0120-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 20 Jan 2018, Saturday

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Constructed by: Alex Vratsanos
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 20m 19s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Blondie’s maiden name in “Blondie” : BOOPADOOP

“Blondie” was created as a comic strip by Chic Young. It was first published in 1930, and is still being created today (although the strip is now controlled by Chic’s son, Dean). The strip spawned a series of radio programs (1939-1950) and a series of “Blondie” films (1938-1950). Blondie Boopadoop married her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead in 1933. Dagwood slaves away at a construction company run by Julius Dithers, whose wife is named Cora. Another famous character in the strip is Elmo Tuttle, a pesky kid who is always bugging Dagwood.

14. Sly remarks? : YOS

You might remember Rocky Balboa saying, “Yo, Adrian!” in the original “Rocky” movie. Adrian was Rocky’s wife played by the lovely Talia Shire, sister of director Francis Ford Coppola.

18. Abbr. on a foundation stone : ESTD

Established (estd.)

20. Mosaicist : TILER

In the Middle Ages, mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The term “mosaic” translates as “of the Muses”.

21. Pomeriggio follower : SERA

In Italian, “pomeriggio” (afternoon) is followed by “sera” (evening).

24. Novelist who wrote “I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living” : NIN

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

26. Nocturnal predators of fiction : MORLOCKS

In the 1895 novel by H. G. Wells called “The Time Machine”, there are two races that the hero encounter in his travels into the future. The Eloi are the “beautiful people” who live on the planet’s surface. The Morlocks are a race of cannibals living underground who use the Eloi as food.

29. Tony ___, official character voice of Donald Duck : ANSELMO

Donald Duck was created in 1934 by Walt Disney Productions, first appearing “The Wise Little Hen” in 1934. Donald’s full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck.

30. Spartan, e.g. : HELLENE

Someone from Greece can be called a Hellene. “Ellas” is the Greek word for “Greece”, the name of the country. Greece is also known as the “Hellenic” Republic.

31. Land north of England, in poetry : SCOTIA

“Scotia” has been the Latin word for “Scotland” since the Middle Ages, and is sometimes used in poetry as the name for the country. Paradoxically, the Ancient Romans used the name “Scotia” for the island of Ireland. The meaning mutated over the centuries.

34. Song royalties org. : BMI

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) collects licence fees for musicians and distributes royalties to composers whose works have been performed. BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) provides the same service.

35. Pasquale ___, baritone at the Metropolitan Opera : AMATO

Pasquale Amato was an operatic baritone from Naples. Amato was at the height of his popularity while singing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, which he did from 1908 until 1921.

37. Standard & ___ : POORS

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is a financial services company, famous for its stock market indices, especially the S&P 500. The company also publishes credit ratings for sovereign governments, and in 2011 famously lowered the rating of the US federal government from AAA to to AA+.

39. In ___ (untouched) : SITU

“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”, and we use the term to mean “in the original position”.

40. “The Big Bang Theory” character : RAJ

Raj Koothrappali is a character on the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” who is played by British-Indian actor Kunal Nayyar. Nayyar is married to Neha Kapur, a former Miss India.

41. Like certain ecclesiastical councils : SYNODAL

The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for assembly, or meeting. A synod is a church council, usually in the Christian faith.

Down

3. William Wordsworth, e.g. : ODIST

The great English poet William Wordsworth is intrinsically linked with the Lake District in the north of England, where he lived from much of his life. The Lake District is a beautiful part of the country, and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere a couple of times, where Wordsworth lived with his sister Dorothy …

4. Its player may have a yen for gambling : PACHINKO

Pachinko is an arcade game as well as a gambling machine that is very, very popular in Japan in particular. It resembles a vertical pinball device into which a inserted steel balls.

5. Things that cover all the bases? : ALKALIS

The “opposite” of an acid is a base. Acids turn litmus paper red, and bases turn it blue. Acids and bases react with each other to form salts. An important subset of the chemicals called bases are the alkalis, the hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium. The term “alkali” is sometimes used interchangeably with “base”, especially if that base is readily soluble in water.

7. Whiskered, fish-eating creature : OTTER

The fur of the sea otter is exceptionally thick. It is the densest fur in the whole animal kingdom.

8. Maker of thousands of cars annually : OTIS

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

12. Kind of pie that’s actually a cake : BOSTON CREAM

The Boston cream pie was declared the official dessert of Massachusetts in 1996. And, it’s actually a cake, and not a pie at all.

13. Howdy Doody and others : MARIONETTES

A marionette is a type of puppet, one that is controlled from above by a series of strings or wires. The term “marionette” is French for “little, little Mary” and is probably a reference to one of the first such puppets, which depicted the Virgin Mary.
“Howdy Doody” is a children’s TV show that originally aired from 1947 to 1960. The show featured live actors as well as a whole host of puppet characters. There was also the Peanut Gallery, an invited audience of about 40 kids who sat on bleachers on stage while the show was airing.

17. Was successful in the end : PANNED OUT

When prospectors pan for gold, they do so by mixing soil and water in a pan. Because gold is very dense, gravel and soil can be washed over the side of the pan leaving the heavy precious metal at the bottom. The gold has been “panned out”, and so we often use “pan out” figuratively to mean “turn out, succeed”.

