1110-19 NY Times Crossword 10 Nov 19, Sunday

Constructed by: Peter Gordon
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Double Sixes

Themed answers each have six contiguous double-letter pairings:

  • 23A Low singers, short on money, draw idly? : BASSI IN NEED, DOODLE
  • 37A Works as an accountant for a Swedish aerospace company? : DOES SAAB BOOKKEEPING
  • 53A People who share an apartment with a Jordanian royal? : QUEEN NOOR ROOMMATES
  • 75A Designer Mizrahi shouts like a cowboy in a nonchalant way? : ISAAC COOLLY YEE-HAWS
  • 94A Headline after an adolescent at a pool competition is made fun of? : SWIM MEET TEEN NEEDLED
  • 112A Matriculated students appear to be timid? : ENROLLEES SEEM MEEK

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 18m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Hooked on Classics” company : K-TEL

I know that a lot of people detested the “Hooked on Classics” albums, but to be honest, I found them to be a lot of fun. But then again, I like disco! The original “Hooked on Classics” album was recorded in 1981 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London. The music was a selection of recognizable extracts from the world of classical music played over a continuous disco beat.

5 Christina of “Monster” : RICCI

Christina Ricci is an American actress who found fame on the big screen at an early age, playing the very young Wednesday Addams in the 1991 movie version of “The Addams Family”.

“Monster” is a pretty disturbing crime drama released in 2003. The film’s storyline is based on the real-life story of Aileen Wuornos (played by Charlize Theron), a serial killer who was eventually caught and executed in 2002.

15 Silent : MUM

The phrase “mum’s the word” has been around since the early 1700s. “Mum” has been used to mean “silent” for centuries, the idea being that “mum” is the sound made when the lips are tightly sealed.

18 Last Supper item : GRAIL

The Holy Grail is a theme found throughout Arthurian legend. The grail itself is some vessel, with the term “grail” coming from the Old French “graal” meaning “cup or bowl made of earth, wood or metal”. Over time, the legend of the Holy Grail became mingled with stories of the Holy Chalice of the Christian tradition, the cup used to serve wine at the Last Supper. Over time, the term “grail” came to be used for any desired or sought-after object.

20 Case study in many business ethics classes : ENRON

After all the trials following the exposure of fraud at Enron, several of the key players ended up in jail. Andrew Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer. He plea-bargained and received ten years without parole, and became the key witness in the trials of others. Even Fastow’s wife was involved and she was sentenced to one year for helping her husband hide money. Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO) was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months. Kenneth Lay (CEO) died in 2006 after he had been found guilty but before he could be sentenced. The accounting firm Arthur Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding thousands of pertinent documents and deleting emails and files (a decision that the Supreme Court later overturned on a technicality). But still, Arthur Andersen collapsed under the weight of the scandal and 85,000 people lost their jobs (despite only a handful being directly involved with Enron).

22 “The Simpsons” character who holds a Ph.D. in computer science : APU

The fictional Kwik-E-Mart store is operated by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons” TV show. Apu is married to Manjula, and the couple have eight children. The convenience store owner doesn’t seem to be making much use of his Ph.D in computer science that he earned in the US. Apu’s undergraduate degree is from Caltech (the Calcutta Technical Institute), where he graduated top of his class of seven million students …

23 Low singers, short on money, draw idly? : BASSI IN NEED, DOODLE

The bass is the lowest male singing voice. A man with such a voice might be called a “basso” (plural “bassi”). In an opera, the villain of the piece is usually played by a basso.

29 Served in a certain cream sauce : A LA KING

A dish prepared “à la king” (usually chicken or turkey), is prepared in a cream sauce with mushrooms, pimentos, green peppers and sherry.

31 Fleet runner: Abbr. : ADM

Admiral (adm.)

32 Boston’s Liberty Tree, e.g. : ELM

The original Liberty Tree was an elm that stood near Boston Common and marked the place where folks would rally in the build-up to the American Revolution. The symbolism of the Liberty Tree migrated across the Atlantic during the French Revolution. Revolutionaries planted “Les arbres de la liberté” as symbols of revolutionary hope.

34 Tennis player with a record 377 cumulative weeks ranked No. 1 : GRAF

Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, which is more than any other man or woman other than Margaret Court. She is married to another former World No. 1, namely Andre Agassi.

