany in 1672. The sweet sticks were basically used as bribes to keep children quiet during services. The choirmaster specified that the candy sticks should have a crook at the top so that they reminded the children of the three shepherds who visited the infant Jesus just after his birth.

21. Faddish dance move done to the 2015 hit “Watch Me” : NAE NAE
The Nae Nae is a hip hop dance that is named for the 2013 song “Drop that NaeNae” recorded by We Are Toon. The main move in the dance involves swaying with one hand in the air and one hand down, with both feet firmly planted on the dancefloor. Go on, do it. You know you want to …

24. Arizona ballplayer, casually : D-BACK
The Arizona Diamondbacks joined Major League Baseball’s National League in 1998. By winning the World Series in 2001, the Diamondbacks became the fastest expansion team to do so in Major League history.

28. Dr. Evil’s sidekick in Austin Powers movies : MINI-ME
The actor Verne Troyer is best known for playing the character Mini-Me in the “Austin Powers” series of films. Troyer suffers from a form of dwarfism, and at a height of only 2 ft 8 in is one of the shortest men in the world.

31. Marcel Marceau persona : BIP
Marcel Marceau was the most famous mime of all time, and a native of Strasbourg in France. He is perhaps most associated with the character Bip the Clown who he played onstage. Marceau made a cameo appearance in Mel Brooks’s “Silent Movie”, portraying himself. In the scene, Mel Brooks is asking Marceau to appear in his movie (a question asked silently of course, in subtitles), and Marceau turns to the camera and speaks the only word in the whole film, “Non!” (French for “No!”). The mime speaks! Brilliant …

33. Dorm V.I.P.s : RAS
RAs are resident assistants or resident advisers, the peer leaders found in residence halls, particularly on a college campus.

36. Something prohibited by the Ten Commandments : IDOLATRY
According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, Aaron made a golden calf as an idol for the Israelites to worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned, he became angry on seeing the calf and destroyed it.

38. Island in San Francisco Bay : ALAMEDA
“Alameda” is Spanish for “a place full of poplars”. There are number of locations in the US and elsewhere with the name “Alameda”, including the county of Alameda, California where I am right now, writing this post. Alameda County is also home to the city of Alameda located on Alameda Island.

42. “Do You Hear the People Sing?” musical, to fans : LES MIZ
The 1980 musical “Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The show opened in London in 1985, and is the longest running musical in the history of London’s West End. My wife and I saw “Les Miz” in the Queen’s Theatre in London quite a few years ago, but were only able to get tickets in the very back row. The theater seating is very steep, so the back row of the balcony is extremely high over the stage. One of the big events in the storyline is the building of a street barricade over which the rebels fight. At the height we were seated we could see the stagehands behind the barricade, sitting drinking Coke, even smoking cigarettes. On cue, the stagehands would get up and catch a dropped rifle, or an actor who had been shot. It was pretty comical. I didn’t really enjoy the show that much, to be honest. Some great songs, but the musical version of the storyline just didn’t seem to hang together for me.

43. Outbreaks of eczema, e.g. : RASHES
Eczema is a form of dermatitis. The term “eczema” comes from the Greek for “to boil over”.

46. Lawful ends? : ELLS
The ends of the word “lawful” are letters L (ell).

47. State bordering California, informally : BAJA
Baja California is both the most northern and the most western of the Mexican states. The name translates from Spanish as “Lower California”.