21. Doesn’t go straight, in a way : SLALOMS

“Slalom” is an anglicized version of the Norwegian word “slalam” that translates as “skiing race”. There is a longer version of the traditional slalom that is called giant slalom

23. Sparta, e.g. : POLIS

The Greek word “polis” translates as “city”, although the term is often used in English to refer to the ancient Greek city-states.
Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece that was famous for her military might. Spartan children had a tough upbringing, and newborn babies were bathed in wine to see if the child was strong enough to survive. Every child was presented to a council of elders that decided if the baby was suitable for rearing. Those children deemed too puny were executed by tossing them into a chasm. We’ve been using the term “spartan” to describe something self-disciplined or austere since the 1600s.

25. Big name in windows : PELLA

Pella is a manufacturer of windows and door headquartered in Pella, Iowa, whence the company name.

27. Nashville awards org. : CMA

Country Music Association (CMA)
The Tennessee city of Nashville was founded in 1779 near a stockade in the Cumberland River valley called Fort Nashborough. Both the settlement and the fort were named for General Francis Nash, a war hero who died in combat during the American Revolution.

28. Subj. of tax exemption : REL

Religion (rel.)

34. Beautiful, in Bogotá : BONITA

Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia. Noted for having many libraries and universities, Bogotá is sometimes referred to as “The Athens of South America”.

37. Material for a baking vessel : PYREX

Pyrex is a brand of glassware that was developed by Corning. As well as being used in bakeware and laboratory glassware, Pyrex is often the material of choice for optics in large telescopes used in astronomy. Corning’s PYREX (note the capital letters) is made from borosilicate glass, the main ingredients of which are silica and boron trioxide. Such Corning products are only available now outside of the US. Corning divested its consumer products division in 1998, resulting in the formation of World Kitchen. World Kitchen purchased the rights to the “Pyrex” name in the US, and market it as “pyrex” (all lowercase letters). So “PYREX” glassware is made from borosilicate glass, and “pyrex” products are made from cheaper tempered soda-lime glass.

42. Turn on the ice : LUTZ

In figure skating, a Lutz is a toe-pick-assisted jump that one starts skating backwards and ends skating backwards (there’s more to it that I don’t really understand!). The maneuver is named after Alois Lutz, an Austrian skater who first performed it in competition way back in 1913. Lutz wowed the crowd with a single jump, and today both men and women are landing triple Lutz jumps. No one has landed a clean quadruple Lutz in competition.

45. Tiny amount : JOT

A “jot” is something very small, from the Latin “jota”, which in turn is from the Greek “iota”, the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet.

46. Gray head? : LEE

Robert E. Lee was perhaps the most famous southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state. During the Civil War, Lee’s men referred to him affectionately as “Marse Robert”, with “marse” being slang for “master”.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Blondie’s maiden name in “Blondie” : BOOPADOOP
10. Post something : SEND A LETTER
12. One taking a lot of credit, maybe? : BIG TICKET ITEM
14. Sly remarks? : YOS
15. Many necklines : V-SHAPES
16. Spot for Spot : LAP
18. Abbr. on a foundation stone : ESTD
20. Mosaicist : TILER
21. Pomeriggio follower : SERA
22. High-grade? : STEEP
24. Novelist who wrote “I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living” : NIN
25. Hamburger order : PLAIN
26. Nocturnal predators of fiction : MORLOCKS
28. “Because I said so” is not one : REASON
29. Tony ___, official character voice of Donald Duck : ANSELMO
30. Spartan, e.g. : HELLENE
31. Land north of England, in poetry : SCOTIA
32. Turned sickly yellow : SALLOWED
33. Aligns : TRUES
34. Song royalties org. : BMI
35. Pasquale ___, baritone at the Metropolitan Opera : AMATO
36. Meals for seals : EELS
37. Standard & ___ : POORS
39. In ___ (untouched) : SITU
40. “The Big Bang Theory” character : RAJ
41. Like certain ecclesiastical councils : SYNODAL
43. Critically examine : VET
44. Democratic principle : MAJORITY RULES
47. Setup for a Netflix film, say : HOME THEATER
48. Gigantic : TEXAS SIZE

Down

1. Canine command : BEG
2. Airing : ON TV
3. William Wordsworth, e.g. : ODIST
4. Its player may have a yen for gambling : PACHINKO
5. Things that cover all the bases? : ALKALIS
6. Grow, as sympathies : DEEPEN
7. Whiskered, fish-eating creature : OTTER
8. Maker of thousands of cars annually : OTIS
9. Term of endearment : PET
10. Hip-hop icon born Lisa Williamson : SISTER SOULJAH
11. Paper signed before filming begins : RELEASE WAIVER
12. Kind of pie that’s actually a cake : BOSTON CREAM
13. Howdy Doody and others : MARIONETTES
14. Toadyish response : YES, MASTER
17. Was successful in the end : PANNED OUT
19. Files away? : DELETES
21. Doesn’t go straight, in a way : SLALOMS
23. Sparta, e.g. : POLIS
25. Big name in windows : PELLA
27. Nashville awards org. : CMA
28. Subj. of tax exemption : REL
30. Changers of locks : HAIR DYES
32. Sands : SMOOTHS
34. Beautiful, in Bogotá : BONITA
37. Material for a baking vessel : PYREX
38. Name changed in Genesis 17:15 : SARAI
41. A taste : SOME
42. Turn on the ice : LUTZ
45. Tiny amount : JOT
46. Gray head? : LEE