1218-10: New York Times Crossword Answers 18 Dec 10, Saturday

Quicklinks:
The full solution to today’s crossword that appears in the New York Times
The full solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword that appears in all other publications


THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 35m 45s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … BETTOR (BETTER), OLIVA (ELIVA)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across
1. Aid in deep diving : ECHO SOUNDER
The verb “sound” means “to probe, fathom”. We have been “sounding” to determine the depth of water for centuries, using weighted lines of known length, and have been using sound waves to measure depth and distances since the early 1900s. An echo sounder is a simple SONAR device that sends out a sonic pulse and measures who long it takes for the pulse to travel to the ocean/lake bottom and return to the vessel. Knowing how fast sound travels in water allows one to measure the distance traveled by the sound wave, and by extension the depth of the water.

Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter, 40-Ounce Jars (Pack of 3)12. One might use Peter Pan, in brief : PBJ
The Peter Pan brand of peanut butter is of course named after the character in the J. M. Barrie play. What we know today as Peter Pan peanut butter was introduced in 1920 as E. K. Pond peanut butter, and renamed in 1928.

Signed Stone, Sharon 8x10 Photo15. “Casino” Golden Globe winner : SHARON STONE
Actress Sharon Stone big success came with her appearance in the erotic thriller “Basic Instinct” released in 1992. She really hasn’t landed huge roles in big movies since then, other than the role of Ginger in “Casino”, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Personally, I enjoyed her performance in 1994’s “The Specialist”, an entertaining action film in which she played opposite Sylvester Stallone and James Woods.

16. Sch. with a 60-foot “Praying Hands” sculpture : ORU
Oral Roberts University is a private school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded relatively recently, in 1963, by the late evangelist Oral Roberts.

“Praying Hands” is a 30-ton bronze sculpture by Leonard McMurray. It can be seen at the entrance to the Oral Roberts University campus.

17. Proverbially newsworthy item : MAN BITES DOG
“Man bites dog” is a phrase used in journalism illustrating the phenomenon that the unusual gets reported, not the commonplace. The first use of the phrase has been attributed to a few people including the editor of the “New York Sun”, John Bogart (1848-1921). He is quoted as saying:

“When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”

Maya Lin: Architect and Artist (People to Know)18. Designer of Alabama’s Civil Rights Memorial : LIN
The Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama remembers forty people who died over the years in the struggle for equal rights between the years 1954 (the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision) and 1968 (the year Martin Luther King was assassinated). The memorial was designed by Maya Lin, whose most famous work is the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Maya Lin is a Chinese American, born in Athens Ohio, and is an artist and architect. Her most famous work is the moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Lin was only 21-years-old when she won a public design competition in 1981 to create the memorial. Although her design is very fitting, sadly Lin was not a popular choice for the work, given her Asian heritage. As she said herself, she probably would not have been picked had the competition been judged with the knowledge of who was behind each submission.

19. It displays an array of spikes: Abbr. : EKG
An EKG measures electrical activity in the heart. Back in Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud (Psychopathology of Everyday Life, the Interpretation of Dreams, and Three Contributions To the Theory of Sex)21. Basic drive : LIBIDO
Libido is a term first popularized by Sigmund Freud. His usage was more general than is understood today, as he used libido to describe all instinctive energy that arose in the subconscious. Freud believed that we humans are driven by two desires, the desire for life (the libido, or Eros) and the desire for death (Thanatos). Personally, I don’t think so …

Florida Manatee Photographic Poster Print by Nina Leen, 24x2425. Marine muncher on mangrove leaves : MANATEE
Manatees, also known as sea cows, are very large marine mammals that can grow to 12 feet in length. The manatee is believed to have evolved from four-legged land mammals and probably shares a common ancestor with the elephant. The manatee’s upper lip somewhat resembles the trunk of an elephant in that it is prehensile, and can be used to grip it’s food.

28. Heroine of Inge’s “Picnic” : MADGE
Playwright William Inge had a run of success on Broadway in the early fifties. His most celebrated work of that time was the play “Picnic”, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The original 1953 cast of “Picnic” included a young male actor making his debut on Broadway, Paul Newman.

