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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Peter Wentz
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: Did not finish!
ANSWERS I MISSED: Too many to list!
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
Jabba the Hutt is the big blob of an alien that appears in the “Star Wars” movie “The Return of the Jedi”. His claim to fame is that he enslaved Princess Leia and kitted her out in that celebrated metal bikini.
I grew up eating Kit Kat bars as a kid, as the chocolate confection has been around since the 30s. Kit Kats didn’t hit the shelves in the US until the seventies. I’ve seen new varieties of Kit Kat over in the UK, such as an orange-flavored version, but haven’t seen anything like that over here.
“All of Me” is a great song, written back in 1931. It has been recorded many times by all of the great crooners, and really became popular after it featured so prominently in the 1984 movie of the same name. That hilarious film starred Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin.
19. Sapporo’s home : HOKKAIDO
Sapporo is the fourth largest city in Japan, and lies on the island of Hokkaido. The city and surrounding area was home to the first Olympic Games to be held in Asia, the Winter Games of 1972. For the beer drinkers out there, Sapporo is also home to Sapporo Brewery, with the Sapporo beer being one of the more internationally recognizable.
21. Nobel-winning economist James : MEADE
James Meade was an economist from Britain, joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1977.
Alessandro Volta was the physicist who invented the first battery, way back in 1800. One of Volta’s first applications of his new invention was to use a battery (and a very long run of wire between the Italian cities of Como and Milan) to shoot off a pistol from 30 miles away!
26. Extinct wingless bird : MOA
Moas were flightless birds native to New Zealand that are now extinct. The fate of the Moa is a great example of the detrimental effect that humans can have on animal populations. The Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1300 AD, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. The Moa were hunted to extinction within 200 years, which had the knock-on effect of killing off the Haast’s Eagle, the Moa’s only predator prior to the arrival of man.
Mother Teresa was born in 1910, in the city that is now called Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. She was given the names Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (“Gonxha” means “little flower” in Albanian). She left home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto, and headed to Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham in Dublin, Ireland in order to learn English. Her goal was to teach in India, and English was the language used there for instruction by the nuns. After Mother Teresa passed away in 1997, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II, a step on the road to canonization. In order for her to be beatified there had to be documented evidence of a miracle that was performed due to her intercession. The miracle in question was the healing of a tumor in the abdomen of a woman due to the application of a locket containing a picture of Mother Teresa. Documentation of a second miracle is required for her to be declared a saint.
Skopje is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. Skopje was hit by a powerful earthquake in 1963 (6.9 on the Richter Scale), which killed over a thousand people, and left over 100,000 people homeless. As well as the loss to life, over 75% of the city was destroyed, triggering a massive rebuilding effort supported by countries in the region and around the globe.
30. It’s acquired in the sun : VITAMIN D
It’s the ultraviolet light in sunlight that causes skin to burn, but it’s also UV light that contributes to the manufacture of Vitamin D in the skin.
35. Brewmaster’s science : ZYMURGY
Zymology (also called “zymurgy”) is the scientific term for fermentation, and is a subject much-studied and understood by brewers.
37. Term for some morning deejays : ZOO CREW
I guess some of those wild and wacky deejays, famous for morning drive-time antics, are called a zoo crew. I know it sounds elitist, but I can only listen to NPR at that time of day …
41. Having been tainted, as a drink : SKUNKY
Apparently a drink that has been tainted is “skunky”. News to me …
43. United hub : O’HARE
O’Hare International is the fourth busiest airport in the world. The original airport was constructed on the site between 1942 an 1943, and was used by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the manufacture of planes during WWII. Before the factory and airport were built there was a community in the area called Orchard Place, so the airport was called Orchard (OR) Place Airport/Douglas (D) Field. This name is the derivation of the airport’s current location identifier: ORD.
(46. Actor Pat : MORITA)
The 1984 film “The Karate Kid” starred Ralph Macchio in the title role, with Pat Morita playing the enigmatic karate teacher, Mr. Miyagi. There is an excellent 2010 remake, starring Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) as the Karate Kid himself, with Jackie Chan playing the teacher.
Pat Morita was a Japanese-American actor, born in Isleton, California. Morita’s most noted roles were playing “Arnold” on TV’s “Happy Days”, and Mr. Miyagi in “The Karate Kid” movies. Morita was just a kid during WWII and spent most of it in the Gila River internment camp in Arizona with this family
The Office of Economic Opportunity was created during the Lyndon Johnson administration. The agency was responsible for administering the War on Poverty programs that were part of the President Johnson’s Great Society agenda. The OEO was shut down by President Nixon, although some of the office’s programs were transferred to other agencies. A few of the OEO’s programs are still around today, like Head Start for example.
