0607-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 7 Jun 2018, Thursday

Constructed by: Bruce Haight
Edited by: Will Shortz

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Bubbles Up

Themed answers are all in the down-direction, and are the names of carbonated beverages. The twist is that the letters O in those names, the “BUBBLES”, have floated UP to the top of the answer:

  • 33D. Rises, in a way : BUBBLES UP
  • 3D. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-LEMNSDA (from “lemon soda”)
  • 7D. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-CHAMPAGNECLER (from “champagne cooler”)
  • 9D. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-JLTCLA (from “Jolt Cola”)
  • 37D. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-CKEZER (from “Coke Zero”)

Bill’s time: 18m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Southwest skiing locale : TAOS

Taos Ski Valley is a resort village in New Mexico, founded in 1955. About twelve families live there, making up thirty or so households and a population of about 60 people. It is said to very much resemble a Swiss village, and even includes an elected village council.

9. Ancient Mexican : OLMEC

The Olmec were an ancient civilization that lived in the lowlands of south-central Mexico from about 1500 BC to about 400 BC.

15. A long time, in Mexico : ANOS

In Spanish, there are 365 “días” (days) in an “año” (year).

16. ___ board : OUIJA

The Ouija board was introduced to America as a harmless parlor game at the end of the 19th century, although variations of the board date back to 1100 BC in China, where it was apparently used to “contact” the spirit world. The name “Ouija” is relatively recent, and is probably just a combination of the French and German words for “yes” … “oui” and “ja”.

19. Singer Jackson : JANET

Janet Jackson is the youngest of the famed Jackson family of musicians. She is a very successful musical artist (she has sold over 100 million records!) but also devotes a lot of time to acting. When she was quite young she appeared on the TV show “Fame”, and in 1993 had her first starring role in a film, namely “Poetic Justice”. She followed that up with a part in “Nutty Professor II” playing opposite Eddie Murphy. As usual, she got to sing on the movie’s soundtrack and produced a number one with the song “Doesn’t Really Matter”. Then there was the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, and a wardrobe malfunction …

23. Material in sheets : MICA

Mica is a silicate mineral. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes’ in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

24. Word in a Latin 101 lesson : AMAT

“Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

26. Digs in the mud : STY

“Digs” is short for “diggings” meaning “lodgings”. Where “diggings” came from, no one seems to know.

29. Bygone Ford make, informally : MERC

The Mercury brand of car was made by Ford from 1938 until 2011. Mercury was introduced by Henry Ford’s son Edsel Ford. Mercury vehicles were positioned as being more luxurious that the regular Ford models, and more economical than Ford’s high-end Lincoln models.

33. Bit of neckwear : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

45. Fins : ABES

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.

46. James who played Sonny Corleone : CAAN

James Caan is an actor from The Bronx, New York City. He is noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan is quite the sportsman. He plays golf with an 8 handicap, and is a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

Sonny Corleone was eldest son of Don Vito Corleone in Mario Puzo’s great novel “The Godfather”. In the movie, Sonny was played by James Caan. Sonny appears as a boy in the movie “The Godfather: Part II”, and is played by director Francis Ford Coppola’s own son, Roman Coppola.

60. Madison Ave. industry : AD BIZ

Madison Avenue became the center of advertising in the US in the twenties, and serves as the backdrop to the great TV drama “Mad Men”. There aren’t many advertising agencies left on Madison Avenue these days though, as most have moved to other parts of New York City. The street takes its name from Madison Square, which is bounded on one side by Madison Avenue. The square in turn takes its name from James Madison, the fourth President of the United States.

62. Fizzy wine option : ASTI

Asti is a sparkling white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, and is named for the town of Asti around which the wine is produced. The wine used to be called Asti Spumante, and it had a very bad reputation as a “poor man’s champagne”. The “Spumante” was dropped in a marketing attempt at rebranding associated with a reduction in the amount of residual sugar in the wine.

64. Much-reshared post on social media : MEME

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

66. Meal with storytelling : SEDER

The Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. One of the traditions at the meal is that the youngest child at the table asks “The Four Questions”, all relating to why this night is different from all other nights in the year:

  • Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
  • Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
  • Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
  • Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

Down

1. Fab alternative : TIDE

Tide is a laundry detergent that has been made by Procter & Gamble since 1946. Back then, Tide was marketed as “America’s Washday Favorite”.

2. For two voices in unison : A DUE

“A due” is a musical term meaning “together”, and literally translates from Italian as “by two”.

9. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-JLTCLA (from “Jolt Cola”)

Jolt Cola is a sugary beverage with a whole load of caffeine in it (hence the name “Jolt”).

10. Feast that might include lomi-lomi salmon : LUAU

Lomi-lomi salmon is a salad dish in Hawaiian cuisine that is made using raw salted salmon.

13. Eponymous cartoonist Guisewite : CATHY

“Cathy” is a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. The strip was largely based on Guisewite’s own life experiences. For decades, cartoon Cathy was a single woman dealing with food, love, family and work. Cathy married her longtime boyfriend in 2005, and the strip ended its run in 2010 with the revelation that Cathy was expecting a baby girl.

22. Baseball legend Yastrzemski : CARL

Carl Yastrzemski, who played his whole career with the Boston Red Sox, goes by the nickname “Yaz”.

25. Anne of comedy : MEARA

Anne Meara married fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller in 1954. The couple’s children are actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spin-off from “All in the Family”.

