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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
Solution to today’s SYNDICATED New York Times crossword in all other publications
CROSSWORD SETTER: Patrick Blindauer & Francis Heaney
THEME: Food Pyramids … the gird contains four PYRAMIDS of circled letters that each spell out a FOOD:
SOUR CREAM
COBB SALAD
SNOW CONES
SWEET ROLL
COMPLETION TIME: 18m 51s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
The first food guide pyramid was issued in 1974, in Sweden. The food pyramid that we’re most familiar with in this country is the one published by the USDA in 1992, which was replaced in 2011. Instead of a pyramid, we now have a guide called MyPlate. MyPlate urges us to eat about 30% grains, 30% vegetables, 20% fruits, 20% proteins on our plates, accompanied by a small serving of dairy.
10. Real-estate abbr. : BSMT
Basement.
Elmo is a friend of Zoe and Abby Cadabby on the television show “Sesame Street”.
Back in 1966, the Carnegie Institute allocated money to study the use of television to help young children prepare for school. They gave an $8million grant to set up the Children’s Television Workshop with the task of creating an educational TV program for children. The program began to come together, especially after Jim Henson (of Muppet fame) got involved. The name “Sesame Street” was chosen simply because it was the “least disliked” of all names proposed just before the program was to air.
16. “Don’t you know there’s ___ on?” : A WAR
“Don’t You Know There’s a War On?” is a book written by Edward Steers, Jr.
19. “Say ___” (1940 hit) : SI SI
“Say ‘Si Si’” is a song first published in 1935, composed by Ernesto Lecuona, with lyrics originally in Spanish.
20. Fanny : SEAT
You have to be careful using the slang term “fanny” if traveling in the British Isles, because over there it has a much ruder meaning …
Lena Olin is a Swedish actress, discovered by Ingmar Bergman. Her most famous performance was in the movie “Chocolat” released in 2000, and then she won an Emmy in 2003 for Best Supporting actress for her performances in the TV show “Alias”.
22. Tech company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average : CISCO
Cisco is a company that I really admire. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco develops and sells products and services in the communications sector. The name “Cisco” was taken from the name of the city, San Francisco.
The Magic 8-Ball is a toy, supposedly a fortune-telling device, introduced by Mattel in 1946. There are 20 answers that the Magic 8-Ball can provide, including:
– Without a doubt
– Ask again later
– My sources say no
– Outlook not so good
– Signs point to yes
26. Lepidopterist’s tool : NET
A lepidopterist is a person who studies butterflies and moths, a name coming from Lepidoptera, the order of insects that encompasses such flying insects. “Lepidoptera” comes from the Greek words for “scale” and “wing”.
30. Tailors’ allowances : EASES
In the worlds of tailoring and dressmaking, a “sewing ease” is the difference between a particular body measurement (say a hip or waist) and the measurement of the garment itself.
Tom Jones, now he has a real voice, and is a great showman. I saw him in Las Vegas many, many moons ago, one of the best Vegas shows I’ve ever attended. Although Tom Jones is a carefully selected stage name (he was born Thomas Woodward) the name isn’t too far from reality as Jones is his mother’s maiden name. The stage name was chosen by his manager to capitalize on the appeal of “Tom Jones”, a filmed version of the Henry Fielding novel that was having a successful run at the time. The name also emphasized Tom’s Welsh roots.
The celebrated Charlton Heston movie “Ben-Hur” was a dramatization of a book published in 1880 by Lew Wallace titled “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ”. The 1959 epic film won a record 11 Academy Awards, a feat that has been equaled since then but has never beaten. The other winners of 11 Oscars are “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Rings”.
Famously, Patty Hearst joined forces with her 1974 kidnappers, the Symbionese Liberation Army. At the same time she took on an assumed name, Tania. Patty Hearst spent almost two years in jail for her illegal activities with the group but was released when her sentence was commuted by President Carter. President Clinton’s last official act before leaving office was to grant Patty Hearst a pardon.
A Conestoga is a large, covered wagon that was used in many of the wagon trains that crossed North America in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The name was taken from the Conestoga Valley near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the design was developed. The Conestoga wagon resembled a boat on wheels, and often the gaps between the planks were caulked so that it would float when crossing water.
40. Harold of the Clinton White House : ICKES
Harold M. Ickes was the White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Clinton administration. Harold M. was the son of Harold L. Ickes, a former Secretary of the Interior in the FDR administration.
46. PC key : ESC
The escape key was originally used to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of other things, especially in gaming programs.
John Raitt was an actor and singer best known for his roles in Broadway musicals such as “Carousel”, “Oklahoma!” and “The Pajama Game”.
56. Foreign farewell : CIAO
“Ciao” is the Italian for “bye”. “Arrivederci” is more formal, and translates better as “goodbye”.
57. Old Testament king : SAUL
According to the Hebrew Bible, Saul was the first King of Israel, and ruled from 1049 BC to 1007 BC. Saul’s story is mainly recounted in the Books of Samuel.
