QUICKLINKS:
The full solution to today's crossword that appears in the New York TimesThe full solution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword that appears in all other publications
THEME: GOES OVER THE LINE... the theme answers use the letters of the word LINE, and I think there is an intended pattern. The first theme answer uses NILE on the right side of the grid, then the second uses the reverse of NILE (ELIN) on the left side. The second theme answer uses LIEN on the right side of the grid, then the fourth uses the reverse (NEIL) on the left side. And the last theme answer just uses the word LINE on the right side i.e.
- MURDER ON THE NILE
- ELIN NORDEGREN
- TAX LIEN
- NEIL ARMSTRONG
- GOES OVER THE LINECOMPLETION TIME: 14m 23s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
TODAY'S WIKI-EST, AMAZONIAN GOOGLIES
ACROSS
1. BUNK : GUFF
The word "guff" has been around since the late 1800s and means "empty talk", and comes from the sense of a "puff of air".
The word "bunk" is short for "bunkum", the phonetic spelling of "Buncombe", a country in North Carolina. Reputedly, a state representative made a dull and irrelevant speech that was directed to his home county of Buncombe, bringing the term "bunkum" into the language, meaning "nonsense". The derivative word "debunk" first appeared in a novel by William Woodward in 1923, when he used it to describe "taking the bunk out of things".
5. TURKISH HONORIFIC : AGHA
An aga, or agha, is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.
9. JEAN-LUC GODARD'S "MARI'eE" : FEMME
"Une femme mari'ee" translates from French into "A Married Woman", and is a 1964 film by Jean-Luc Godard. Godard is a so-called "Nouvelle Vague" (New Wave) cinematographer, making movies that challenge the conventions of both traditional Hollywood and French cinema.
17. 1944 MYSTERY PLAY BY AGATHA CHRISTIE : MURDER ON THE NILE
Agatha Christie wrote a very successful crime novel called "Death on the Nile" that was first published in 1937. That novel had started off life as a play, which was was never performed, one that Christie called "Moon on the Nile". Christie then adapted the novel back into a play again calling it "Murder on the Nile", which opened in London in 1946.
19. 1950S WHITE HOUSE NAME : MAMIE
Mamie Eisenhower has to have been one of the most charming of all the First Ladies of the United States. Ms. Eisenhower suffered from an inner ear disease called M'eni`ere's disease which caused her to lose her balance quite often. Because she was unsteady on her feet, there were unfounded rumors floating around Washington that she had a drinking problem. People can be very unkind...
20. FASHION DESIGNER TAHARI : ELIE
Elie Tahari is an American fashion designer, although he was born in Jerusalem. Tahari immigrated to the US from Israel in 1971 and started work as an electrician in the the Garment District in New York City. It was there that he became interested in fashion.
21. SPOUSE IN 2009 HEADLINES : ELIN NORDEGREN
Elin Nordegren is the ex-wife of Tiger Woods. Nordegren is a native of Sweden, and it was back in Sweden that she was hired as a nanny by the wife of golfer Jasper Parnevik. The job brought her to the US where she became a popular sight on the professional golfing circuit. Apparently there was a long line of single golfers who wanted to be introduced to her, and Tiger Woods had been asking for an introduction for a year before they finally went out together. The pair were married in 2004.
26. ROOKIE : TYRO
A tyro is a beginner or a novice. It comes into English from Latin, in which "tiro" means "a recruit".
27. NICKNAME OF SCHUMANN'S SYMPHONY NO. 3 : RHENISH
Something that is "Rhenish" pertains to the Rhine River or the area surrounding it.
Robert Schumann's Third Symphony is often compared to Beethoven's Sixth, the "Pastorale", and indeed it is believed that Schumann used the Pastorale as a model for his own piece. The name "Rhenish" is used in a pastoral sense, with "Rhenish" referring to the Rhineland.
30. MILES DAVIS JAZZ NUMBER : OLEO
Miles Davis was born into a relatively affluent family, so he had plenty of music lessons as a child. After high school, Davis studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, but he dropped out before finishing his studies. He stated later that the Juilliard classes focused too much on European and "white" music, but he acknowledged that the school gave him a foundation in music theory that helped him in later life.
35. BILLY JOEL'S "EXTREMES" : I GO TO
According to Billy Joel, he wrote the song "I Go To Extremes" as an apology to his wife at that time, supermodel Christie Brinkley. Joel was acknowledging that his up-and-down personality made him a difficult man with whom to live.
36. CERTAIN BUDDHIST : NUN
In the Buddhist tradition there are lots of monks and nuns...
