1209 11 New York Times Crossword Answers 9 Dec 11 Friday

QUICKLINKS:Solution to today's crossword in the New York TimesSolution to today's SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publicationsCROSSWORD SETTER: Patrick BerryTHEME: NoneCOMPLETION TIME: 46m 06s!ANSWERS I MISSED: 0TODAY'S WIKI-EST, AMAZONIAN GOOGLIES1. VISIGOTH KING WHO SACKED ROME : ALARICAlaric I was a Germanic leader, King of the Visigoths from 395-410 AD. Early in his life, Alaric served as a mercenary in the service of the Roman Empire, but such a career didn't settle well with him. When he became King of the Visigoths, Alaric mounted a campaign to seek new kingdoms and was successful in invading Greece and Italy. His eventual sacking of Rome marked the end of the great Roman Empire. 15. BLACK, YELLOW AND WHITE, SAY : CALICODomestic cats with a white coat and patches of brown and black are called calico cats in this country. In Ireland, and the rest of the world I think, such cats are called tortoiseshell-and-white. "Calico" is not a breed of cat, simply a coloring.17. CRABTREE & "PURVEYOR OF SKIN CARE PRODUCTS : EVELYNCrabtree Weep, and you weep alone."36. POP SINGER BORN ELLEN NAOMI COHEN : MAMA CASSCass Elliot was one of the four singers in the Mamas and the Papas, the sensational group from the sixties. She was performing sold-out concerts in London in 1974 when she was found dead one morning, having had a heart attack. She was only 32 years old. Eerily, she died in the same flat (on loan from Harry Nilsson) in which the Who's drummer, Keith Moon, would die just four years later.43. MUSICA, E.G. : ARTEIn Italian "musica" (music) is an "arte" (art).46. LONGEST-SERVING FRENCH PRESIDENT : MITTERRANDFrancois Mitterrand was the 21st President of France, serving from 1981 to 1995. There was some controversy after his term ended, as it was revealed that for much of the time he was in office he suffered from prostate cancer and falsified his personal medical records to hide the fact from the public. He died from the disease just six months after he handed over the presidency to Jacques Chirac. 48. "TWIN PEAKS" ACTRESS SHERILYN : FENNSherilyn Fenn was the actress who played Audrey Horne on "Twin Peaks" in the nineties. 50. #1 DOLLY PARTON COUNTRY HIT WITH THE LYRIC "I'M BEGGIN' OF YOU, PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY MAN" : JOLENEI must admit that I am not a big fan of country music, but I do like the 1974 hit "Jolene" written and performed by Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton tells the story that the song was inspired by a red-headed bank teller who was frequently flirting with her husband. DOWN2. SECOND WIFE OF AENEAS : LAVINIAIn Roman mythology, Lavinia was the last wife of Aeneas, the hero of Virgil's epic poem, "The Aeneid". "The Aeneid" is Virgil's epic poem that tells of the journey of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy to become the ancestor of all Romans.6. PRIVATE MEETINGS : CONCLAVESOur use of the word "conclave" as a private assembly comes from its original use with reference to the papal conclave, a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect a new Pope. 7. MCGOVERN'S 1972 RUNNING MATE : SHRIVERSargent Shriver was the running mate of George McGovern, the Democratic nominee for US President in the 1972 race. Shriver was a member of the Kennedy clan, as he was married to Eunice Kennedy, sister to President John F. Kennedy. 8. "THE COUNTRY" (1936 OSCAR-WINNING DISNEY SHORT) : COUSIN"The Country Cousin" is a cartoon short film from RKO, released in 1936. The film was produced by Walt Disney, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.9. "PARATUS : OMNIA"In omnia paratus" is Latin for "ready for anything". It serves as the motto of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the US Army. 12. REMOVED FROM THE CAN? : PAROLEDThe term "parole" is a French word that we use in English, with the French "parole" meaning "word, speech". Of particular interest is the French phrase "parole d'honneur" which translates as "word of honor". In the early 1600s we started using "parole" to mean a promise by a prisoner of war not to escape, as in the prisoner giving his "word of honor" not to run off. Over time, parole has come to mean conditional release of a prisoner before he or she has served the full term of a sentence.13. QUEEN WHO BECOMES A SENATOR IN THE "STAR WARS" SAGA : AMIDALAIn the "Star Wars" universe, Padm'e Amidala is the Queen of the planet Naboo. Played very ably by Natalie Portman, Padm'e becomes the secret wife of Anakin Skywalker, later revealed to be Darth Vader. As such, Padm'e is also the mother of Luke Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia Organa. 21. TEARS APART : RIVESTo rive is to tear apart, a word that we've been using since about 1300, from the Old Norse word "rifa", also meaning to tear apart.23. EGG FOO YUNG, ESSENTIALLY : OMELETEgg foo yung is a dish served in Chinese restaurants, and is basically an omelet. It probably takes its name from a flower called the Fu Yung.27. 