37 Works as an accountant for a Swedish aerospace company? : DOES SAAB BOOKKEEPING

“SAAB” stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. Although we usually think of SAAB as an auto manufacturer, it is mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. A Chinese consortium purchased the assets of SAAB Automotive in 2012, and so SAAB vehicles are in production again. The new vehicles are using the SAAB name, but cannot use the SAAB griffin logo, the rights to which have been retained by the mother company.

44 “Pearly Shells” singer : DON HO

Singer and entertainer Don Ho apparently had a pretty liberal arrangement with his wife. When Ho was touring with his two backing singers, Patti Swallie and Elizabeth Guevara, all three of them shared a room together. He had two children with each of his roommates, giving a total of ten kids, including the six he had with his wife. The arrangement was quite open, it seems, with all ten kids visiting each other regularly. To each his own …

45 Like a llano : GRASSY

“Llano” is the Spanish word for “plain”.

46 Put a stop to : SURCEASE

To surcease is a desist, cease from an action.

49 Mlle., across the Pyrénées : SRTA

“Señorita” (Srta.) is Spanish, and “Mademoiselle” (Mlle.) is French, for “Miss”.

The Pyrénées is a mountain range that runs along the border between Spain and France. Nestled between the two countries, high in the mountains, is the lovely country of Andorra, an old haunt of my family during skiing season …

51 Airy areas of hotels : ATRIA

In modern architecture, an atrium (plural “atria” or “atriums”) is a large open space usually in the center of a building and extending upwards to the roof. The original atrium was an open court in the center of an Ancient Roman house. One could access most of the enclosed rooms of the house from the atrium.

53 People who share an apartment with a Jordanian royal? : QUEEN NOOR ROOMMATES

Queen Noor is the widow of King Hussein of Jordan. Queen Noor was born Lisa Halaby in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Najeeb Halaby. Her father was appointed by President Kennedy as the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, and later became the CEO of Pan Am. Lisa Halaby met King Hussein in 1977, while working on the design of Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport. The airport was named after King Hussein’s third wife who had been killed that year in a helicopter crash. Halaby and the King were married the next year, in 1978.

58 Rival of Havoline : STP

STP is a brand name of automotive lubricants and additives. The name “STP” is an initialism standing for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”.

61 Pec pic, say : TAT

The word “tattoo” (often shortened to “tat”) was first used in English in the writings of the famous English explorer Captain Cook. In his descriptions of the indelible marks adorning the skin of Polynesian natives, Cook anglicized the Tahitian word “tatau” into our “tattoo”. Tattoos are sometimes referred to as “ink”.

“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is a the Latin word for “breast, chest”.

62 1980s auto imports based on the Fiat : YUGOS

The Yugo is a notoriously unreliable subcompact car that was built by the Zastava corporation of Yugoslavia.

63 Turkish coin : LIRA

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

64 Speed skater who won five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics : HEIDEN

Eric Heiden is a former American speed skater, the most successful athlete to compete in any single Winter Olympics. He won five gold medals at the 1980 games in Lake Placid. After retiring from the ice, Heiden became a doctor and is now an orthopedic surgeon in Salt Lake City.

Beautiful Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State borders the village of Lake Placid, which famously was host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Here in the US, the most memorable event of the 1980 Winter Games was the “Miracle on Ice”, in which an amateur US hockey team beat what was in effect a professional USSR team, and then went on to win gold. A lesser known fact from the 1980 Games is that the Lake Placid Middle/High School served as a private bar for the Olympics. It is the only high school in the US to have been issued a license to serve alcohol.

66 Not doff : LEAVE ON

One doffs one’s hat, usually as a mark of respect. To doff is to take off, with “doff” being a contraction of “do off”. The opposite of “doff” is “don”, meaning “to put on”.

69 Politico Liz : CHENEY

Liz Cheney is the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. She was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2016, representing the state of Woming’s single seat. Her father held that same seat for ten years.

72 Pocahontas’s husband John : ROLFE

John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers in America. He is perhaps best remembered for marrying the Native American Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan. For a few months before her death, Pocahontas lived with Rolfe in England. The couple had actually boarded a ship to return them to Virginia when Pocahontas became ill and had to be brought ashore on the south coast of England, where she soon passed away.

