0425-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 25 Apr 13, Thursday

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Solution to today’s crossword in the New York Times
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CROSSWORD SETTER: Jeffrey Wechsler
THEME: Presto, It’s Hidden … each of the themed answers contains an anagram of the word PRESTO:

18A. Classic cartoon in which “Kill da wabbit” is sung to a Wagner tune : WHAT’S OPERA DOC?
25A. Onetime presidential candidate on the Forbes 400 list : H ROSS PEROT
34A. Travel hassle : AIRPORT SECURITY
41A. Trap in Penobscot Bay : LOBSTER POT
50A. Magician’s phrase … or a hint to part of 18-, 25-, 34- and 41-Across : PRESTO CHANGE-O!

COMPLETION TIME: 15m 01s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

18. Classic cartoon in which “Kill da wabbit” is sung to a Wagner tune : WHAT’S OPERA DOC?
“What’s Opera, Doc?” is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. It’s all about Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny to musical extracts from Wagnerian operas. The most famous line from the cartoon if “Kill the Wabbit”, which Elmer sings to the main theme from “Ride of the Valkyries”. “What’s Opera, Doc?” cost Warner Bros. about six times as much as any other cartoon the studio had produced up to that time.

22. Hosp. adjunct : EMS
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

25. Onetime presidential candidate on the Forbes 400 list : H ROSS PEROT
Henry Ross Perot was ranked number 101 on the Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans in 2012, and at that time was worth about $3.5 billion.

29. Yukon XL maker, for short : GMC
The GMC Yukon is basically the same vehicle as the Chevrolet Tahoe.

32. Compote ingredient : PEAR
A compote is a fruit mixture stewed in syrup. The word “compote” comes to us from French and has the same etymology as our word “compost”! “Composte” is an Old French word for “mixture”.

33. Child actress Patten of “Song of the South” : LUANA
Luana Patten was an actress from Long Beach, California. Patten’s best-known role was probably her first, playing young Ginny Favers in the 1946 Disney musical “Song of the South”.

“Song of the South” is a 1946 Disney film based on the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The move features a mix of live actors and animated characters. The song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” is the big hit from the “Song of the South”, and won the Best Song Oscar in 1947.

38. Spills the beans : BLABS
“To spill the beans” is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”.

40. Fleur-de-___ : LYS
“Lys” (also “lis”) is the French word for “lily”, as in “fleur-de-lys”, the heraldic symbol often associated with the French monarchy.

41. Trap in Penobscot Bay : LOBSTER POT
Penobscot Bay in Maine is named for the Penobscot River, which flows into the bay.

45. Terra warmer : SOL
In Latin, the sun (sol) warms the ground (terra).

46. Hanukkah largesse : GELT
“Gelt” is the Yiddish word for “money”.

The term “Hanukkah” derives from the Hebrew for “to dedicate”. Hanukkah is a holiday lasting eight days that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem after successful Jewish revolt against the Seleucids in the 2nd-century BCE.

56. Springer on African grasslands : IMPALA
“Impala” is the Zulu word for “gazelle”. When running at a sustained speed, gazelles can move along at 30 miles per hour. If needed, they can accelerate for bursts up to 60 miles per hour.

61. Brunch dish : CREPES
“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.

Down
2. When said three times, frequent line on “The Odd Couple” : OSCAR
“The Odd Couple” is a play by the wonderfully talented Neil Simon first performed on Broadway, in 1965. This great play was adapted for the big screen in 1968, famously starring Jack Lemmon (as Felix Unger) and Walter Matthau (as Oscar Madison). The success of the play and the film gave rise to an excellent television sitcom that ran from 1970-1975, starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In 1985, Neil Simon even went so far as to adapt the play for an all-female cast, renaming it “The Female Odd Couple”. I’d like to see that one …

5. Diverse grouping : OLIO
Olio is a term meaning a hodgepodge or a mixture, coming from the mixed stew of the same name. The stew in turn takes its name from the Spanish “olla”, the clay pot used for cooking.

6. Haute cuisine by no means : SLOP
“Haute cuisine”, literally “high cooking” in French, is the name given to skillfully and elegantly prepared food, especially if it is in the French style.

8. ___ Touch : IPOD
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant and gaming console with a WiFi capability. Essentially I think it’s a stripped-down version of an iPhone.

9. ___-Japanese War : SINO
There were two Sino-Japanese Wars. The first was fought in 1894-95 over control of Korea. The second was fought between 1931 and 1945, eventually becoming part of WWII.

10. Product of Abe Lincoln’s wood splitting : FENCE RAIL
Before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, his political campaign used the nick-name “the Rail-Splitter” to emphasize his humble upbringing. Lincoln had worked at splitting fence rails in his youth.