28. Aachen article : EINE

Aachen is a city in the very west of Germany, right on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. In English, we quite often refer to this city by its French name, Aix-la-Chapelle.

37. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-CKEZER (from “Coke Zero”)

Even though Coca-Cola Zero is in the category of “diet soda”, the marketing folks at Coca-Cola don’t like its association with the word “diet”. The target market for the beverage is young, adult males, so it is described as “calorie-free” rather than “diet”, the assumption being that males associate “diet” with women. Not in this house …

43. Big name in chips : LAY’S

Lay’s potato chips were introduced in 1938 by Herman W. Lay. Lay started selling his chips out the trunk of his car, travelling all over the US. In those days the chips were pretty much handmade, but Lay put an end to that in 1942. He invented the first continuous potato processor in 1948, and chips started to take over the world!

49. Some Italian models : FIATS

Fiat is the largest car manufacturer in Italy, and is headquartered in Turin in the Piedmont region in the north of the country. Fiat was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, when the company’s name was “Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino” (FIAT). A few years ago, Fiat became the majority shareholder in Chrysler.

50. “My Dinner With ___” (1981 film) : ANDRE

“My Dinner With Andre” is a rather unusual 1981 film, written by and starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. The whole film is a conversation between the two actors, although they do play different parts as the film progresses.

57. Michigan college town : ALMA

Alma College in Alma, Michigan was founded by Michigan Presbyterians in 1886. The school has a Scottish heritage of which it is very proud. Alma has its own Scottish marching band, a Scottish dance troupe and even its own design of tartan.

58. Shaving brand : ATRA

Fortunately for crossword constructors, the Atra was introduced by Gillette in 1977, as the first razor with a pivoting head. The Atra was sold as the Contour in some markets and its derivative products are still around today.

61. Calvin in “Calvin and Hobbes,” e.g. : IMP

The comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” is still widely syndicated, but hasn’t been written since 1995. The cartoonist Bill Watterson named the character Calvin after John Calvin, the 16th century theologian. Hobbes was named for Thomas Hobbes a 17th century English political philosopher.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Southwest skiing locale : TAOS
5. Revolting scene : RIOT
9. Ancient Mexican : OLMEC
14. Fan fixation : IDOL
15. A long time, in Mexico : ANOS
16. ___ board : OUIJA
17. Properly : DULY
18. What’s tall when it’s young and short when it’s old? (old riddle) : WICK
19. Singer Jackson : JANET
20. Big foot spec : EEE WIDTH
22. Like a winning play in the final seconds of overtime : CLUTCH
23. Material in sheets : MICA
24. Word in a Latin 101 lesson : AMAT
26. Digs in the mud : STY
27. Colorado senator Michael : BENNET
29. Bygone Ford make, informally : MERC
30. Plate, e.g. : DISK
31. Horrify : APPALL
33. Bit of neckwear : BIB
36. “Therefore …” : AND SO …
38. Something you can lend without having to part with : EAR
39. Tickle : AMUSE
41. Pro choice? : YEA
42. Stale joke : OLD GAG
45. Fins : ABES
46. James who played Sonny Corleone : CAAN
47. “Ri-i-i-ight …” : I’LL BET …
49. Remote : FAR
52. Nascar’s Busch or Petty : KYLE
53. Dirt in a dump truck, perhaps : FILL
54. Since way back when : IN AGES
56. Something to feed the kitty : CAT TREAT
60. Madison Ave. industry : AD BIZ
61. Troubles : ILLS
62. Fizzy wine option : ASTI
63. Extended family : TRIBE
64. Much-reshared post on social media : MEME
65. Dice roll, say : TURN
66. Meal with storytelling : SEDER
67. Fool, in British slang : PRAT
68. Beauty spots : SPAS

Down

1. Fab alternative : TIDE
2. For two voices in unison : A DUE
3. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-LEMNSDA (from “lemon soda”)
4. Knowing signs : SLY WINKS
5. Figures recorded in an experiment : RAW DATA
6. Part of a competition : IN IT
7. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-CHAMPAGNECLER (from “champagne cooler”)
8. “Naughty!” : TSK!
9. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-JLTCLA (from “Jolt Cola”)
10. Feast that might include lomi-lomi salmon : LUAU
11. Thin ___ : MINTS
12. DVD player button : EJECT
13. Eponymous cartoonist Guisewite : CATHY
21. Something often added to a carbonated beverage : ICE
22. Baseball legend Yastrzemski : CARL
25. Anne of comedy : MEARA
27. Annual celebration, for short : B’DAY
28. Aachen article : EINE
32. Bike : PEDAL
33. Rises, in a way : BUBBLES UP
34. “So that’s what you mean” : I SEE
35. Top : BEST
37. Carbonated beverage, spelled as 33-Down might suggest? : OO-CKEZER (from “Coke Zero”)
40. Food court regulars : MALL RATS
43. Big name in chips : LAY’S
44. Bundle that might come with a bow on top : GIFT SET
48. Like a happening party, in slang : LIT
49. Some Italian models : FIATS
50. “My Dinner With ___” (1981 film) : ANDRE
51. Overly enthusiastic : RABID
55. Razz : GIBE
57. Michigan college town : ALMA
58. Shaving brand : ATRA
59. Cookie containers : TINS
61. Calvin in “Calvin and Hobbes,” e.g. : IMP