74 Sends to the canvas, for short : KOS

Knockout (KO)

75 Designer Mizrahi shouts like a cowboy in a nonchalant way? : ISAAC COOLLY YEE-HAWS

Isaac Mizrahi is a fashion designer from Brooklyn, New York. Mizrahi pops up on television quite a lot. He took on the post of head judge on the reality show “Project Runway: All Stars” in 2012.

82 Citi Field player : MET

Citi Field is the relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. And the new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

93 Asian metropolis of 28+ million : DELHI

New Delhi is the capital city of India. New Delhi resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

97 Mughal emperor of India known as “the Great” : AKBAR

Akbar the Great was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death in 1605. Akbar’s reign was a successful one for empire, as he consolidated the Mughal influence in the whole of the Indian subcontinent. Akbar made significant social reforms that improved the lives of women, legalizing the remarriage of widows and raising the legal age of marriage. He also banned “sati”, the practice whereby a widow immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband.

99 Nephew of Cain : ENOS

Enos was the son of Seth, and therefore the grandson of Adam and Eve. According to the ancient Jewish work called the Book of Jubilees, Enos married his own sister Noam.

100 Feminine side : YIN

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

102 Meteorological phenomenon : MOONBOW

A moonbow is the same phenomenon as a rainbow, except that the light source is the moon, as opposed to the sun.

109 Like triangles governed by the Pythagorean theorem : RIGHT

A right triangle is one that includes a 90-degree angle.

Pythagoras of Samos is remembered by most these days for his work in mathematics, and for his famous Pythagorean theorem that states that in any right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Although there is very little of Pythagoras’s own work that survives, much has been written by his successors that shows how great his influence was above and beyond mathematics, in the fields of philosophy and religion in particular. In fact, it is believed that Pythagoras coined the word “philosophy”, coming from the Greek for “loving wisdom or knowledge”. On a “timeline” of famous Greek philosophers, Pythagoras was doing his work over a hundred years before Socrates, who was followed by Plato and then Aristotle.

112 Matriculated students appear to be timid? : ENROLLEES SEEM MEEK

The literal meaning of “matriculate” is “to be added to a list”, and it comes from the Latin word “matrix”, meaning “list”. Matriculate has been used to describe the enrollment of a student in a college since the late 1500s.

117 John who invented a steel plow : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

118 Poles, e.g. : SLAVS

The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

  • the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
  • the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
  • the South Slavic (including Bulgarians, Croats and Serbs)

119 California mission founder Junípero : SERRA

Junípero Serra was a Spanish missionary, a founder of several missions out here in California. Among those associated with Serra is the Mission in Carmel, where Serra’s remains are buried, and Mission San Juan Capistrano, the chapel of which is believed to be the oldest standing building in the state.

122 Brownish gray : TAUPE

Taupe is a dark, gray-brown color. The word “taupe” comes from the Latin name of the European Mole, which has skin with the same color.

123 Fit together like matryoshka dolls : NEST

Matryoshka dolls are those wooden nesting dolls that are on sale at every tourist trap across Russia. “Matryoshka” is Russian for “little matron”.

Down

1 Yuri Andropov headed it for 15 years, in brief : KGB

The “Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti” (KGB) was the national security agency of the Soviet Union until 1991. The KGB was dissolved after the agency’s chairman led a failed attempt at a coup d’état designed to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Yuri Andropov was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1982 until he passed away just 15 months after taking office. Andropov had also served as head of the KGB from 1967 to 1982, making him the longest-serving KGB chairman in its history.

3 Legal grant to cross over someone else’s land : EASEMENT

In the world of law, an “easement” is the right given to an individual to make limited use of someone else’s real property. Usually this is a right of way allowing someone to cross the property.

5 Rapper MC ___, formerly of N.W.A : REN

NWA was a hip hop group from Compton, California. The original five group members included rappers who have made a name for themselves as solo acts, including: Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. The story of NWA is told in a 2015 film, also called “Straight Outta Compton”. I hear that the movie was well received, although hip hop is not my cup of tea …

7 One of the 11 official languages of Canada’s Northwest Territories : CREE

The Cree are one of the largest groups of Native Americans on the continent. In the US, most of the Cree nation live in Montana on a reservation shared with the Ojibwe people. In Canada, most of the Cree live in Manitoba.

Given its vast size and relatively low population, the Northwest Territories (NWT) has the highest per capita gross domestic product of any province or territory in Canada. The NWT’s economy is driven by the exploitation of its geological resources, which include gold, diamonds, natural gas and oil.