37. SOMETHING THAT MAY BE ON A HOUSE : TAX LIEN
A lien is the right that one has to retain/secure someone's property until a debt is paid.
40. PLAYBILL ITEM : BIO
I get quite a kick out of reading the bios in "Playbill" as some of them can be really goofy and entertaining. "Playbill" started off in 1884 in New York, an in-house publication for just one theater on 21st St. You can't see any decent-sized production these days anywhere in the United States without being handed a copy of "Playbill".
43. N.Y.C. SUBWAY INITS. : MTA
The MTA is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has public transportation responsibility in the state of New York (as well as part of Connecticut).
44. VASSAL : SERF
A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. "Serf" comes from the Latin "servus", meaning "slave".
45. SOME SNOWMOBILES : SKI-DOOS
Ski-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile produced by the Canadian company, Bombardier Recreational Products. The first Ski-Doo went on sale in 1959 and was intended to be named a "Ski-Dog" as the marketing concept was that the personal snowmobile would replace the dogsleds used by hunters and trappers. A painter misread instructions and wrote "Ski-Doo" on the side of the vehicle instead of Ski-Dog, and the name stuck.
48. DIVISION POLITIQUE : ETAT
In French, a state ('etat) is a political division (division politique).
50. WHO SAID "I PUT UP MY THUMB AND IT BLOTTED OUT THE PLANET EARTH" : NEIL ARMSTRONG
Neil Armstrong is the most private of individuals. You don't often see him giving interviews, unlike so many of the more approachable astronauts of the Apollo space program. His famous, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind" statement, that was something that he came up with while Apollo 11 was making its way to the moon.
56. PEGASUS APPEARED IN THIS COMPANY'S LOGO : MOBIL
Mobil was founded as part of the the break up of Standard Oil in 1911. The company was originally called Socony (Standard Oil Company of New York). Socony merged with Magnolia Petroleum Company in the thirties and adopted Magnolia's Pegasus emblem, and it has been used ever since. Mobil merged with Exxon in 1999 but the Mobil brand and Pegasus are alive and well.
57. TAKES THINGS A BIT TOO FAR : GOES OVER THE LINE
64. DREGS : LEES
The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), is also called "lees".
65. IS CONSERVATIVE IN BLACKJACK, SAY : STAYS
The game of "twenty-one" was first referred to in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing "Don Quixote". He called the game "ventiuna" (Spanish for "twenty-one"). Cervantes wrote his story just after 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn't all that popular so bonus payouts were introduced to create more interest. One of more noted bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker "Blackjack".
67. MEMBERS OF A FORMER UNION: ABBR. : SSRS
The former Soviet Union was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. The new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent geographically to the old Russian Empire, and was made up of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics.
DOWN
3. 1938 PHYSICS NOBELIST : FERMI
Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy. He moved to the US just before WWII largely to escape the anti-Semitic feelings that were developing in Italy under Mussolini. It was Fermi's work at the University of Chicago that led to the construction of the world's first nuclear reactor. Fermi died at 53 years of age from stomach cancer. Cancer was a prevalent cause of death among the team working on that first nuclear pile.
9. CARTE BLANCHE : FREE REIN
"Carte blanche" was imported from French in the early 1700s when it was used to mean "blank paper" (in French it means "white paper"). Later in the century the term came to mean "full discretionary power", which is how we use the word today.
11. "VOULEZ-VOUS COUCHER "CE SOIR?" (1975 LYRIC) : MOI
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" was a lyric from the song "Lady Marmalade" released in 1975 by the girl group Labelle.
I've always thought that the phrase "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" is grammatically "odd". The expression is sexually suggestive, meaning "Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" The problem is that the use of the formal (or plural!) "vous" instead of the familiar "tu" indicates a lack of intimacy that should be present in such a forward suggestion. But, I just read that the term would perhaps be correct if the speaker was a high-class prostitute using formal grammar with a client. Great disco melody, surprising lyrics.
13. OXFORD-TO-LONDON DIR. : ESE
Oxford and London both lie on the River Thames, although if you visit Oxford you could be excused for not knowing this. The river coming into Oxford, and leaving Oxford, is called the Thames. The very same river is known as the Isis in and around Oxford, for a distance of ten miles.
18. CHOOSING-UP WORD : EENY
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.
If it hollers/screams let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, you are it!"
