1211-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 11 Dec 13, Wednesday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Steve Savoy
THEME: Einstein Quote … today’s themed answers spell out a quotation from the great ALBERT EINSTEIN:

18A. Start of a quote about creativity by 58-Across/39-Down : IF AT FIRST
23A. Quote, part 2 : THE IDEA IS
35A. Quote, part 3 : NOT ABSURD THEN
52A. Quote, part 4 : THERE IS NO
59A. End of the quote : HOPE FOR IT

58A. With 39-Down, speaker of this puzzle’s quote : ALBERT
39D. See 58-Across : EINSTEIN

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 11m 38s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

11. Big mouth : MAW
“Maw” is a term used to describe the mouth or stomach of a carnivorous animal. “Maw” is also used as slang for the mouth or stomach of a greedy person.

14. Start to type? : PROTO-
Prototype

15. Nile Valley region : NUBIA
Nubia is a region shared by Egypt and Sudan that lies along the Nile river. The name “Nubia” comes from the Nuba people who settled in the area in the 4th century.

16. Org. with a noted journal : AMA
American Medical Association (AMA)

17. Classic Fender guitar, for short : STRAT
The Stratocaster is an electric guitar made by Fender since 1954. The company that made Fender electric guitars was founded in Fullerton, California in 1946 by Leo Fender.

20. Did some woolgathering : DREAMT
“Wool gathering” is an expression meaning “daydreaming”.

22. Body of 100 : SENATE
The six-year terms enjoyed by US senators are staggered, so that every two years about one third of the US Senate seats come up for reelection.

26. One on “Judge Judy” : SUER
“Judge Judy” of television fame is actually Judith Sheindlin, a retired family court judge from New York. Ms. Sheindlin’s contract was renewed in the middle of 2010, so that she now earns $45 million per year taping her show. That’s a tad more than she was earning on the “real” bench I think …

27. Home of the Brave?: Abbr. : ATL
The Atlanta Braves are the only team to have won baseball’s World Series in three different home cities. They won as the Boston Braves in 1914, the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and the Atlanta Braves in 1995.

28. Cyberaddress: Abbr. : URL
Internet addresses (like NYTCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) are more correctly called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

29. In the manner of a milquetoast : TIMIDLY
Someone described a “milquetoast” is particularly weak and timid. The term comes from a character called Caspar Milquetoast in the comic strip “The Timid Soul” drawn by H. T. Webster. Webster came up with Caspar’s name by deliberately misspelling “milk toast”, which is a bland food that is suitable for someone with a weak stomach.

32. Bagel and lox purveyor : DELI
The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

The bagel was invented in the Polish city of Kraków in the 16th century. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Poland who mainly established homes in and around New York City.

Lox is a cured salmon fillet, finely sliced. The term “lox” comes into English via Yiddish, and derives from the German word for salmon, namely “Lachs”.

41. Quench : SLAKE
“To slake” is to satisfy a craving, as in slaking one’s thirst.

44. Bygone Japanese camera brand : MINOLTA
Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras and related products. Minolta was founded in 1928 to make cameras using imported German technology. One of the company’s most memorable products was the world’s first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera. Minolta merged with Konica in 2003, forming Konica Minolta.

47. Shipping letters : COD
Cash on delivery (COD)

50. Biomedical research org. : NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is made up of 27 different institutes that coordinate their research and services. Examples of member institutes are the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging.

55. High-ranking noncom: Abbr. : SGT MAJ
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.

58. With 39-Down, speaker of this puzzle’s quote : ALBERT
(39. See 58-Across : EINSTEIN)
After Albert Einstein moved to the US in 1933, he became quite a celebrity and his face was readily recognizable. Einstein was frequently stopped in the street by people who would naively ask him if he could explain what “that theory” (i.e. the theory of relativity) was all about. Growing tired of this, he finally learned to tell people that he was sorry, but folks were constantly mistaking him for Albert Einstein!

64. “Bambi” deer : ENA
Ena is Bambi’s aunt in the 1942 Disney film “Bambi”. The movie is based on the novel “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” written by Austrian author Felix Salten and first published in 1923.

66. OH- or Cl-, chemically : ANION
As we all recall from science class, a positive ion is called a cation and a negative ion is an anion. The names “cation” and “anion” come from Greek, with “kation” meaning “going down” and “anion” meaning “going up”.