2007 Bobby Rahal "Rahal-Letterman" Indy Car postcard31. 1986 Indy 500 winner : RAHAL
Bobby Rahal is an auto racing driver and team owner. He won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 as a driver, and won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner (the driver was Buddy Rice).

32. Poule’s counterpart : COQ
In France, the counterpart to a poule (hen) is a coq (cock, rooster).

The French word “coq” actually means rooster, but a more tender bird is usually chosen for the classic French dish “coq au vin”. The most common wine used for the “vin” is burgundy, or another red, but you can also find on a menu in France “coq au Champagne” and “coq au Riesling”.

33. Sparkle : ELAN
Our word “élan” was imported from French, in which it has a similar meaning, “style” or “flair”.

34. Opposite of frumpish : NATTY
A natty dresser is one who dresses smartly and neatly.

35. Actor awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in W.W. II : SABU
The 1937 British film “Elephant Boy” starred a young, Indian elephant driver called Sabu Dastagir. Sabu (he was often known just be the one name) made more British films over the next few years, including “The Thief of Baghdad” in 1940 and the 1942 version of “The Jungle book”. Sabu moved to Hollywood, and became a US citizen in 1944. He joined the US Army Air Force and served as a tail gunner in the Pacific, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor and bravery. Sadly, in 1963 Sabu died of a heart attack, at only 39 years of age.

37. Deltoid ligament attachment point : TIBIA
The deltoid ligament is a triangular-shaped band (hence the name) that binds the tibia (shin bone) to the ankle.

38. French frost : GELEE
“Gelée” is the French word for “frost”. It’s also the word used in France for Jello.

RORY CALHOUN 8X10 B&W PHOTO39. Old Rory Calhoun TV western : THE TEXAN
Rory Calhoun was best known for his roles as a tough guy in westerns. I think he was a tough guy off the screen as well. He stole a revolver when he was just 13 years old and was sent to a youth detention center, from which he escaped. While on the run he robbed several jewelry stores and ended up in a federal prison in Missouri. When he got out of federal prison he was transferred to San Quentin to serve time for offences in California. He was paroled just before his 21st birthday. Then he went into movies!

41. Disney character prone to spoonerisms : DOC
Spoonerisms are errors in speech in which letters or sounds are switched from one word to another. Famous examples are “Three cheers for our queer old dean” (dear old Queen … Victoria) and “Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?” (customary to kiss). Spoonerisms are named after an Oxford don, William Archibald Spooner, who was notorious for his tendency to pepper his speech with “spoonerisms”.

JFK - A Presidency Revealed (History Channel)42. Period about a decade before the 34-Down : CAMELOT
(34. When William Safire worked at the White House : NIXON ERA)
The early days of the presidency of John F. Kennedy earned the nickname “Camelot”. This was largely due to the charisma exhibited by the First Family, and the relatively good times enjoyed by the country in the early days of the Kennedy administration.

43. Person in a pool : BETTOR
A bettor (also “better”) is one places a bet.

Amy Tan: Author And Storyteller (Signature Lives)46. “Saving Fish From Drowning” novelist : AMY TAN
Amy Tan lives not too far from here in Sausalito, just north of San Francisco. She is an American writer of Chinese descent whose most successful work is “The Joy Luck Club”. “The Joy Luck Club” was made into a movie produced by Oliver Stone in 1993. The novel and movie tell of four Chinese-American immigrant families in San Francisco who start the Joy Luck Club, playing Mahjong for money and eating delicious food.

Aoshima 1/40 Apollo Lunar Module Eagle48. Spider, Snoopy or Intrepid: Abbr. : LEM
In the Apollo program, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was the vehicle that actually landed on the moon and returned the astronauts to command module that was orbiting overhead. The third LEM built was named “Spider”, and it participated in the Apollo 9 mission which tested the functionality of the LEM design in space. The fourth LEM was called “Snoopy”, and it flew around the moon in the Apollo 10 mission, the dress rehearsal for the upcoming moon landing. Apollo 11’s LEM was of course called “Eagle”, and it brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to and from the moon’s surface. The sixth LEM flew in the Apollo 12 mission, and was called “Intrepid”.

50. Football Hall-of-Famer Huff : SAM
Sam Huff is a former NFL linebacker who played for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. Huff is big into horse racing and breeds winning thoroughbreds.

