0205-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 5 Feb 13, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Moorehead of “Bewitched” : AGNES
In the television sitcom “Bewitched”, Endora was Samantha’s mother, with both mother, daughter and indeed granddaughter having the magical powers accorded to witches. Endora was played flamboyantly by Agnes Moorehead.

6. Do a Bernie Madoff job on : SCAM
Bernie Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence for having operated what is described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Basically Madoff took investor’s money and instead of investing it in the markets as agreed, he put the money into a bank account. He used some of the money he collected from new investors to pay the older investors the anticipated monthly returns. This worked just fine, until too many investors started looking for the return of the original investment. The money was “gone”, paid to new investors (and Madoff), so the whole scheme collapsed.

14. The “kid” of “Here’s looking at you, kid” : ILSA
Ilsa Lund was of course played by Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “she paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

16. Hefty honcho? : PORTLY AUTHORITY
“Honcho” is a slang term for a leader or manager. The term comes to us from Japanese, in which language a “hancho” is a squad (han) leader (cho).

19. Want ad letters : EOE
An Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

20. Trade barrier : EMBARGO
“Embargo” and “blockade” are two similar yet different terms. An embargo is a legal prohibition of trade with a particular country, whilst a blockade is an act of war, a militarily enforced prevention of the movement of goods and services. The term “embargo” came into English from Spanish, in the late 16th century.

24. Beethoven’s Third : EROICA
Beethoven originally dedicated his Symphony No. 3 to Napoleon Bonaparte. Beethoven admired the principles of the French Revolution and as such respected Bonaparte who was “born” out of the uprising. When Napoleon declared himself Emperor, Beethoven (and much of Europe) saw this as a betrayal to the ideals of the revolution so he changed the name of his new symphony from “Bonaparte” to “Eroica”, meaning “heroic” or “valiant”.

28. “___, the Tattooed Lady” (old tune) : LYDIA
“Lydia, the Tattooed Lady” is a song written in 1939 that first appeared in the Marx Brothers movie “At the Circus”. The song was to become a signature tune for Groucho Marx. Famously, Groucho once brought the New York Stock Exchange to a standstill when was visiting the trading floor. He did this by singing “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady” and telling jokes for 15 minutes.

32. Actresses Stone and Watson : EMMAS
The actress Emma Stone really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”.

Emma Watson is the English actress famous for playing Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series of movies. Watson continued her education while pursuing her acting career and studied at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

37. Add just a dash of pepper? : GINGERLY SPICE (from “Ginger Spice”)
Geri Halliwell was called Ginger Spice because of her red hair when she was with the Spice Girls. Halliwell was quite a bit older than the rest of the group and so sometimes she was less charitably referred to as “Old Spice”.

40. ___ noire : BETE
“Bête noire” translates from French as “the black beast” and is used in English for something or someone that is disliked.

41. 1964 #1 Four Seasons hit : RAG DOLL
“Rag Doll” is a 1964 song recorded by the 4 Seasons. The song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. Gaudio says that the words were inspired by a girl who cleaned the windshield of his car with a rag to earn some small change.

44. Former M&M’s color : TAN
Peanut M&M’s were introduced in 1954, and at first were only produced in a tan color.

Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that gives the name to the candy.

49. “Cautionary Tales for Children” writer : BELLOC
“Cautionary Tales for Children” is a 1907 children’s book by Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc. There are eleven tales in the collection and all are written in rhyming couplets.

56. Legal matter : RES
“Res” is the Latin for “thing”. “Res” is used in a lot of phrases in the law.

57. Successful dieter’s award? : THE NO-BELLY PRIZE (from “The Nobel Prize”)
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 that award is presented in Oslo.

63. The “E” in Q.E.D. : ERAT
QED is used at the end of a mathematical proof or a philosophical argument. The QED acronym stands for the Latin “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated”.

66. Richard Henry ___, author of “Two 67-Across Before the Mast” : DANA
(67. See 66-Across : YEARS)
“Two years Before the Mast” is an 1840 book by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. The book tells the story of a two-year sea voyage that Dana took starting in 1834. The journey took Dana from Boston around Cape Horn to California, and back again.

Down
3. Sea nymph : NEREID
In Greek mythology, Nereus and Doris had fifty daughters, and these were called the sea nymphs or nereids. The nereids often hung around with Poseidon and were generally very helpful creatures to sailors in distress. Mainly they were to be found in the Aegean, where they lived with their father in a cave in the deep. Some of the more notable names of the nereids were: Agave, Asia, Calypso, Doris, Erato, Eunice and Ione.

