0324-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 24 Mar 2018, Saturday

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Constructed by: Byron Walden
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 13m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6. No bull market? : CHINA SHOP

The idiom “like a bull in a china shop” has been around since the early 1800s.

15. Mr. or Mrs. Right? : GOP’ER

The Republican Party has had the nickname Grand Old Party (GOP) since 1875. That said, the phrase was coined in the “Congressional Record” as “this gallant old party”. The moniker was changed to “grand old party” in 1876 in an article in the “Cincinnati Commercial”. The Republican Party’s elephant mascot dates back to an 1874 cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast for “Harper’s Weekly”. The Democrat’s donkey was already an established symbol. Nast drew a donkey clothed in a lion’s skin scaring away the other animals. One of the scared animals was an elephant, which Nast labeled “The Republican Vote”.

The concept of left-right politics started in France during the French Revolution. When members of France’s National Assembly convened in 1789, supporters of the King sat to the President’s right, and supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. The political terms “left” and “right” were then coined in the local media and have been used ever since.

17. “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” musical : EVITA

“Another Suitcase in Another Hall” is a song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical “Evita”. The song is sung by Juan Perón’s mistress after Eva throws her onto the street. Scottish singer Barbara Dickson recorded the original version, which was released as a single in 1977. Madonna sang “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” in the 1996 film adaptation of “Evita”, even though she played Eva Perón and not the mistress.

18. Little Orphan Annie feature : EMPTY EYES

“Little Orphan Annie” is a comic strip created in 1924 by Harold Gray. The title was taken from a poem written in 1885 by James Whitcomb Riley called “Little Orphant Annie” (and yes, that spelling “orphant” is correct). Strangely enough, the original name of the poem was “Little Orphant Allie”, changed forever at its third printing, purely because of a typesetter’s error!

19. Concern of “three strikes” laws : RECIDIVISM

About half of the fifty US states have “three-strikes” laws, statutes that mandate courts to impose harsher sentences on an offender who has previously been convicted to two prior serious offenses.

22. Home to Dyess Air Force base : ABILENE

Abilene is a city in Texas located about 150 miles west of Fort Worth. The city originated at stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881, a place where cattlemen could load up stock for transportation. It was named for Abilene, Kansas, which was the endpoint for the Chisholm Trail at that time.

23. Avian epithet for Napoleon II, with “the” : EAGLET

Napoléon II was the Emperor of the French, but only in title. Napoléon II was the son of Napoléon Bonaparte and his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria. When Bonaparte was defeated by Britain and her allies, the coalition partners refused to acknowledge Napoléon II and his right to rule.

28. Echo preceder : DELTA

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

29. Mob pieces : GATS

“Gat” is slang for “gun”. The term is derived from the Gatling gun, the precursor to the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was invented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861. Apparently he was inspired to invent it so that one man could do as much damage as a hundred, thereby reducing the size of armies and diminishing the suffering caused by war. Go figure …

30. Cleaves : ADHERES

I’ve always found “to cleave” an interesting verb. When used with an object, to cleave something is to split it, as one would would using a cleaver. When used without an object, to cleave is to cling, to adhere, as in “to cleave to one’s principles in the face of adversity”. Although not exactly so, the two definitions seem to have opposite meanings to me …

32. And many times in France? : ETS

“Et” is French for “and”.

42. Coffee-growing region of Hawaii : KONA COAST

Kona coffee is cultivated on the Big Island of Hawaii, on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualalai, two of the five volcanoes on the island. Coffee plants were brought to Kona in 1828 and late in the 19th century, coffee became a viable and worthwhile crop. Today Kona is a one of the most expensive and popular coffees in the world.

47. Golden rice and others, in brief : GMOS

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is one with genetic material that has been altered by genetic engineering. One might argue that the oldest form of genetic engineering is selective breeding, the use of animals or plants with desired traits for the creation of the next generation.

48. Sitcom mother portrayer of 1987-97 and (on a different show) 2002-05 : KATEY SAGAL

Katey Sagal played Peggy Bundy on “Married … with Children”. Later she took over as star of the show “8 Simple Rules” in the middle of its run, when John Ritter passed away unexpectedly in 2003. More recently, Sagal appeared on the FX drama “Sons of Anarchy”. In 2004, she married Kurt Sutter who created the “Sons of Anarchy” series.

53. Ocho preceder : SIETE

“Siete” is the Spanish for “seven”.

57. Places in brackets : SEEDS

A “seeded” player or team in a tournament is one given a preliminary ranking that is used in the initial draw. The intention is that the better competitors do are less likely to meet each other in the early rounds.

Down

2. Old TV show set on the Pacific Princess, with “The” : LOVE BOAT

“The Love Boat” TV series was born out of 1976 made-for-TV movie with the same title. The movie was which itself was an adaptation of a nonfiction book called “The Love Boats” written by real-life cruise director Jeraldine Saunders.

3. Homer and others : EPICISTS

Homer was a famous poet of Ancient Greece who is believed to be the author of the two classic epic poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. However, some scholars believe that Homer did not actually exist, but rather he is the personification of oral tradition that was passed down through the ages.

7. Powerful car engine : HEMI

“Hemi” is short for “hemisphere”, and is the name given to an internal combustion engine with hemispherical combustion chambers. Chrysler is famous for using Hemi engines in many of its models.