1992 GRAMMY WINNER FOR "CONSTANT CRAVING" : KD LANGk.d. lang is the stage name of Kathryn Dawn Lang, a Canadian singer and songwriter. Beyond her performing career, she is a noted activist focused on animal rights, gay rights, and human rights in Tibet. 30. PRODUCT ONCE PITCHED WITH THE LINE "SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUT" : ALMOND JOYI think my favorite candy growing up was an Almond Joy (although in my part of the world it had a slightly different formulation and was called a Bounty Bar34. VICTORIOUS FLEET COMMANDER AT ACTIUM : AGRIPPAThe Battle of Actium was fought between the forces of Octavian, leader of the Roman Republic, and the combined forces of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. The Emperor's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The victory helped to consolidate Octavian's standing in Rome, and soon after he was given the title of Augustus, and became the first Roman Emperor. 41. HEAVY CYCLE : HARLEYThe Harley-Davidson motorcycle company was started up in the very early 1900s by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson,. Their first design was in effect an engine hooked up to a pedal bicycle, but the 116 cc cylinder capacity simply couldn't generate enough power to get up the hills of their native city of Milwaukee. The pair came up with a redesigned model that had a cylinder capacity of 405 cc, which the partners built in a shed at the back of Davidson's house. In 1906 they built their first factory, located where the company's headquarters is to this day, on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.44. EL GRECO'S BIRTHPLACE : CRETE"El Greco" ("the Greek", in Spanish) was the nickname of the artist whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. El Greco was born in Crete in 1541, and moved to Venice to study art when he was in his early twenties. A few years later he moved to the city of Toledo in central Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. 47. FURRY DENIZEN OF ENDOR : EWOKThe Ewoks are creatures that live on the moon of Endor, first appearing in "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi". They're the cute and cuddly guys that look like teddy bears.51. SUDBURY BASIN EXPORT : OREThe Sudbuy Basin is a huge basin in Ontario, Canada, about 40 miles long and 20 miles wide. It was formed when a meteoroid crashed into the Earth almost two million years ago. As a result of the impact, the area is rich in mineral deposits. Return to top of pageFor the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:ACROSS1. Visigoth king who sacked Rome : ALARIC7. Play book? : SCORE PAD15. Black, yellow and white, say : CALICO16. One that's in your field? : HOME GAME17. Crabtree & "purveyor of skin care products : EVELYN18. Bug out : RUN FOR IT19. Bring into the business : HIRE20. "The worst is upon us" mentality : CRISIS MODE22. Income source on a 1040: Abbr. : INT23. Pig of children's lit : OLIVIA24. Sighed word : ALAS25. "CSI" forensic scientist Grissom : GIL26. Yiddish for "connoisseur" : MAVEN27. Went down, in a way : KNELT28. Summer ailment : HAY FEVER30. Parent company of Reebok : ADIDAS31. Hoppy beverages : ALES32. "Wheeler Wilcox : ELLA33. Wedding reception groups : TABLES36. Pop singer born Ellen Naomi Cohen : MAMA CASS40. Discharge : EGEST41. Think of, to some surprise : HIT ON42. 1.0 is not a good one : GPA43. Musica, e.g. : ARTE44. Window holder : CASING45. "Awesome!" : RAD46. Longest-serving French president : MITTERRAND48. "Twin Peaks" actress Sherilyn : FENN49. Join in one place : SPOT-WELD50. #1 Dolly Parton country hit with the lyric "I'm beggin' of you, please don't take my man" : JOLENE52. Forced to leave home : UPROOTED53. Supplies an address : ORATES54. Versatile openers : PASS KEYS55. "Oh me, oh my!" : YE GODSDOWN1. First-rate : ACE HIGH2. Second wife of Aeneas : LAVINIA3. With eyes wide open : ALERTLY4. Rub the wrong way : RILE5. Dangerous to drive on, say : ICY6. Private meetings : CONCLAVES7. McGovern's 1972 running mate : SHRIVER8. "The Country" (1936 Oscar-winning Disney short) : COUSIN9. "paratus : OMNIA10. Hand signal users : REFS11. Number one fan? : EGOMANIAC12. Removed from the can? : PAROLED13. Queen who becomes a senator in the "Star Wars" saga : AMIDALA14. Has no love for at all : DETESTS21. Tears apart : RIVES23. Egg foo yung, essentially : OMELET27. 1992 Grammy winner for "Constant Craving" : KD LANG29. Female impersonators use them : FALSETTOS30. Product once pitched with the line "Sometimes you feel like a nut" : ALMOND JOY32. Have a home-cooked meal : EAT IN33. Joins (with) : TEAMS UP34. Victorious fleet commander at Actium : AGRIPPA35. Racetrack regulars : BETTORS36. Screws up totally? : MISADDS37. Go along with : AGREE TO38. Reached across : SPANNED39. Depression : SADNESS41. Heavy cycle : HARLEY44. El Greco's birthplace : CRETE47. Furry denizen of Endor : EWOK48. Standard : FLAG51. Sudbury Basin export : OREReturn to top of page