5. Letters on a Cardinals cap : STL
The St. Louis Cardinals were originally called the “Brown Stockings”, changing their name to the “Perfectos” in 1899. The new name obviously didn’t go down well with the locals, as the owners changed it one year later to the Cardinals.

6. Thailand, once : SIAM
Siam was the official name of Thailand up to 1939 (and from 1945 to 1949).

7. Sam’s ___ : CLUB
Sam’s Club is owned and operated by Walmart and is named after the company’s founder, Sam Walton.

8. “The Thin Man” dog : ASTA
Asta is the wonderful little dog in the superb movie “The Thin Man” starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (as Nick and Nora Charles). In the original story by Dashiell Hammett, Asta was a female Schnauzer, but on screen Asta was played by a wire-haired fox terrier called “Skippy”. Skippy was also the dog in “Bringing up Baby” with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the one who kept stealing the dinosaur bone. Skippy retired in 1939, so Asta was played by other dogs in the remainder of “The Thin Man” films.

9. Skier Phil : MAHRE
Phil Mahre is one of the great alpine ski racers, a native of Yakima, Washington. Phil’s twin brother Steve was also a skier on the World Cup circuit.

10. Frazier foe : ALI
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had three memorable fights. The first was billed as the “Fight of the Century” and took place in 1971 in Madison Square Garden. It was a fight between two great boxers, both of whom were undefeated up till that point. Frazier won in a unanimous decision after fifteen rounds. A couple of years later, in 1973, Frazier lost his title to George Foreman. Ali and Frazier had a non-title rematch in 1974, with Ali coming out ahead this time, also in a unanimous decision. Later that year, Ali grabbed back the World Heavyweight Title in “The Rumble in the Jungle”, the famous “rope-a-dope” fight against George Foreman. That set the stage for the third and final fight between Ali and Frazier, “The Thrilla in Manila”. Ali won the early rounds, but Frazier made a comeback in the middle of the fight. Ali took control at the end of the bout, so much so that Frazier wasn’t able to come out of his corner for the 15th and final round. He couldn’t come out of his corner because both of his eyes were swollen shut, giving Ali a victory due to a technical knockout (TKO).

15. Russell Myers comic strip : BROOM-HILDA
“Broom-Hilda” is a comic strip created by Russell Myers that has been running since 1970. The idea for Broom-Hilda came from Myers’s business manager, Elliot Caplin (brother of Al Capp, the creator of “Li’l Abner”).

22. Home of the California Screamin’ roller coaster : DISNEYLAND
Walt Disney came up with the idea of building Disneyland after visiting other theme parks with his daughters in the thirties and forties. He started building the park at Anaheim, California in 1954, and the facility opened just one year and one day later. The total cost of construction was $17 million. Opening day did not go smoothly, largely because over 28,000 people visited the park compared to the 11,000 people expected at the invitation-only event. The opening day went so badly that for years Disney executives referred to it as “Black Sunday”.

25. Apple product : IMAC
The iMac is a desktop computer platform from Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated.

29. Jack who ate no fat : SPRAT
Jack Sprat was a nickname given in the 16th century to people of small stature. Jack featured in a proverb of the day:

Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane. Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.

Over time, this mutated into a nursery rhyme that is still recited in England:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.

30. Hägar the Horrible’s wife : HELGA
“Hagar the Horrible” is a comic strip that was created by the late Dik Browne and is now drawn by his son, Chris Browne. “Hagar the Terrible” (not “Horrible”) was the nickname given to Dik by his sons.

31. “Surprise Symphony” composer : HAYDN
Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G major is nicknamed “The Surprise Symphony”. Haydn was very fond of including a little humor in his music, and the “surprise” in Symphony No. 94 is the most famous. That surprise is a very loud chord at the end of a very quiet and lyrical passage in the second movement. As a result, the German nickname for “The Surprise Symphony” is “The Symphony with the Kettledrum Stroke”.

35. General on a Chinese menu : TSO
General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zontang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

37. Richard of “American Gigolo” : GERE
“American Gigolo” is a 1980 film starring Richard Gere as a Los Angeles male escort. “American Gigolo” is famous for being the first movie in which a major Hollywood actor appeared in a full-frontal nude scene.

38. Emphatic type: Abbr. : ITAL
Italic type leans to the right. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

40. Consumer protection org. : BBB
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private concern (nope, it is not a government agency), founded in 1912. It operates like a franchise, with local BBB’s managed independently but operating to a set of “corporate” guidelines.

47. White-whiskered sort : GEEZER
Geezer is a not-so-nice term for an old man.

48. Ford flops : EDSELS
It was Henry Ford’s son Edsel who gave his name to the Edsel brand of automobile, a name that has become synonymous with “failure”.