Hallucinogenic Toreador Art Poster Print by Salvador Dalí, 24x3251. Artwork depicted in Dalí’s “The Hallucinogenic Toreador” : VENUS DE MILO
The famous “Venus de Milo” is so named as it was discovered in the ancient city ruins of Milos, on the Aegean island of Milos. I’ve been lucky enough to see it, in the Louvre in Paris, and was surprised at how large it is (6 ft 8 in tall).

54. “Last Train to London” grp. : ELO
ELO of course stands for the Electric Light Orchestra, a symphonic rock group from the north of England. Their manager was Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne (wife of Ozzy).

55. Financial option upon leaving a job : IRA ROLLOVER
I have to tell you, when I first came to the US from Ireland I got pretty confused by the big signs along the freeway touting contributions to your IRA. Back in Ireland, that was pretty illegal (where IRA means the Irish Republican Army!).

56. Father’s alma mater: Abbr. : SEM
Father (the priest) was probably educated in a seminary.

Down
1. Woman in all four “Twilight” novels : ESME
The reference, is to “The Twilight” series of books by Stephanie Meyer. “The Twilight Saga” is a series of films based on the books. I don’t do vampires …

Chaka Khan2. R&B’s ___ Khan : CHAKA
Chaka Khan was the front woman for the band Rufus before she launched her very successful solo career.

5. Stain : SOILURE
Soilure is an old word for a stain or a smudge.

Aint No Sunshine: Best of Bill Withers7. 1972 Bill Withers hit : USE ME
Bill Withers was working as an assembly operator while he was trying to make a name for himself in the music industry. Even as he found success with his glorious 1971 single “Ain’t No Sunshine”, he held onto his day job, worried that the music industry was unpredictable.

8. Wreck checker: Abbr. : NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board is responsible for the investigation of major accidents. The organization is independent in that it has no ties to other government agencies or departments so that its investigations can be viewed as “impartial”. The NTSB also earns a little money for the US as it hires out its investigation teams to countries who don’t have the necessary resources available on their own soil.

9. U.S.N. and U.S.A.F. div. : DOD
The US Navy and US Air Force are part of the US Department of Defense.

Minicraft Models B-29A Enola Gay 1/144 Scale10. Ship with devastating cargo : ENOLA GAY
As we all know, the Enola Gay was the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb. Enola Gay was the name of the mother of the pilot, Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.

11. Queenly : REGINAL
“Reginal” is an adjective used to describe things related to a queen. “Regina” is the Latin for “queen”.

13. Engagement party? : BRIDE TO BE
Clever wording …

14. Queenly : JUNOESQUE
Something described as “Junoesque” has a stately bearing, is likened to the goddess Juno.

Zubin Mehta: The Score Of My Life25. Israel Philharmonic maestro : MEHTA
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music, from Mumbai. Mehta studied music in Vienna, where he made his conducting debut in 1958. In 1961 he was named assistant director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, creating a fuss with the music director designate of the orchestra, Georg Solti. Solti resigned as a protest, and Mehta took his job.

27. Après-midi follows it : MATIN
In France, après-midi (afternoon) follows matin (morning).

30. Intergenerational MTV reality show : DATE MY MOM
On each episode of the MTV show “Date My Mom”, a “dater” visits with three moms who each try to convince the dater to go out on a date with their son or daughter. Get it? I don’t …

31. Home to Mohammed V University : RABAT
Rabat is the capital city of Morocco. After WWII, the United States had a major Air Force Base in Rabat, part of Strategic Air Command (SAC). Responding to pressure by the Moroccan government of King Mohammed V, the USAF pulled out in 1963.

34. When William Safire worked at the White House : NIXON ERA
William Safire was a syndicated columnist for the New York Times. He also worked for the Nixon election campaigns in 1960 and 1968, and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

37. Shalom Meir Tower locale : TEL AVIV
The Shalom Meir Tower is an office block in Tel Aviv. Construction on the tower was completed in 1965, at which time it was the tallest building in the Middle East. It has 34 floors and a height of 466 ft.