8 Either brother who co-wrote “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” : COEN

I think it’s great to see two brothers working together and being so successful. Joel and Ethan Coen are two movie producers and directors who both live in New York City. The Coen brothers do love the movie-making business and they even married industry “insiders”. Ethan’s wife is film editor Tricia Cooke, and Joel is married to one of my favorite actresses, the talented Frances McDormand.’

9 Plants that yield a blue dye : INDIGOS

The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

10 Antonín who composed “Carnival Overture” : DVORAK

Antonín Dvořák was a composer from Czechoslovakia who spent three years working and composing in the United States. He was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York from 1892 to 1895. Certainly here in the US, Dvořák’s best known work is his Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”, which is often referred to as “The New World Symphony”. His career was very much helped along by fellow composer Johannes Brahms, who very much appreciated Dvořák’s work.

11 Host of the Olympics where golf returned after a 112-year hiatus : RIO

Even though the 2016 Olympic Games was a summer competition, it was held in Rio de Janeiro in winter. As Rio is in the southern hemisphere, the opening ceremony on 5th August 2016 fell in the local winter season. The 2016 games was also the first to be held in South America, and the first to be hosted by a Portuguese-speaking country.

12 National School Lunch Program org. : USDA

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) dates back to 1862, when it was established by then-president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln referred to the USDA as the “people’s department” as our economy had such a vast agrarian base back then.

14 Cinematographic innovation of the 1970s : STEADICAM

“Steadicam” is a brand of stabilizing camera mount that was introduced in 1975 by cameraman Garrett Brown, who named his invention the “Brown Stabilizer”. Brown received an Academy Award for Merit in 1978, in recognition of the importance of his creation.

15 Raising Cain : MAKING A STINK

As Cain was the first murderer according the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

17 Unpleasantly humid : MUGGY

Our term “muggy” means warm and humid, and comes from the Old Norse word “mugga” that describes “drizzling mist”.

24 Mallorca o Menorca, por ejemplo : ISLA

The Island of Majorca (“Isla Mallorca” in Spanish) is Spain’s largest island, and is located in the Mediterranean Sea. The population of the island ballooned over the past few decades as Majorca became a mecca for tourists from all over Europe.

The island of Minorca in the Mediterranean takes its name from the larger neighboring island of Majorca. The names come from the Latin “Insula Minor” meaning “Minor Island” and “Insula Major” meaning “Major Island”. The island is known as “Minorca” in English, and “Menorca” in Spanish and Catalan.

25 Socially awkward : DORKY

I consider “dork” and “adorkable” to be pretty offensive slang. “Dork” originated in the sixties among American students, and has its roots in another slang term, a term for male genitalia.

30 Hearst-like film character : KANE

1941’s “Citizen Kane” was the first film made by Orson Welles, and is considered by many to be the finest movie ever made. It’s a remarkable achievement by Wells, as he played the lead and also produced and directed. Despite all the accolades for “Citizen Kane” over the decades, the movie was far from a commercial success in its early run and actually lost money at the box office.

38 N.B.A. nickname until 2011 : SHAQ

Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”

41 Where the Nobel Peace Prize winner is announced : OSLO

The Peace Prize is the most famous of the five prizes bequeathed by Alfred Nobel. The others are for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. There is also a Nobel Prize in Economics that is awarded along with the original five, but it is funded separately and is awarded “in memory of Alfred Nobel”. Four of the prizes are awarded by Swedish organizations (Alfred Nobel was a Swede) and so the award ceremonies take place in Stockholm. The Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and is presented in Oslo.

42 Money for a grand tour : EUROS

The original Grand Tour was a rite of passage for young wealthy men, mainly in the 18th century. Rich families (especially the English) would send off their sons after finishing their schooling to be exposed to the various cultures across Europe. Essential stops along the way were Paris, Venice and Rome.

47 Like binaural audio : STEREO

Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers that are often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

50 Bean on the silver screen : SEAN

Sean Bean is an English actor who is perhaps best known in North America for playing Boromir in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Ned Stark in the fantasy TV show “Game of Thrones”. James Bond fans will remember him as the bad guy in “GoldenEye”, the character called Alec Trevelyan.

51 Ship of mythology : ARGO

In Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts sailed on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. The vessel was called “Argo” in honor of the ship’s builder, a man named Argus.

