1117-17 NY Times Crossword Answers 17 Nov 2017, Friday

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 9m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Wheels for rent in the Big Apple : CITI BIKES

Apparently the first published use of the term “Big Apple” to describe New York City dates back to 1909. Edward Martin wrote the following in his book “The Wayfarer in New York”:

Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.

Over ten years later, the term “big apple” was used as a nickname for racetracks in and around New York City. However, the concerted effort to “brand” the city as the Big Apple had to wait until the seventies and was the work of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

16. Lorna of fiction : DOONE

The novel “Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor” was written by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. R. D. Blackmore was an English novelist, very celebrated and in demand in his day (the late 1800s). His romantic story “Lorna Doone” was by no means a personal favorite of his, and yet it is the only one of his works still in print.

18. Had a stable job? : SHOED

A blacksmith is someone who forges and shapes iron, perhaps to make horseshoes. A farrier is someone who fits horseshoes onto the hooves of horses. The term “blacksmith” is sometimes used for one who shoes horses, especially as many blacksmiths make horseshoes and fit them as well.

19. Hershey bar brand : SKOR

Skor is a candy bar produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. What shoes have to do with candy, I don’t know …

20. Wrong Way Corrigan’s wrong way : EAST

Aviator Douglas Corrigan earned the nickname “Wrong Way” after a non-stop flight in 1938 from Brooklyn, New York to County Dublin, Ireland. Corrigan’s flight plan called for a landing in Long Beach, California. He claimed that the unauthorized flight was due to a navigational error, even though he had already been denied permission to make the very same non-stop transatlantic journey.

21. Molding shape : OGEE

An ogee is a type of S-curve. Specifically it is a figure consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite directions (like an S) but both ends of the curve end up parallel to each other (which is not necessarily true for an S).

22. Ready for action : GIRT

“Gird” is the past participle of “to gird”.

The phrase “gird your loins” dates back to Ancient Rome. The expression describes the action of lifting “one’s skirts” and tying them between the legs to allow more freedom of movement before going into battle. Nowadays, “gird your loins” (or sometimes just “gird yourself”) is a metaphor for “prepare yourself for the worst”.

24. One of the two film stoners who “go to White Castle” : HAROLD

“Harold & Kumar” is a trilogy of comedy films about two potheads played by John Cho (Harold) and Kal Penn (Kumar). Not my cup of tea …

35. Model with the Global Chic fashion line : IMAN

Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid is a supermodel from Somalia who goes simply by the name “Iman” these days. “Iman” is an Arabic word for “faith”. Iman is smart cookie. Imam has a degree in Political Science and is fluent in five languages: Somali, Arabic, Italian, French and English. Iman was married to English rock star David Bowie from 1992 until his death in 2016.

36. Aetna rival, informally : PRU

The Prudential Insurance company was started in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society. The company’s first product was simply burial insurance. Prudential has been using the very memorable Rock of Gibraltar logo since the 1890s.

38. New York Law School’s neighborhood : TRIBECA

TriBeCa is a clever little acronym that expands into “TRI-angle BE-low CA-nal Street”. The name was developed by local residents who basically copied the naming technique used by residents of the neighboring area of SoHo, which is short for “SO-uth of HO-uston Street”.

40. Tyler of the screen : LIV

Actress and model Liv Tyler is the daughter of Steven Tyler, lead singer with Aerosmith, and Bebe Buell, a celebrated model and singer. Liv Tyler plays the Elf maiden Arwen Undómiel in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

43. Brokerage giant since 1991 : E*TRADE

E*Trade is mainly an online discount brokerage. It was founded in 1982 in Palo Alto, California, and I used to drive by its headquarters almost every day. The company is now run out of New York City. E*Trade used to produce those famous Super Bowl ads with the talking babies staring into a webcam.

45. They get charged for trips : TESLA CARS

Tesla Motors is a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Palo Alto, California. Tesla is noted for producing the first electric sports car, called the Tesla Roadster. The company followed the sports car with a luxury sedan, the Model S. The Model S was the world’s best selling plug-in electric vehicle of 2015.

52. Duck variety : SMEW

The smew is a beautiful-looking species of duck found right across northern Europe and Asia. The smew requires trees to complete its breeding cycle as it nests in tree holes, such as old woodpecker nests.

55. Drum go-with : FIFE

A fife is a small flute that is often used in military and marching bands. The name “fife” comes from the German “Pfeife” meaning “pipe”.

61. One effect of marijuana : ANALGESIA

Our word “analgesic” meaning “painkiller” comes from “analgesia”, which is a Greek word meaning “painlessness”.

63. Chain unit, maybe : ATOLL

An atoll is a coral island that is shaped in a ring and enclosing a lagoon. There is still some debate as to how an atoll forms, but a theory proposed by Charles Darwin while on his famous voyage aboard HMS Beagle still holds sway. Basically an atoll was once a volcanic island that had subsided and fallen into the sea. The coastline of the island is home to coral growth which persists even as the island continues to subside internal to the circling coral reef.

Down

1. Bad catches? : CADS

Our word “cad”, meaning “a person lacking in finer feelings”, is a shortening of the word “cadet”. “Cad” was first used for a servant, and then students at British universities used “cad” as a term for a boy from the local town. “Cad” took on its current meaning in the 1830s.