22. SHAMU OR KEIKO : ORCA
Shamu was the name of the third orca, or killer whale, ever to be featured in a public exhibition. She starred in a popular SeaWorld show in San Diego in the sixties. After she died in 1971 her name lived on, as the name "Shamu" is still used by SeaWorld for its killer whale shows. That original Shamu was retired after she grabbed and refused to let go of the leg of one of her trainers.
The orca who starred in the 1993 movie "Free Willy" was actually called Keiko, with Willy being his "stage name". Keiko had a sad life. He was captured near Iceland in 1979 and sold to a local aquarium. Subsequently he was sold on to Marineland in Ontario, and then Six Flags Mexico in 1985. After starring in the movie, his fans raised money with the intent of returning Keiko to the wild. Keiko had become very ill, partly from being confined in a small tank in Mexico, so a lot of money had to be spent returning him to good health. He was purchased by the Oregon Coast Aquarium who undertook the task of treating him and preparing him for the wild. You might recall the dramatic journey he took from Mexico to Oregon in US Air Force transport plane in 1996. Having regained his health, he was flown to Iceland and there was gradually reintroduced into the wild. Sadly, Keiko did not fare too well back in the ocean. He was never adopted by a pod, so lived a solitary life. He lost weight, would sometimes follow fishing boats and play with any humans who would give him attention. In 2003 he beached himself in Taken Bay in Norway, where he died.
23. SAUCE THICKENER : ROUX
A roux is a mixture of wheat flour and clarified butter (or other fat, sometimes) cooked together until it can be used as a thickening agent. Roux is an essential ingredient in French cooking, although "healthier" versions are being used more and more these days.
25. WEEPER OF THEBES : NIOBE
In Greek mythology, when Niobe's children were killed, she fled to Mt. Sipylus where she was turned into stone and wept for eternity. There is in fact a Niobe's Rock on Mt. Sipylus which resembles a female face, and is known as "The Weeping Rock".
30. AWFUL "DANCING WITH THE STARS" SCORES : ONES
When I was growing up in the British Isles, there was a surprisingly popular BBC television show featuring professional ballroom dancing called "Come Dancing". It ran almost every year from 1949 to 1998, and in 2004 the BBC resurrected it with a new twist, adding celebrities to dance with the professionals. The new show, "Strictly Come Dancing" is a huge success, and has become a worldwide franchise. Over here we watch the American version called "Dancing with the Stars". It really is fun television...
37. THEY'RE HELPFUL FOR LONG SHOTS : TWO IRONS
Most of the irons in a golf bag had a non-numerical name in days gone by:
- 2 Iron... Cleek
- 3 Iron... Mid Mashie
- 4 Iron... Mashie Iron
- 5 Iron... Mashie
- 6 Iron... Spade Mashie
- 7 Iron... Mashie Niblick
- 8 Iron... Pitching Niblick
- 9 Iron... Niblick
38. TABLOID COUPLE : ITEM
An unmarried couple known to be involved with each other might appear in the gossip columns. This appearance as "an item" in the papers, led to the use of "item" to refer to such a couple, but only since the very early seventies.
42. SOMETHING BEN JONSON WROTE TO HIMSELF : ODE
Ben Jonson was a contemporary of William Shakespeare, and just like Shakespeare Jonson was a dramatist, poet and actor. Jonson's work was very well received from 1605 to 1620, but his reputation began to wane in the 1620s. He wrote a play called "The New Inn" which was received so badly, the actors were hissed off the stage. Immediately afterwards, Jonson wrote about the failure in his poem "Ode to Himself".
46. "1964 A.L. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR : OLIVA
Tony Oliva is a former Major League baseball player, who played his whole career for the Minnesota Twins.
47. "FIELD (WHERE THE MARINERS PLAY) : SAFECO
Safeco Field is the home of the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Insurance was the highest bidder when it came to christening the new stadium opened in 1999, paying 40m for a 20-year contract.
49. "DON'T THROW BOUQUETS" : AT ME
"Don't throw bouquets at me" is a lyric from "People Will Say We're in Love", a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!"
52. ANNUAL SPRING CEREMONY, WITH "THE" : OBIES
The Obies are the "Off-Broadway Theater Awards". They are given annually, and decided by "The Village Voice" newspaper.
53. MONTANA, ONCE : NINER
Joe Montana played most of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, and the last two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. With the 49ers, Montana went to the Super Bowl four times, winning every time. In retirement one of his activities is to produce wine, so keep an eye out for the "Montagia" label.
54. EMMY WINNER SHARON : GLESS
Sharon Gless is best known for playing Christine Cagney on the police drama "Cagney & Lacey" in the eighties. A few years after "Cagney & Lacey" ended its run, Gless married the show's executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig.