49. ___ Park : MENLO
Menlo Park, New Jersey is noted as the home to Thomas Edison’s laboratory where he made so many of his inventions. We also have a pretty well-known Menlo Park out here in California, home to many of the venture capital companies that tend to make a lot of money out of Silicon Valley businesses.
52. “David ___,” Edward Noyes Westcott novel : HARUM
“David Harum” was a very successful novel when it was first published in 1899, written by Edward Noyes Westcott. The book is noted for introducing the colloquial term “horse trading” into the language (meaning “shady business practices”).
63. Glandular opening? : ADENO-
Adeno- is a prefix referring to a gland, so for example “adenitis” is inflammation of a gland. “Adeno-” comes from the Greek word for an acorn, presumably descriptive of the shape of some glands.
“Knapsack” is a Low German word for a bag with straps designed to be carried on the back. The word “knapsack” probably comes from the German verb “knappen” meaning “to eat”.
Down
‘N Sync was an American boy band from Orlando, Florida that was formed in 1995. The name of the group came from a comment by the mother of band member Justin Timberlake, who said the boys voices sounded “in sync”. But, it’s also true that the letters of the name ‘N Sync are the last letters of the given names of the five band members:
– Justin Timberlake
– Chris Kirkpatrick
– Joey Fatone
– Lance “Lansten” Bass
– JC Chasez
3. Bibliolater : BOOKWORM
Bibliolatry is the love of a particular book. The term comes from the Greek “biblion” meaning “book” and “latreia” meaning “worship”.
4. Dark quaff : BOCK
A bock is a strong lager from Germany, first brewed in the town of Einbeck. The famous brewers of Munich adopted the style of beer, calling it Einbeck after the town of its origin. However, with the Bavarian accent “Einbeck” came out as “ein Bock”, the German for “a billy goat”. The name “bock” stuck, and so you’ll very often see a billy goat on the labels of bock beers.
Canadian-born Paul Anka’s big hit was in 1957, “Diana”. He was the subject of a much-lauded documentary film in 1962, called “Lonely Boy”.
9. Former org. for Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev : KGB
The Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved at that time after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
10. Poisonous lily : ARUM
Arum is a genus of flowering plant native to eastern North America. It’s a nasty plant though, and contains oxalic acid, a compound that can be very painful if ingested and even cause death if taken in sufficient quantities.
Bon Ami cleanser was introduced just a few years after Bon Ami soap went to market in 1886. The cleanser was marketed by emphasising its “non-scratch” properties. The label showed a chick coming out of an egg, the idea being that a newly hatched chick hasn’t yet scratched the ground looking for worms and insects.
Richard Avedon was an American photographer. He was the inspiration for the character “Dick Avery” played by Fred Astaire in the wonderful film “Funny Face” starring Audrey Hepburn in the title role. Avedon’s most famous portrait is in fact a close-up of Audrey Hepburn, whom Avedon referred to as his muse.
25. U.K. highway connecting London and Dover : A-TWO
The A2 road/highway that runs from London to Dover has quite a history. Not only is it an old Roman road, but the road built by the Romans actually followed the route carved out by an older Celtic trackway.
28. Ninth successor of St. Peter : PIUS I
Pope Saint Pius I was one of the very early Bishops of Rome, governing the Roman Catholic church around 150 AD. One of his decrees was that Easter should only be celebrated on a Sunday.
32. Part of a mudslide, maybe : MOCHA
Mudslide is the name given to anything from a rich dessert to an alcoholic cocktail.
Café mocha is usually made using one-third espresso coffee and two-thirds steamed milk, with a little chocolate added. The drink is named after the town of Mocha in Yemen, a noted exporter of coffee as far back as the 15th century.
J.M. Synge was one of Ireland’s most famous playwrights, a co-founder of the country’s national theater, the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His most famous work is “The Playboy of the Western World”.
36. Japanese capture after Pearl Harbor : GUAM
Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, the largest of the Mariana Islands. Guam is also the first territory in the United States to see the sun rise on any particular day. As such, it has adopted the motto, “Where America’s day begins”. During WWII, the US territory of Guam was occupied by the Japanese for 31 months until it was liberated in the Battle of Guam in July 1944. Of the 18,000 Japanese men holding the island, only 485 surrendered, so almost all perished in the invasion. One Japanese sergeant hid out on the island for an incredible 28 years, finally surrendering in 1972!
The actor Eric Dane is most known for playing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”.