12. Mobile greeting : HI Y’ALL

Mobile, Alabama was founded in 1702, and the first capital of French Colonial Louisiana. The city takes its name from the Mobilian tribe of Native Americans who lived in that area.

14. Coin whose name means “small weight” : PESETA

The peseta is the former currency of Spain, and the de facto currency of Spain’s neighbor, the Principality of Andorra. The peseta was replaced by the euro in 2002.

24. City where, according to legend, Cain and Abel are buried : ADEN

Aden is a seaport in Yemen that is located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. A native of Aden is known as an Adeni. Some believe that Cain and Abel are buried in the city.

37. Ferdinand de ___, developer of the Suez Canal : LESSEPS

The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. The canal took ten years to construct, and opened in 1869. The northern terminus of the waterway is Port Said, and the southern is Port Tewfik in the city of Suez, which gives the canal its name. There are no locks on the Suez Canal, and there is only “one-lane” navigation available. There are two spots in the canal where ships travelling in opposing directions can pass each other. A second canal is now under construction that will cover half the route of the existing canal. When completed, the Suez Canal will be able to handle 97 ships a day, up from the current capacity of 49 ships per day.

38. “Use it or lose it” sloganeer : ROGAINE

Rogaine is a brand name for the drug Minoxidil. It was developed as an oral medication to treat high blood pressure, but was found to have an exploitable side-effect. It caused an increase in the rate of hair growth. A topical solution was marketed to promote growth of hair especially in balding men. The drug seems to work well, but when the patient stops using it, things go back to normal in about 60 days. Wouldn’t dream of touching the stuff myself …

40. D, on a cornerstone : DOMINI

The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.

41. Mulligan : DO-OVER

There doesn’t seem to be a definitive account for the origin of the term “Mulligan”, which is most often used for a shot do-over in golf. There are lots of stories about golfers named Mulligan though, and I suspect that one of them may be true …

45. Relative of a stingray : SKATE

Skates (formally “Rajidae”) are a family of fish in the superorder of rays (formally “batoidea”). Skates look very similar to stingrays but they lack stinging spines.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Text ___ : ALERT
6. No bull market? : CHINA SHOP
15. Mr. or Mrs. Right? : GOP’ER
16. Like some sodas : LEMON-LIME
17. “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” musical : EVITA
18. Little Orphan Annie feature : EMPTY EYES
19. Concern of “three strikes” laws : RECIDIVISM
21. Hollow : DALE
22. Home to Dyess Air Force base : ABILENE
23. Avian epithet for Napoleon II, with “the” : EAGLET
25. Certain flu vaccine medium : NOSE SPRAY
28. Echo preceder : DELTA
29. Mob pieces : GATS
30. Cleaves : ADHERES
32. And many times in France? : ETS
33. Has a fit, maybe? : TRIES ON
34. Queen ___ : MUM
37. Class for an English major, familiarly : LIT CRIT
38. Home of Triple-A baseball’s Aces : RENO
39. Only poisonous snake in Britain : ADDER
42. Coffee-growing region of Hawaii : KONA COAST
44. Ones hanging around a haunted house? : NOOSES
46. Street sweep? : DRAGNET
47. Golden rice and others, in brief : GMOS
48. Sitcom mother portrayer of 1987-97 and (on a different show) 2002-05 : KATEY SAGAL
51. Hides who one is : LIVES A LIE
53. Ocho preceder : SIETE
54. Achieved green efficiency? : ONE-PUTTED
55. Like some monologues : INNER
56. FedEx Office competitor : SIR SPEEDY
57. Places in brackets : SEEDS

Down

1. Toy package info : AGE RANGE
2. Old TV show set on the Pacific Princess, with “The” : LOVE BOAT
3. Homer and others : EPICISTS
4. Fixes, as a shower stall : RETILES
5. Masonry and others : TRADES
6. Know-it-all, in Britspeak : CLEVER DICK
7. Powerful car engine : HEMI
8. Sorts frequently given detention : IMPS
9. Terse denial : NOT ME
10. “___ regrets?” : ANY
11. Haulers on runners : SLEDGES
12. Mobile greeting : HI Y’ALL
13. To fix this you need to get cracking! : OMELET
14. Coin whose name means “small weight” : PESETA
20. To some extent : IN PART
24. City where, according to legend, Cain and Abel are buried : ADEN
26. “Don’t be ___” (words of caution) : A HERO
27. “Darn tootin'” : YES INDEEDY
31. Pre-cell? : ROTARY
33. Begin to give out : TIRE
34. Rhyming nickname for wrestling Hall-of-Famer Okerlund : MEAN GENE
35. Booted out : UNSEATED
36. Paintbrushes for applying spots and blotches : MOTTLERS
37. Ferdinand de ___, developer of the Suez Canal : LESSEPS
38. “Use it or lose it” sloganeer : ROGAINE
39. Whites : ANGLOS
40. D, on a cornerstone : DOMINI
41. Mulligan : DO-OVER
43. Black currant liqueur : CASSIS
45. Relative of a stingray : SKATE
49. ___ Oper (historic concert hall in Frankfurt, Germany) : ALTE
50. Even : TIED
52. “How’s it hangin’?” : SUP?