58. Shoddy stuff : DRECK
“Dreck” is filth or trash, a word that comes into English from “drek”, the Yiddish word for rubbish.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) dates back to the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. When President Roosevelt’s son broke his nose playing football at Harvard, Roosevelt turned his attention to the number of serious injuries and even deaths occurring in college sports. He instigated meetings between the major educational institutions, leading to the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in 1906 with the remit of regulating college sports. The IAAUS evolved into the NCAA in 1910.
“South Park” is an adult-oriented cartoon series on Comedy Central. I don’t do “South Park” …
Monica Seles has a Hungarian name as she was born to Hungarian parents in former Yugoslavia. She was the World No. 1 professional tennis player in 1991 and 1992 before being forced from the sport when she was stabbed by a German spectator at a match in 1993. She did return to the game two years later, but never achieved the same level of success.
Down
1. Fresh : SASSY
“Sass”, meaning “impudence”, is a back formation from the word “sassy”. “Sassy” is an alteration of the word “saucy”, with “sassy” first appearing in English in the 1830s.
2. Compère : EMCEE
Emcee: meaning “MC”, the Master or Mistress of Ceremonies.
3. Ephron and Roberts : NORAS
Nora Ephron has many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she writes, she also directs. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame?
Nora Roberts is a very successful author who has written over 165 romance novels. She writes under a number of pen names: J.D. Robb, Jill March and Sarah Hardesty.
4. Ingredient in some English pudding : SUET
Fat, when extracted from the carcass of an animal, is called “suet”. Untreated suet decomposes at room temperature quite easily, so it has to be “rendered” or purified to make it stable. Rendered fat from pigs is what we call “lard”. Rendered beef or mutton fat is known as “tallow”.
7. “Some Enchanted Evening,” e.g. : OLDIE
“Some Enchanted Evening” is a wonderful song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific”.
8. Gulf of ___ : OMAN
The Gulf of Oman isn’t actually a gulf, and rather is a strait, connecting the Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz and onto the Persian Gulf.
11. Site of many clandestine accounts : SWISS BANK
Switzerland has a tradition of banking secrecy that dates back to the Middle Ages. All bank accounts are linked to individuals, just as they are in the rest of the world, but the identity of that individual is protected by laws of privacy. The protections afforded are similar to the confidentiality between a lawyer and a client. Bank secrecy can be overturned however, by a judge’s “lifting order”.
When the TV show “Charlie’s Angels” started airing in the mid-seventies it was a little unusual in that it featured three women playing private detectives, a role usually reserved for men. The name first chosen for the show was “The Alley Cats”, then “Harry’s Angels”, before finally settling on “Charlies Angels”.
18. Like some points : MOOT
To moot is to bring up as a subject for discussion or debate. So, something that is moot is open to debate. Something that is no longer moot, is no longer worth debating.
22. Like many a Malkovich : CROATIAN
After WWII, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia and remained so until 1991 when it declared independence as the troubled country of Yugoslavia began to split into disparate parts.
Lou Gehrig was known as a powerhouse. He was a big hitter and just kept on playing. He broke the record for the most consecutive number of games played, and he stills holds the record for the most career grand slams. His durability earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse”. Sadly, he died in 1941 at 37-years-old suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an illness we now call “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”.
Michael Cera is a Canadian actor, a very talented young man who is riding high right now. He played great characters in the TV show “Arrested Development”, and the 2007 comedy-drama “Juno”. More recently he played the title role in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”.
28. Falco of “Nurse Jackie” : EDIE
Edie Falco won her three Emmy Awards for playing Carmela Soprano in HBO’s outstanding drama series, “The Sopranos”.
29. Scandinavian rugs : RYAS
A rya is a traditional Scandinavian rug, originally used as heavy covers by mariners as an alternative to furs. The name “rya” comes from a village in southwest Sweden.
30. Kitchenware brand : EKCO
The EKCO brand of kitchenware dates back to 1888 when Edward Katzinger founded his company in Chicago, to make baking pans. The acronym EKCO stands for “Edward Katzinger Co”.
31. Presently : ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once”, and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon”, apparently just because it was misused over time.
32. Light classical pieces : SONATINAS
A cantata is a piece of music that is sung, as opposed to a sonata, which is a piece that is played on some instrument, often a piano. A sonatina is in effect a sonata that has been labelled as something lighter and shorter.
34. O, symbolically : HUG
In the sequence XOXOX, I think the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. Hugs and kisses …
44. City whose name sounds like a fish : SEOUL
The largest metropolitan area in the world is centered on Tokyo, Japan. Seoul, South Korea comes in second with a population of over 20 million people.
“Pelle the Conqueror” is a Danish film starring the Swedish actor Max von Sydow, someone often seen in Hollywood movies.
48. Blush stoppers : CORKS
The term “blush” in the world of wine has only been around since the late seventies, and is really only used here in the US. Today we think of a blush as a relatively sweet pink wine, and a rosé as something drier.
I suppose the successful English novelist Martin Amis must have writing in his blood. He is the son of the respected author Kingsley Amis, a Booker Prize winner.