54 Pac-12 player : UTE

The Utah Utes are the athletic teams of the University of Utah.

55 Cry of dismay : OY VEY!

“Oy vey” is a Yiddish expression of dismay that literally translates as “oh, pain”. The more usual translation is “woe is me”.

57 Hoppy drink : ALE

The many, many different styles of beer can generally be sorted into two groups: ales and lagers. Ales are fermented at relatively warm temperatures for relatively short periods of time, and use top-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that float on top of the beer as it ferments. Lagers ferment at relatively low temperatures and for relatively long periods of time. Lagers use bottom-fermenting yeasts, i.e. yeasts that fall to the bottom of the beer as it ferments.

58 Food item often prepared with lemon and garlic : SHRIMP

The terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are often used interchangeably on menus. Over in the UK, the term “prawn” is most common, while “shrimp” is seen more often here in North America. Sometimes there is a differentiation from a food standpoint, with “prawn” being used for larger species and “shrimp” for smaller species. As a result, “jumbo prawns” seems to be an acceptable descriptor for a dish, whereas “jumbo shrimp” seems to be an oxymoron.

65 It may be a deal breaker: Abbr. : DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

66 Gander : LOOK-SEE

To take a gander is to take a long look. “Gander” is a term we’ve been using in this sense since the 1880s, coming from the idea that in taking a long look one might be craning one’s neck like a goose (or gander).

68 New York Titans’ org. of old : AFL

The American Football League (AFL) was founded in 1959 as a competitor to the already-established National Football League (NFL). The AFL eventually merged with the NFL, in 1970. It was the competition between the AFL and NFL that gave us the Super Bowl. The first-ever World Championship Game between the champions of the two leagues was held in 1967, a game that we now refer to as Super Bowl I.

The Houston Oilers were an AFL charter team, founded in 1960. The team moved to Tennessee in 1997, and became the Tennessee Titans in 1999.

69 Jackie of “Rush Hour” : CHAN

Jackie Chan is an actor from Hong Kong who is noted for his action and martial arts films. When Chan was 17-years-old he featured as a stunt actor in Bruce Lee movies. He also starred in the 1982 Hong Kong action film “Dragon Lord” which includes a fight scene that required an amazing 2900 takes, a record in the movie industry.

70 Question that isn’t a “wh-” question : HOW?

The Five Ws (or “Five Ws and one H”) is a journalistic concept used for gathering information. For a story to be complete, six questions need to be answered:

  1. Who is it about?
  2. What happened?
  3. Where did it take place?
  4. When did it take place?
  5. Why did it happen?
  6. How did it happen?

72 Ned who composed “Air Music” : ROREM

American composer Ned Rorem is famous for his musical compositions, but also for his book “Paris Diary of Ned Rorem” that was published in 1966. Rorem talks openly about his sexuality in the book, and also about the sexual orientation of others including Noël Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber, much to some people’s chagrin.

73 Sound heard at Churchill Downs : WHINNY

Churchill Downs is a thoroughbred racetrack located in Louisville, Kentucky that is famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby each year. The track is named for John and Henry Churchill who once owned the land on which the course was built.

78 The Collegiate School, today : YALE

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University’s nickname is “Old Eli”, in a nod to the benefactor.

79 Actress Sommer : ELKE

Elke Sommer is a German-born actress who was at the height of her success on the silver screen in the sixties. Sommer won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer Actress for her role opposite Paul Newman in 1964’s “The Prize”. She also sings and has released several albums. Now Sommer focuses on painting, producing artwork that is strongly influenced by the work of Marc Chagall.

86 Not out to lunch : ALL THERE

To be “out to lunch” is to be not completely there, to be a little crazy.

87 Crib users : CHEATERS

A crib is a plagiarism. It is most commonly the copying of an answer in an examination.

88 Captain played twice in film by Charles Laughton : KIDD

William Kidd was a Scottish privateer who went by the name “Captain Kidd”. Although Kidd was a privateer, someone authorized by the government to attack foreign shipping, he was eventually arrested and executed for piracy. There is a common opinion held today that the charges against Kidd were actually trumped up. Captain Kidd’s story was the basis of a 1945 film called “Captain Kidd” starring Charles Laughton in the title role. Laughton also appeared as Captain Kidd in 1952’s comic movie “Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd”.