57. LITERARY MONOGRAM : GBS
George Bernard Shaw was a very successful Irish playwright. He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature, and an Oscar. Shaw won his Oscar for the adapting his own play "Pygmalion" for the 1938 film of the same name starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Most people are more likely to have seen the musical adaption of "Pygmalion" that went by the title "My Fair Lady".
59. BYGONE SPANISH QUEEN : ENA
Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was the queen consort of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Princess Beatrice was actually born in Scotland and given the Gaelic name for Eva, namely "Eua". Eua, was written on the official documents, but the clergyman presiding at the christening misread the name as "Ena". Her family stuck with "Ena", and it was adopted by the public.
61. REF'S DECISION : TKO
In boxing (and other sports), a knockout (KO) is when one of the fighters can't get up from the canvas within a specified time, usually 10 seconds. This can be due to fatigue, injury, or the participant may be truly "knocked out". A referee, fighter, or doctor may also decide to stop a fight without a knockout, especially if there is concern about a fighter's safety. In this case, the bout is said to end with a technical knockout (TKO).
62. PART OF H.R.H. : HER
Her Royal Highness.
FOR THE SAKE OF COMPLETION, HERE IS A FULL LISTING OF ALL THE ANSWERS:
ACROSS
1. Bunk : GUFF
5. Turkish honorific : AGHA
9. Jean-Luc Godard's "Mari'ee" : FEMME
14. Words said with a nod : I SEE
15. They're seen from a porch : FRONT ROOMS
17. 1944 mystery play by Agatha Christie : MURDER ON THE NILE
19. 1950s White House name : MAMIE
20. Fashion designer Tahari : ELIE
21. Spouse in 2009 headlines : ELIN NORDEGREN
26. Rookie : TYRO
27. Nickname of Schumann's Symphony No. 3 : RHENISH
30. Miles Davis jazz number : OLEO
33. Stick around a barroom : CUE
35. Billy Joel's "Extremes" : I GO TO
36. Certain Buddhist : NUN
37. Something that may be on a house : TAX LIEN
40. Playbill item : BIO
41. Fund : ENDOW
43. N.Y.C. subway inits. : MTA
44. Vassal : SERF
45. Some snowmobiles : SKI-DOOS
48. Division politique : ETAT
50. Who said "I put up my thumb and it blotted out the planet Earth" : NEIL ARMSTRONG
55. Teeming (with) : RIFE
56. Pegasus appeared in this company's logo : MOBIL
57. Takes things a bit too far : GOES OVER THE LINE
63. Yellowish dessert : BANANA CAKE
64. Dregs : LEES
65. Is conservative in blackjack, say : STAYS
66. "before (no later than) : ON OR
67. Members of a former union: Abbr. : SSRS
DOWN
1. "I want it, and I want it now!" : GIMME
2. Norm : USUAL
3. 1938 Physics Nobelist : FERMI
4. Was a tributary for : FED INTO
5. Source of about half the world's diamonds: Abbr. : AFR
6. Miracle-"GRO
7. Practiced : HONED
8. Horn : ANTLER
9. Carte blanche : FREE REIN
10. Long time : EON
11. "Voulez-vous coucher "ce soir?" (1975 lyric) : MOI
12. Mid-century year : MML
13. Oxford-to-London dir. : ESE
16"-high boots : THIGH
18. Choosing-up word : EENY
22. Shamu or Keiko : ORCA
23. Sauce thickener : ROUX
24. School subj. : ENG
25. Weeper of Thebes : NIOBE
28. Rouse : STIR
29. Place for a shoe : HOOF
30. Awful "Dancing With the Stars" scores : ONES
31. Blockhead : LUNK
32. "sight : END IN
34. Golf course planting : ELM
37. They're helpful for long shots : TWO IRONS
38. Tabloid couple : ITEM
39. Vittles : EATS
42. Something Ben Jonson wrote to himself : ODE
44. Boardwalk activities : STROLLS
46. "1964 A.L. Rookie of the Year : OLIVA
47. "Field (where the Mariners play) : SAFECO
49. "Don't throw bouquets" : AT ME
51. Screened again : RERAN
52. Annual spring ceremony, with "the" : OBIES
53. Montana, once : NINER
54. Emmy winner Sharon : GLESS
57. Literary monogram : GBS
58. Bran choice : OAT
59. Bygone Spanish queen : ENA
60. Opinion : SAY
61. Ref's decision : TKO
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