40. Three-day holiday : TET
The full name for the new year holiday in Vietnam is Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning “Feast of the First Morning”. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #52 Tony Oliva - Minnesota Twins (Baseball Cards)44. Rival of Yastrzemski for 1960s A.L. batting titles : OLIVA
Tony Oliva is a former Major League baseball player, who played his whole career for the Minnesota Twins.

45. Filled anew, as a flat : RELET
An apartment/flat that is leased again is “relet”.

47. Chess master Averbakh : YURI
At 88 years of age, Yuri Averbakh is the oldest living chess grandmaster.

52. Book editor Talese : NAN
Nan Talese is an editor working at Doubleday. She is married to author Gay Talese, who is apparently in the process of writing a novel based on their life together.

53. CO, e.g.: Abbr. : MOL
Carbon monoxide gas (CO) is made up of molecules containing one atom of carbon (C) and one atom of oxygen (O).

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Aid in deep diving : ECHO SOUNDER
12. One might use Peter Pan, in brief : PBJ
15. “Casino” Golden Globe winner : SHARON STONE
16. Sch. with a 60-foot “Praying Hands” sculpture : ORU
17. Proverbially newsworthy item : MAN BITES DOG
18. Designer of Alabama’s Civil Rights Memorial : LIN
19. It displays an array of spikes: Abbr. : EKG
20. Trunk attachment : LIMB
21. Basic drive : LIBIDO
23. Take on : ASSUME
25. Marine muncher on mangrove leaves : MANATEE
26. Explosion producer : IRE
27. Smashes : MEGA HITS
28. Heroine of Inge’s “Picnic” : MADGE
31. 1986 Indy 500 winner : RAHAL
32. Poule’s counterpart : COQ
33. Sparkle : ELAN
34. Opposite of frumpish : NATTY
35. Actor awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in W.W. II : SABU
36. On-target : APT
37. Deltoid ligament attachment point : TIBIA
38. French frost : GELEE
39. Old Rory Calhoun TV western : THE TEXAN
41. Disney character prone to spoonerisms : DOC
42. Period about a decade before the 34-Down : CAMELOT
43. Person in a pool : BETTOR
46. “Saving Fish From Drowning” novelist : AMY TAN
47. Fist pumper’s cry : YEAH
48. Spider, Snoopy or Intrepid: Abbr. : LEM
50. Football Hall-of-Famer Huff : SAM
51. Artwork depicted in Dalí’s “The Hallucinogenic Toreador” : VENUS DE MILO
54. “Last Train to London” grp. : ELO
55. Financial option upon leaving a job : IRA ROLLOVER
56. Father’s alma mater: Abbr. : SEM
57. Tag with a message, often : VANITY PLATE

Down
1. Woman in all four “Twilight” novels : ESME
2. R&B’s ___ Khan : CHAKA
3. Pays dearly for one’s crimes : HANGS
4. Astronomical discovery : ORB
5. Stain : SOILURE
6. Good way to arrive : ON TIME
7. 1972 Bill Withers hit : USE ME
8. Wreck checker: Abbr. : NTSB
9. U.S.N. and U.S.A.F. div. : DOD
10. Ship with devastating cargo : ENOLA GAY
11. Queenly : REGINAL
12. Like some platforms : POLITICAL
13. Engagement party? : BRIDE TO BE
14. Queenly : JUNOESQUE
22. “Ridiculous!” : BAH
24. Plus or minus, say : SIGN
25. Israel Philharmonic maestro : MEHTA
27. Après-midi follows it : MATIN
28. Places to display cuts : MEAT CASES
29. First mate? : ALPHA MALE
30. Intergenerational MTV reality show : DATE MY MOM
31. Home to Mohammed V University : RABAT
34. When William Safire worked at the White House : NIXON ERA
35. One may be Protestant : SECT
37. Shalom Meir Tower locale : TEL AVIV
38. Entered rehab, e.g. : GOT HELP
40. Three-day holiday : TET
41. Not just dangerous : DEADLY
43. Inebriate : BESOT
44. Rival of Yastrzemski for 1960s A.L. batting titles : OLIVA
45. Filled anew, as a flat : RELET
47. Chess master Averbakh : YURI
49. Hog’s desire : MORE
52. Book editor Talese : NAN
53. CO, e.g.: Abbr. : MOL

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