Charles Laughton was an actor from Yorkshire, England who had remarkably successful career in Hollywood. Among his most famous roles were Captain Bligh in 1935’s “Mutiny on the Bounty”, and Quasimodo in 1939’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Laughton was married to English actress Elsa Lanchester, who was also a big star in Hollywood.

93 Jeans : DENIMS

Denim fabric originated in Nimes in France. The French phrase “de Nimes” (meaning “from Nimes”) gives us the word “denim”. Also, the French phrase “bleu de Genes” (meaning “blue of Genoa”) gives us our word “jeans”.

95 Playwright Eve : ENSLER

Eve Ensler is a playwright whose most famous work is “The Vagina Monologues”. When Ensler was only 23 years of age she adopted a 15 year old boy. We are familiar with that boy on the big screen these days, i.e. actor Dylan McDermott.

98 Company that’s had its moments : KODAK

George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company, which he named after the Kodak camera that he had invented four years earlier. He came up with the name of Kodak after careful consideration. Firstly he was a big fan of the letter “K”, calling it “strong, incisive”. He also wanted a word that was short, easy to pronounce and difficult to mispronounce, and a word that was clearly unique with no prior associations. “Kodak” fit the bill.’

103 Draft classification : ONE-A

The US government maintains information on all males who are potentially subject to military conscription, using what is called the Selective Service System (SSS). In the event that a draft was held, men registered would be classified into groups to determine eligibility for service. Class 1-A registrants are those available for unrestricted military service. Other classes are 1-A-O (conscientious objector available for noncombatant service), 4-A (registrant who has completed military service) and 4-D (Minister of religion).

104 Small songbird : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests.

106 Composer Bartók : BELA

Bela Bartók was a composer and a pianist. After Liszt, Bartók is considered by many to be Hungary’s greatest composer.

107 Biblical birthright seller : ESAU

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).

108 Send one’s regrets, say : RSVP

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

110 F.B.I. guys : G-MEN

The nickname “G-men” is short for “government men” and refers to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

115 “Krazy ___” : KAT

“Krazy Kat” is a successful comic strip that ran from 1913-1944 and was drawn by George Herriman.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 “Hooked on Classics” company : K-TEL
5 Christina of “Monster” : RICCI
10 Skins, so to speak : DRUMS
15 Silent : MUM
18 Last Supper item : GRAIL
20 Case study in many business ethics classes : ENRON
21 Call on : VISIT
22 “The Simpsons” character who holds a Ph.D. in computer science : APU
23 Low singers, short on money, draw idly? : BASSI IN NEED, DOODLE
26 Place for a beer pump : KEG
27 Reaches a climax : PEAKS
28 High-class person? : SENIOR
29 Served in a certain cream sauce : A LA KING
31 Fleet runner: Abbr. : ADM
32 Boston’s Liberty Tree, e.g. : ELM
34 Tennis player with a record 377 cumulative weeks ranked No. 1 : GRAF
36 First-rate : DANDY
37 Works as an accountant for a Swedish aerospace company? : DOES SAAB BOOKKEEPING
44 “Pearly Shells” singer : DON HO
45 Like a llano : GRASSY
46 Put a stop to : SURCEASE
49 Mlle., across the Pyrénées : SRTA
50 Tangle : SNARL
51 Airy areas of hotels : ATRIA
52 Urban intersectors: Abbr. : STS
53 People who share an apartment with a Jordanian royal? : QUEEN NOOR ROOMMATES
58 Rival of Havoline : STP
61 Pec pic, say : TAT
62 1980s auto imports based on the Fiat : YUGOS
63 Turkish coin : LIRA
64 Speed skater who won five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics : HEIDEN
66 Not doff : LEAVE ON
69 Politico Liz : CHENEY
71 Unusual : RARE
72 Pocahontas’s husband John : ROLFE
73 50,000-watt clear-channel radio station in Iowa for which Ronald Reagan was once a sportscaster : WHO
74 Sends to the canvas, for short : KOS
75 Designer Mizrahi shouts like a cowboy in a nonchalant way? : ISAAC COOLLY YEE-HAWS
82 Citi Field player : MET
83 Listens attentively : HARKS
84 Man’s name that becomes another man’s name when a “C” is put in front : ALVIN
85 Life ___ (timesaving trick) : HACK
89 Events for special customers : PRESALES
91 Smooth and lustrous : SILKEN
93 Asian metropolis of 28+ million : DELHI
94 Headline after an adolescent at a pool competition is made fun of? : SWIM MEET TEEN NEEDLED
97 Mughal emperor of India known as “the Great” : AKBAR
99 Nephew of Cain : ENOS
100 Feminine side : YIN
101 Bit : TAD
102 Meteorological phenomenon : MOONBOW
105 Mourning person, perhaps : SOBBER
109 Like triangles governed by the Pythagorean theorem : RIGHT
111 Stir : ADO
112 Matriculated students appear to be timid? : ENROLLEES SEEM MEEK
116 Couldn’t stand? : SAT
117 John who invented a steel plow : DEERE
118 Poles, e.g. : SLAVS
119 California mission founder Junípero : SERRA
120 What’s up? : SKY
121 More logical : SANER
122 Brownish gray : TAUPE
123 Fit together like matryoshka dolls : NEST