67. Susan of “L.A. Law” : DEY
The actress Susan Dey first appeared on “The Partridge Family” when she was 17-years-old when she had no acting experience. Years later, Dey won a Golden Globe for playing the leading role of Grace Van Owen in “L. A. Law”.

“L.A. Law” ran on NBC from 1986 to 1994, and was one of the network’s most successful drama series. It took over from the equally successful “Hill Street Blues” in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot until, after a six-year run, it was itself replaced by yet another respected drama, “E.R.” The opening credits showed that famous California licence plate. The plate was on a Jaguar XJ for most of the series, but moved onto a Bentley towards the end of the run. For each series the registration sticker was updated, so no laws were being broken.

68. Shenanigan : ANTIC
I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking that “shenanigan” is an Irish term. Apparently the word is of uncertain derivation, coined in San Francisco and Sacramento, California in the mid-1800s.

69. Cross-dressing role for Streisand : YENTL
“Yentl” is a play that opened in New York City in 1975. The move to adapt the play for the big screen was led by Barbara Streisand, and indeed she wrote the first outline of a musical version herself as far back as 1968. The film was eventually made and released in 1983, with Streisand performing the lead role.

Down
1. Many 16-Across members : GPS
General practitioner (GP)

2. Food scrap : ORT
Orts are small scraps of food left after a meal. “Ort” comes from Middle English, and originally described scraps left by animals.

4. Asteroids game maker : ATARI
I remember being really addicted to the Atari video arcade game called “Asteroids” back in the early eighties. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as “Asteroids” turned out to be Atari’s best selling game of all time.

5. End of an academic 28-Across : DOT EDU
The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

– .com (commercial enterprise)
– .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
– .mil (US military)
– .org (not-for-profit organization)
– .gov (US federal government entity)
– .edu (college-level educational institution)

7. G.I.’s civvies : MUFTI
“Mufti” is civilian dress that is worn by someone who usually wears a uniform. The term is probably related somehow to the Arabic “mufti”, the word for a Muslim scholar who interprets Islamic law.

8. Org. for D.A.’s : ABA
American Bar Association(ABA)

District Attorney (DA)

12. Dutch brew : AMSTEL
Amstel is a Dutch beer and brewery, founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. The brewery takes its name from the Amstel river which runs through the city.

23. Smidgen : TAD
A tad is a small boy, with the term possibly coming from the word “tadpole”.

24. Coordinate in the game Battleship : H-TEN
Battleship was a game that we used to play as kids using pencil and paper. The game had been around at least since WWI, and was eventually turned into a board game by Milton Bradley in 1967.

38. Trick-taking game : SKAT
When I was a teenager in Ireland, I had a friend with a German father. The father taught us the game of Skat, and what a great game it is. Skat originated in Germany in the 1800s and is to this day the most popular game in the country. I haven’t played it in decades, but would love to play it again …

40. Deutsch denial : NEIN
“Deutsch” is the German word for “German”.

43. Plato’s P : RHO
Plato was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was a student of the equally famous and respected Socrates, and Plato in turn was the teacher and mentor of the celebrated Aristotle.

44. Like the potatoes in shepherd’s pie : MASHED
Shepherd’s pie, also known as cottage pie, is one of my favorite dishes. It is a meat pie (although my wife makes a vegetarian version), with a crust made from mashed potato.

47. Larry Bird, during his playing days : CELTIC
Larry Bird played basketball for the Boston Celtics from 1978 to 1992. Bird has a lot of very loyal fans, and some might even be described as fanatical. In 2005 an Oklahoma City man was convicted of a crime involving a shooting. On being sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, the guilty man requested that the sentence be changed to 33 years so that it matched the number on Larry Bird’s jersey. The judge obliged …

48. Object in the right hand of the king of clubs : ORB
It is said that the king of clubs in a pack of playing cards is said to represent Alexander the Great.

49. Wedding hiree : DEEJAY
The world’s first radio disk jockey was one Ray Newby of Stockton, California who made his first broadcast in 1909, would you believe? When he was 16 years old and a student, he started to play his records on a primitive radio located in the Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless in San Jose. The records played back then were mostly recordings of Enrico Caruso.