54. ___ Bator : ULAN
The name “Ulan Bator” translates from Mongolian as “the Red Hero”, and is Mongolia’s capital city. The “Red Hero” name was chosen in honor of the country’s national hero, Damdin Sükhbaatar. Sükhbaatar fought alongside the Soviet Red Army in the fight for liberation from Chinese occupation.

55. Resort near Snowbird : ALTA
Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The nearby ski resort of Snowbird has been in operation since 1971.

59. “Star Trek” extra: Abbr. : ENS
Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

When Gene Roddenberry first proposed the science fiction series that became “Star Trek”, he marketed it as “Wagon Train to the Stars”, a pioneer-style Western in outer space. In fact his idea was to produce something more like “Gulliver’s Travels”, as he intended to write episodes that were adventure stories on one level, but morality tales on another. Personally I think that he best achieved this model with the spin-off series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. If you watch individual episodes you will see thinly disguised treatments of moral issues such as racism, homosexuality, genocide etc. For my money, “The Next Generation” is the best of the whole franchise …

61. Arctic explorer John : RAE
John Rae was a Scottish explorer, who took on the task of searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845. The Franklin Expedition was itself searching for the elusive Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. John Rae stirred up much controversy back in England when he reported evidence of cannibalism among the ill-fated Franklin explorers.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Moorehead of “Bewitched” : AGNES
6. Do a Bernie Madoff job on : SCAM
10. Hyperbola part : ARC
13. Pants part : PLEAT
14. The “kid” of “Here’s looking at you, kid” : ILSA
15. Time-lapse photography phenomenon : BLUR
16. Hefty honcho? : PORTLY AUTHORITY
19. Want ad letters : EOE
20. Trade barrier : EMBARGO
21. In the thick of : AMIDST
24. Beethoven’s Third : EROICA
28. “___, the Tattooed Lady” (old tune) : LYDIA
29. “Don’t let them hear us!” : SHH
32. Actresses Stone and Watson : EMMAS
33. Criticize cattily : SNIPE AT
36. “Pay ye attention!” : HARK
37. Add just a dash of pepper? : GINGERLY SPICE
40. ___ noire : BETE
41. 1964 #1 Four Seasons hit : RAG DOLL
42. Hee-haws : BRAYS
44. Former M&M’s color : TAN
45. “Honey catches more flies than vinegar,” e.g. : ADAGE
49. “Cautionary Tales for Children” writer : BELLOC
51. Entrapped : SNARED
52. Per routine : AS USUAL
56. Legal matter : RES
57. Successful dieter’s award? : THE NO-BELLY PRIZE
62. Marmalade ingredient : RIND
63. The “E” in Q.E.D. : ERAT
64. Bottle feature : LABEL
65. What a nod may mean : YES
66. Richard Henry ___, author of “Two 67-Across Before the Mast” : DANA
67. See 66-Across : YEARS

Down
1. Recourse after a guilty verdict : APPEAL
2. Dark and depressed : GLOOMY
3. Sea nymph : NEREID
4. Exhortation after saying grace : EAT
5. Letters on a Cardinals cap : STL
6. Thailand, once : SIAM
7. Sam’s ___ : CLUB
8. “The Thin Man” dog : ASTA
9. Skier Phil : MAHRE
10. Frazier foe : ALI
11. Same old same old : RUT
12. Shout : CRY
15. Russell Myers comic strip : BROOM-HILDA
17. Even so : YET
18. Villain : OGRE
22. Home of the California Screamin’ roller coaster : DISNEYLAND
23. Spilled the beans : SANG
25. Apple product : IMAC
26. “See if I ___!” : CARE
27. Make a request : ASK
29. Jack who ate no fat : SPRAT
30. Hägar the Horrible’s wife : HELGA
31. “Surprise Symphony” composer : HAYDN
34. Suffix with cash : -IER
35. General on a Chinese menu : TSO
37. Richard of “American Gigolo” : GERE
38. Emphatic type: Abbr. : ITAL
39. Course of action : PLAN
40. Consumer protection org. : BBB
43. Middling : SO-SO
46. Spanish shout of joy : ARRIBA!
47. White-whiskered sort : GEEZER
48. Ford flops : EDSELS
50. Like 125, to 5 : CUBED
51. Cunning : SLY
53. Blood fluids : SERA
54. ___ Bator : ULAN
55. Resort near Snowbird : ALTA
57. Encouraging word : TRY
58. Go in haste : HIE
59. “Star Trek” extra: Abbr. : ENS
60. Bath tissue feature : PLY
61. Arctic explorer John : RAE

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