44. Fashion strip? : MOHAWK
Here is another example of a difference in terminology on either side of the Atlantic. What we call the Mohawk hairstyle in the US is known as a “Mohican” in the British Isles. The Mohawk hairstyle is named after the Mohawk nation, who wore their hair in the same fashion. The Mohawk style however, has been around for a long time elsewhere in the world. There was a well-preserved male body found in a bog near Dublin in Ireland in 2003. The body is about 2,000 years old and has the Mohawk haircut.
An edited version of President Reagan’s diaries was published in 2009 under the title “The Reagan Diaries”, with the editing being done by Douglas Brinkley. The complete set of diaries was published two years later, in 2009.
47. Sponge : SOT
Our word “sot” comes from the Old English “sott”, meaning a fool. The word “sot” started to be associated with alcohol, and not just foolery, in the late 1500s.
53. Conference USA sch. : UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso was founded in 1914, originally as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. To this day there is a mineshaft on the campus.
Sir Arthur C. Clarke was a British science-fiction writer, perhaps most famous for his novel “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
56. Window coating? : HOAR
The Old English word “har” meant “gray, venerable, old”, and came into English as “hoar” (and later “hoary”) with the same meaning. The term “hoar-frost” dates back to the 13th century, and reflects the similarity of the white feathers of frost to the gray/white of an old man’s beard.
57. German fantasy writer Michael : ENDE
Michael Ende was a children’s author from Germany. His most famous novel is the fantasy work “The Neverending Story”, first published in 1979.
60. Org. against doping : IOC
The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894, and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “Star Wars” villain : JABBA
6. Broken thing in “Gimme a break” : KIT KAT BAR
15. Perform “All of Me,” say : CROON
16. Performing perfectly : IN A GROOVE
17. Chili container : CROCK
18. Pirate’s implement : DVD BURNER
19. Sapporo’s home : HOKKAIDO
21. Nobel-winning economist James : MEADE
22. “Would you look at that!” : AWW
23. Inventor of the battery in 1800 : VOLTA
26. Extinct wingless bird : MOA
27. Birth city of Mother Teresa : SKOPJE
30. It’s acquired in the sun : VITAMIN D
33. A little too quiet, perhaps : EERIE
34. Gruff rejoinder : SEZ WHO
35. Brewmaster’s science : ZYMURGY
37. Term for some morning deejays : ZOO CREW
41. Having been tainted, as a drink : SKUNKY
43. United hub : O’HARE
44. Noted role for 46-Down : MR MIYAGI
47. Many domes : STADIA
48. Great Society inits. : OEO
49. ___ Park : MENLO
51. “That’s awful!” : ICK
52. “David ___,” Edward Noyes Westcott novel : HARUM
55. Ninnies : FATHEADS
58. It stirs things up : AGITATION
61. About to happen : ON TAP
62. Gathering place for animals : WATER HOLE
63. Glandular opening? : ADENO-
64. They’re thrown over the shoulder : KNAPSACKS
65. Ready for another play : RESET
Down
1. Former ‘N Sync vocalist and judge on “America’s Best Dance Crew” : JC CHASEZ
2. Pointer for a computer user : ARROW KEY
3. Bibliolater : BOOKWORM
4. Dark quaff : BOCK
5. “Tonight My Love, Tonight” singer : ANKA
6. Little fella : KIDDO
7. Absorb : INVOLVE
8. Sliver : TAD
9. Former org. for Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev : KGB
10. Poisonous lily : ARUM
11. Moved with force : TORE
12. Cleanser with the logo of a chick emerging from an egg : BON AMI
13. Photographer who once collaborated with Capote : AVEDON
14. Brushed up on : REREAD
20. “___ changed” : I’VE
24. Excited state : TIZZY
25. U.K. highway connecting London and Dover : A-TWO
28. Ninth successor of St. Peter : PIUS I
29. Beef product : JERKY
31. Screamingly funny : A HOOT
32. Part of a mudslide, maybe : MOCHA
34. “The Tinker’s Wedding” playwright : SYNGE
36. Japanese capture after Pearl Harbor : GUAM
38. Projects, in a good way : RADIATES
39. “Grey’s Anatomy” actor : ERIC DANE
40. Chink in the armor : WEAK SPOT
42. Relatives : KINFOLK
44. Fashion strip? : MOHAWK
45. “The ___ Diaries” (2007 best seller) : REAGAN
46. Actor Pat : MORITA
47. Sponge : SOT
50. They’re added in some infrastructure upgrades : LANES
53. Conference USA sch. : UTEP
54. “The Sands of ___” (Arthur C. Clarke’s first science fiction novel) : MARS
56. Window coating? : HOAR
57. German fantasy writer Michael : ENDE
59. Article in hip-hop : THA
60. Org. against doping : IOC
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