49. Peer ___ : GYNT
Henrik Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” is based on a Scandinavian fairy tale “Per Gynt”. The incidental music to the play, written by Edvard Grieg, is some of the most approachable classical music ever written, at least in my humble opinion …

53. They’re game : ELK
The elk (also known as the wapiti) is the one of the largest species of deer in the world, with only the moose being bigger. Early European settlers were familiar with the smaller red deer back in their homelands, so when they saw the “huge” wapiti they assumed it was a moose, and incorrectly gave it the European name for a moose, namely “elk”. The more correct name for the beast is “wapiti”, which means “white rump” in Shawnee. It’s all very confusing …

54. Half a Hamilton : ABE
The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.

The US ten-dollar bill features the image of Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury, on the obverse. As such, ten-dollar bills are sometimes called “Hamiltons”. By the way, the $10 bill is the only US currency in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left. The reverse of the ten-dollar bill features the US Treasury Building.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Many consultants, for short : MBAS
5. Flash : JIFF
9. Wayne’s friend in “Wayne’s World” : GARTH
14. Waterway whose construction began in Rome : ERIE CANAL
16. Word repeated before “to you and you and you,” in a show tune : ADIEU
17. Emphatic parental turndown : NO MEANS NO!
18. “Ciao” : LATER
19. Words from one about to break into tears : I NEED A MOMENT
21. Master of ___ : NONE
23. Cards : CUT-UPS
24. “Ain’t that the worst!” : DANG!
25. Add oil to, maybe : DRESS
26. Sleep phenomena : REMS
30. “___-Ami” (Guy de Maupassant novel) : BEL
31. Jessica of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” : BIEL
32. Frequent fodder for crossword clues : TRIVIA
34. Believer in spirits : ANIMIST
36. Trapped : IN A BIND
37. Bit of finger food : CANAPE
38. Stirs : ADOS
39. Lady Gaga’s “___ It Happens to You” : TIL
40. Place for barnacles : KEEL
41. Dispense : ALLOT
43. ___ Martin, French firm since 1724 : REMY
44. Formally approve, as a document, old-style : ENSEAL
46. No worries : EASE
47. “Mo Money Mo Problems” rapper : BIGGIE SMALLS
51. Early Indus Valley settler : ARYAN
52. Devotee of Mötley Crüe or Megadeth : METALHEAD
56. Spike who directed “Being John Malkovich” : JONZE
57. Player of a drug kingpin on “The Wire” : IDRIS ELBA
58. Puts money on the table, say : ANTES
59. One-named singer with the 2016 #1 hit “Pillowtalk” : ZAYN
60. Plan, for short : SKED

Down
1. Dudes : MEN
2. Dude : BRO
3. Quarterback’s asset : AIM
4. Involved with : SEEING
5. “___ the Virgin” (CW show) : JANE
6. Behind closed doors : IN SECRET
7. DraftKings competitor : FANDUEL
8. They might be wished for at fountains : FLOATS
9. Polka forerunner : GALOP
10. 1949 Hepburn/Tracy courtroom film : ADAM’S RIB
11. Initiation practice : RITE
12. This puzzle’s constructor, for one : TEEN
13. What words can do, in an admonishment : HURT
15. Christmas decoration : CANE
20. Is forbidden to : MUST NOT
21. Faddish dance move done to the 2015 hit “Watch Me” : NAE NAE
22. Facebook Chat status denoted by a green dot : ONLINE
24. Arizona ballplayer, casually : D-BACK
25. Nationalism, per Einstein : DISEASE
27. Modern requests for participation : EVITES
28. Dr. Evil’s sidekick in Austin Powers movies : MINI-ME
29. “Sorry to say …” : SADLY …
31. Marcel Marceau persona : BIP
33. Dorm V.I.P.s : RAS
35. Topic in feminist film criticism : MALE GAZE
36. Something prohibited by the Ten Commandments : IDOLATRY
38. Island in San Francisco Bay : ALAMEDA
42. “Do You Hear the People Sing?” musical, to fans : LES MIZ
43. Outbreaks of eczema, e.g. : RASHES
45. Great scores in Olympic diving : NINES
46. Lawful ends? : ELLS
47. State bordering California, informally : BAJA
48. Press : IRON
49. Peer ___ : GYNT
50. Reclined : LAIN
53. They’re game : ELK
54. Half a Hamilton : ABE
55. Pop : DAD

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