51. “King Kong” co-star, 1933 : WRAY
What a classic movie “King Kong” is, starring Fay Wray as the young woman that Kong falls for. Apparently Wray was very interested in the role in which she was told she would be playing opposite the “tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood”. She thought it might be Clark Gable. Boy was she wrong …
“Jane Eyre” is of course the novel written by Charlotte Bronte under the pen name Currer Bell. Over the years, I’ve shared here on the blog that the storyline is a little too dark and Gothic for my taste, but a very persuasive blog reader convinced me to look more at the romantic side of the story and give it a second chance. I watched a wonderful 4-hour television adaptation of the novel made by the BBC very recently, and I have to say that because I focused on the relationship between Jane and Rochester, I was able to push past the Gothic influences (that depress me) so I really enjoyed the performance. I thoroughly recommend this 2006 BBC adaptation to fans of the novel.
55. Mad people, e.g.: Abbr. : EDS
“Mad” magazine has been around since 1952, although back then it was more of a comic book than a magazine.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. See, say : SENSE
6. ___ pyramid, four examples of which are seen in this puzzle : FOOD
10. Real-estate abbr. : BSMT
14. French affair : AMOUR
15. Friend of Zoe and Abby : ELMO
16. “Don’t you know there’s ___ on?” : A WAR
17. Loudly berated : SCREAMED AT
19. “Say ___” (1940 hit) : SI SI
20. Fanny : SEAT
21. Lena who played Irina Derevko on “Alias” : OLIN
22. Tech company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average : CISCO
23. “Signs point to ___” (Magic 8 Ball answer) : YES
24. Go home empty-handed, say : LOSE
25. Welding bands? : ARCS
26. Lepidopterist’s tool : NET
27. Whack : CLOBBER
30. Tailors’ allowances : EASES
33. 1971 Tom Jones hit : SHE’S A LADY
35. Has no doubt about : KNOWS
36. Ben-___ : HUR
37. Patty Hearst alias : TANIA
38. Pioneer carrier : CONESTOGA
40. Harold of the Clinton White House : ICKES
41. How many stupid things are done : ON A DARE
42. Abbr. after N. or S. : DAK
43. Backsplash unit : TILE
44. Some talk on political talk shows : SPIN
46. PC key : ESC
49. John who starred in Broadway’s original “Carousel” : RAITT
51. Break down, in a way : WEEP
52. Fair : EXPO
53. All at the front? : OMNI-
54. Conductor’s place : TROLLEY CAR
56. Foreign farewell : CIAO
57. Old Testament king : SAUL
58. Shoddy stuff : DRECK
59. Part of N.C.A.A.: Abbr. : ASSN
60. “South Park” boy : KYLE
61. Tennis great born in Serbia : SELES
Down
1. Fresh : SASSY
2. Compère : EMCEE
3. Ephron and Roberts : NORAS
4. Ingredient in some English pudding : SUET
5. Laundry detergent brand : ERA
6. Has a hunch : FEELS
7. “Some Enchanted Evening,” e.g. : OLDIE
8. Gulf of ___ : OMAN
9. Flyspeck : DOT
10. Straightforward fashion choice : BASIC BLACK
11. Site of many clandestine accounts : SWISS BANK
12. Gender abbr. : MASC
13. Charlie’s Angels, e.g. : TRIO
18. Like some points : MOOT
22. Like many a Malkovich : CROATIAN
24. Dietary dictum for one with hypertension : LESS SALT
25. Lou Gehrig’s disease, for short : ALS
26. Reissue : NEW EDITION
27. Michael of “Superbad” : CERA
28. Falco of “Nurse Jackie” : EDIE
29. Scandinavian rugs : RYAS
30. Kitchenware brand : EKCO
31. Presently : ANON
32. Light classical pieces : SONATINAS
33. Clog, e.g. : SHOE
34. O, symbolically : HUG
39. Otto – cinque : TRE
42. Embassy worker: Abbr. : DIPL
44. City whose name sounds like a fish : SEOUL
45. “___ the Conqueror” (Max von Sydow film) : PELLE
46. Do well : EXCEL
47. Zone (out) : SPACE
48. Blush stoppers : CORKS
49. Almond ___ (candy brand) : ROCA
50. “The Pregnant Widow” author Martin : AMIS
51. “King Kong” co-star, 1933 : WRAY
52. Heroine who says “I resisted all the way: a new thing for me” : EYRE
54. Shaming sound : TSK
55. Mad people, e.g.: Abbr. : EDS
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Why is "EASES" the correct answer for "Tailors'allowances"?
Hi there,
I don't know how I missed out that "ease" answer, because I had to look it up. Thanks for pointing it out, and here is what I just added to the post above:
30. Tailors' allowances : EASES
In the worlds of tailoring and dressmaking, a "sewing ease" is the difference between a particular body measurement (say a hip or waist) and the measurement of the garment itself.
I hope that helps!
I don't get 'eds' for MAD magazine readers. What am I missing? Thanks.
sara in Kansas city
re Sara's comment.
I think it says Mad People so eds would be editors of Mad Magazine.
Sylvia in Calgary, Alberta
Hi Sara (and Sylvia),
Yes, I agree with Sylvia. Some "Mad" magazine people are editors (Eds).
I should have expanded on that in my comment in the blog post. My bad!
Thanks for jumping in, Sylvia. And thank for asking for the clarification, Sara!