3. Former Yankee Martinez : TINO

First baseman Tino Martinez has retired from Major League Baseball. Martinez played for a number of teams including the Mariners, Yankees, Cardinals and Devil Rays. Martinez was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and as a boy he worked in his father’s cigar factory.

7. Chain units, maybe : KARATS

A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

10. Mormon letters : LDS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is known colloquially as the Mormon Church.

12. Android app store : GOOGLE PLAY

Android is an operating system for mobile devices that was developed by Google. Android is mainly used on touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets, although versions have been developed for cars (Android Auto), for televisions (Android TV) and for wrist watches (Android Wear). Android is the most successful operating system today, having the most extensive installed base.

26. Owed at the bar : RAN A TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar say, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

31. It flows near the Sistine Chapel : TIBER

The Tiber is the principal river in Italy in that it runs through the capital of Rome. It is also the third longest river in the country.

The Sistine Chapel, in the Pope’s residence in Rome, takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who was responsible for restoring the old Capella Magna in the 15th century. It was about a century later (1508-1512) that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the patronage of Pope Julius II.

32. Replacement for a top sheet and blanket : DUVET

A duvet is a large flat bag that is filled with down, feathers or a synthetic substitute that is used as a top cover for a bed. Although a duvet is similar to what is called a “comforter” in the US, there is a difference. A duvet is often has an easily removed cover that is usually laundered at the same time as the bottom sheet and pillowcases. We use them a lot in Europe, and generally without a top sheet due to the ease of laundering.

44. Source of updated news and blog postings : RSS FEED

Many websites and blogs publish content in a format known as Rich Site Summary (RSS). The “feed” can be read using an RSS reader. The advantage of using an RSS reader, is that the user doesn’t have to check the website for new content. That new material is fed to the RSS reader as soon as it is published.

51. Chase at second base : UTLEY

Chase Utley is a second baseman who played for the Phillies from 2003 until 2015, and for the Dodgers from 2015 to 2017.

54. Year abroad : ANNO

“Anno” is Italian for “year”.

56. Golfer Aoki : ISAO

Isao Aoki is one of Japan’s greatest golfers. Aoki’s best finish in a major tournament was runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1980 US Open.

62. Miracle-___ : GRO

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 by one Orlando Scott, initially selling seed to the agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, Scotts started to sell to homeowners, mainly supplying lawn seed. The company merged with the gardening company Miracle-Gro in 1955.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1. Wheels for rent in the Big Apple : CITI BIKES
10. Detective’s asset : LOGIC
15. “Yeah, whatever” : AS IF I CARE
16. Lorna of fiction : DOONE
17. Pressing warning : DO NOT IRON
18. Had a stable job? : SHOED
19. Hershey bar brand : SKOR
20. Wrong Way Corrigan’s wrong way : EAST
21. Molding shape : OGEE
22. Ready for action : GIRT
24. One of the two film stoners who “go to White Castle” : HAROLD
27. Cooler person? : FELON
30. Warning about reaching a braking point : STOP AHEAD
33. Get distressed over : FRET AT
35. Model with the Global Chic fashion line : IMAN
36. Aetna rival, informally : PRU
37. Many legal terms are in it: Abbr. : LAT
38. New York Law School’s neighborhood : TRIBECA
40. Tyler of the screen : LIV
41. Ninny : ASS
42. It can be presidential : RACE
43. Brokerage giant since 1991 : E*TRADE
45. They get charged for trips : TESLA CARS
48. Thus far : AS YET
49. Get back to business? : REOPEN
50. Connection points : HUBS
52. Duck variety : SMEW
53. Imperfection, metaphorically : WART
55. Drum go-with : FIFE
59. They may go on long walks : CANES
61. One effect of marijuana : ANALGESIA
63. Chain unit, maybe : ATOLL
64. They’re embedded in temporal bones : INNER EARS
65. ___ revised : NEWLY
66. Home stadium of Japan’s Yomiuri Giants : TOKYO DOME

Down

1. Bad catches? : CADS
2. Emerges unscathed : IS OK
3. Former Yankee Martinez : TINO
4. Lame excuse : I FORGOT
5. Iota : BIT
6. Not as welcoming : ICIER
7. Chain units, maybe : KARATS
8. Arrow-shooting figure : EROS
9. Like many sick schoolkids : SENT HOME
10. Mormon letters : LDS
11. Eager student’s cry : OOH OOH!
12. Android app store : GOOGLE PLAY
13. Pickup line? : I NEED A RIDE
14. Relinquish : CEDE
23. Ensnared : IN A TRAP
25. Without delay : APACE
26. Owed at the bar : RAN A TAB
27. E equivalent : F-FLAT
28. Pen name : ERASERMATE
29. “Hmm …” : LET’S SEE NOW …
31. It flows near the Sistine Chapel : TIBER
32. Replacement for a top sheet and blanket : DUVET
34. Suggestion : TRACE
39. “Take your time” : I CAN WAIT
44. Source of updated news and blog postings : RSS FEED
46. Pulitzer-winning poet of 1947 and 1974 : LOWELL
47. Opposite of expanded : SHRANK
51. Chase at second base : UTLEY
52. Emailable picture : SCAN
54. Year abroad : ANNO
56. Golfer Aoki : ISAO
57. How the staunch stand : FIRM
58. Lack of problems : EASE
60. Arch : SLY
62. Miracle-___ : GRO