53. Port-au-Prince’s land : HAITI
The capital city of Haiti is Port-au-Prince. The city was hit by a devastating earthquake in January of 2010. The official government estimate of the death toll stands at 230,000 people, with many bodies never recovered.

54. Pax’s Greek counterpart : IRENE
Eirene (also “Irene”) was the Greek goddess of peace, with “eirene” being the Greek word for “peace”. The Roman equivalent to Eirene was the goddess Pax.

56. Aqua Velva competitor : AFTA
Afta is an aftershave in the Mennen range of products that is owned by Colgate-Palmolive.

The Aqua Velva line of men’s toiletry products includes a famous aftershave. The first product in the line was Aqua Velva aftershave, which was introduced in 1929.

57. Lav : JOHN
The use of “john” as a slang term for a toilet is peculiar to North America. “John” probably comes from the older slang term of “jack” or “jakes” that had been around since the 16th century. In Ireland, in cruder moments, we still refer to a toilet as “the jacks”.

63. NBC show since ’75 : SNL
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Become inedible : GO BAD
6. Pull together : AMASS
11. Big mouth : MAW
14. Start to type? : PROTO-
15. Nile Valley region : NUBIA
16. Org. with a noted journal : AMA
17. Classic Fender guitar, for short : STRAT
18. Start of a quote about creativity by 58-Across/39-Down : IF AT FIRST
20. Did some woolgathering : DREAMT
22. Body of 100 : SENATE
23. Quote, part 2 : THE IDEA IS
26. One on “Judge Judy” : SUER
27. Home of the Brave?: Abbr. : ATL
28. Cyberaddress: Abbr. : URL
29. In the manner of a milquetoast : TIMIDLY
32. Bagel and lox purveyor : DELI
34. Mark down, perhaps : RE-TAG
35. Quote, part 3 : NOT ABSURD THEN
41. Quench : SLAKE
42. Level : TIER
44. Bygone Japanese camera brand : MINOLTA
47. Shipping letters : COD
50. Biomedical research org. : NIH
51. “Agreed!” : AMEN!
52. Quote, part 4 : THERE IS NO
55. High-ranking noncom: Abbr. : SGT MAJ
58. With 39-Down, speaker of this puzzle’s quote : ALBERT
59. End of the quote : HOPE FOR IT
61. Boos : JEERS
64. “Bambi” deer : ENA
65. “Not ___ know of” : THAT I
66. OH- or Cl-, chemically : ANION
67. Susan of “L.A. Law” : DEY
68. Shenanigan : ANTIC
69. Cross-dressing role for Streisand : YENTL

Down
1. Many 16-Across members : GPS
2. Food scrap : ORT
3. Red light locale : BORDELLO
4. Asteroids game maker : ATARI
5. End of an academic 28-Across : DOT EDU
6. Kid’s cracker shape : ANIMAL
7. G.I.’s civvies : MUFTI
8. Org. for D.A.’s : ABA
9. Serves on a panel : SITS
10. Opposite of out : SAFE
11. Pillage : MARAUD
12. Dutch brew : AMSTEL
13. Weak, as a brew : WATERY
19. Deep perception : INSIGHT
21. Gaseous prefix : AER-
23. Smidgen : TAD
24. Coordinate in the game Battleship : H-TEN
25. Suffix with hip or hoop : -STER
30. “___ be an honor” : IT’D
31. Doorstep item : MAT
33. “Got it covered!” : IT’S ON ME!
34. Wish undone : RUE
36. “___ done!” : ALL
37. Be up : BAT
38. Trick-taking game : SKAT
39. See 58-Across : EINSTEIN
40. Deutsch denial : NEIN
43. Plato’s P : RHO
44. Like the potatoes in shepherd’s pie : MASHED
45. “See ya!” : I’M GONE!
46. What’s taken home : NET PAY
47. Larry Bird, during his playing days : CELTIC
48. Object in the right hand of the king of clubs : ORB
49. Wedding hiree : DEEJAY
53. Port-au-Prince’s land : HAITI
54. Pax’s Greek counterpart : IRENE
56. Aqua Velva competitor : AFTA
57. Lav : JOHN
60. Turncoat : RAT
62. Become inedible : ROT
63. NBC show since ’75 : SNL

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