Down

1 Yuri Andropov headed it for 15 years, in brief : KGB
2 Opening in the theater, maybe : TRAPDOOR
3 Legal grant to cross over someone else’s land : EASEMENT
4 ___ Genova, author of “Still Alice” : LISA
5 Rapper MC ___, formerly of N.W.A : REN
6 Travel guide listings : INNS
7 One of the 11 official languages of Canada’s Northwest Territories : CREE
8 Either brother who co-wrote “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” : COEN
9 Plants that yield a blue dye : INDIGOS
10 Antonín who composed “Carnival Overture” : DVORAK
11 Host of the Olympics where golf returned after a 112-year hiatus : RIO
12 National School Lunch Program org. : USDA
13 Pepper dispenser : MILL
14 Cinematographic innovation of the 1970s : STEADICAM
15 Raising Cain : MAKING A STINK
16 Overturn : UPEND
17 Unpleasantly humid : MUGGY
19 Thus : LIKE SO
24 Mallorca o Menorca, por ejemplo : ISLA
25 Socially awkward : DORKY
30 Hearst-like film character : KANE
31 Interjects : ADDS
33 It’s more attractive the closer you are to it : MAGNET
35 Adorn : FESTOON
38 N.B.A. nickname until 2011 : SHAQ
39 Something white rice lacks : BRAN
40 Hay there! : BARN
41 Where the Nobel Peace Prize winner is announced : OSLO
42 Money for a grand tour : EUROS
43 Stiffly formal : PRIM
47 Like binaural audio : STEREO
48 Parts of college applications : ESSAYS
50 Bean on the silver screen : SEAN
51 Ship of mythology : ARGO
54 Pac-12 player : UTE
55 Cry of dismay : OY VEY!
56 Bemoan : RUE
57 Hoppy drink : ALE
58 Food item often prepared with lemon and garlic : SHRIMP
59 Promo : TEASER
60 Snack food brand that sounds like buried treasure : PIRATE’S BOOTY
65 It may be a deal breaker: Abbr. : DEA
66 Gander : LOOK-SEE
67 Some pipe joints : ELLS
68 New York Titans’ org. of old : AFL
69 Jackie of “Rush Hour” : CHAN
70 Question that isn’t a “wh-” question : HOW?
72 Ned who composed “Air Music” : ROREM
73 Sound heard at Churchill Downs : WHINNY
76 Alternatives to sleeper sofas : CHAIR BEDS
77 Quiet : CALM
78 The Collegiate School, today : YALE
79 Actress Sommer : ELKE
80 50-50 : EVEN
81 Molt : SHED
86 Not out to lunch : ALL THERE
87 Crib users : CHEATERS
88 Captain played twice in film by Charles Laughton : KIDD
90 Equine : horse :: cygnine : ___ : SWAN
91 Pub perch : STOOL
92 “That’s what you should do” : IT’S BEST
93 Jeans : DENIMS
95 Playwright Eve : ENSLER
96 Land on the Celtic Sea : EIRE
97 Run up : AMASS
98 Company that’s had its moments : KODAK
103 Draft classification : ONE-A
104 Small songbird : WREN
106 Composer Bartók : BELA
107 Biblical birthright seller : ESAU
108 Send one’s regrets, say : RSVP
110 F.B.I. guys : G-MEN
113 Underground band : ORE
114 Direction from Belg. to Bulg. : ESE
115 “Krazy ___” : KAT