12. ___ talks, offerers of “ideas worth spreading” : TED
The acronym TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. TED is a set of conferences held around the world by a non-profit group called the Sapling Foundation. The conference subjects are varied, and the meetings are often led by big names such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jane Goodall. The Sapling Foundation then makes recordings of the conferences available for free online with the intent of disseminating the ideas globally. These conferences are known as “TED Talks”.

13. Intimidates : COWS
The verb “to cow” means to intimidate, to scare. The exact etymology of the term seems unclear.

23. Hall of fame : MONTY
Monty Hall is the stage name of Canadian-born television personality Monte Halperin. Hall is perhaps best known as the longtime host of the game show “Let’s Make a Deal”.

28. Lux.’s place : EUR
Luxembourg is a relatively small country in the middle of Europe, just 100 square miles in area with a population of over half a million. The country is a representative democracy (just like the United Kingdom) and it has a constitutional monarch, namely Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. As such, Luxembourg is the only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy in the world.

30. Director Forman : MILOS
Miloš Forman is a film director from former Czechoslovakia, where he learned his craft. Since starting to work in Hollywood in 1968, Forman has been at the helm of some memorable films including: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Amadeus” and “The People vs. Larry Flynt”.

35. It has lots of pledges : PBS
The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was founded in 1970, and is my favorite of the broadcast networks. I love PBS’s drama and science shows in particular, and always watch the election results coming in with the NewsHour team. PBS’s Big Bird from “Sesame Street” made a bit of a splash in the last election cycle …

36. Prefix with biology : EXO-
Exobiology is the study of life in the universe, and central to the work of exobiologists is the search for life beyond earth. A fascinating field, I would imagine …

47. Wetland denizen : EGRET
At one time the egret species was in danger of extinction due to excessive hunting driven by the demand for plumes for women’s hats.

52. 25-Down, en français : ELLE
The French word “elle” can mean “her”, the pronoun.

53. Something placed in the mouth of a pitcher? : CHAW
A baseball pitcher might pop some “chaw” in his (or her) mouth.

56. Org. meting out justice at The Hague : ICC
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is based in the Hague, Netherlands. The court is used for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It was set up in 2002 by the United Nations, but not all UN members have ratified the treaty. Included in the list of UN members who refuse to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction are India, China, Israel and the United States.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. It has everything : COSMOS
7. Troublemaker, perhaps : MISFIT
13. France : château :: Spain : ___ : CASTILLO
15. Individually : APIECE
16. Birthday, e.g. : OCCASION
17. Put on : DONNED
18. Classic cartoon in which “Kill da wabbit” is sung to a Wagner tune : WHAT’S OPERA DOC?
20. Dried out : SERE
21. Haw’s partner : HEM
22. Hosp. adjunct : EMS
25. Onetime presidential candidate on the Forbes 400 list : H ROSS PEROT
29. Yukon XL maker, for short : GMC
32. Compote ingredient : PEAR
33. Child actress Patten of “Song of the South” : LUANA
34. Travel hassle : AIRPORT SECURITY
38. Spills the beans : BLABS
39. Checkup : EXAM
40. Fleur-de-___ : LYS
41. Trap in Penobscot Bay : LOBSTER POT
44. What’s that to José? : ESA?
45. Terra warmer : SOL
46. Hanukkah largesse : GELT
50. Magician’s phrase … or a hint to part of 18-, 25-, 34- and 41-Across : PRESTO CHANGEO!
56. Springer on African grasslands : IMPALA
58. “So what?” : WHO CARES?
59. Best way to defuse a bomb : CALMLY
60. Doesn’t rush, say : SAUNTERS
61. Brunch dish : CREPES
62. Seizes : WRESTS

Down
1. Squirrel’s nuts, maybe : CACHE
2. When said three times, frequent line on “The Odd Couple” : OSCAR
3. Condition : STATE
4. Be errant, say : MISS
5. Diverse grouping : OLIO
6. Haute cuisine by no means : SLOP
7. Ladies : MADAMS
8. ___ Touch : IPOD
9. ___-Japanese War : SINO
10. Product of Abe Lincoln’s wood splitting : FENCE RAIL
11. Put away : ICE
12. ___ talks, offerers of “ideas worth spreading” : TED
13. Intimidates : COWS
14. Primitive farming equipment : ONE-HORSE PLOWS
19. High-___ : RES
23. Hall of fame : MONTY
24. Some court orders : STAYS
25. “I’m with ___” (T-shirt phrase) : HER
26. Possible prey of a 37-Down : RAT
27. Desirable, as a job : PLUM
28. Lux.’s place : EUR
29. Exterior house feature : GABLE
30. Director Forman : MILOS
31. Small sour fruit : CRAB APPLE
32. Guarded place : POST
35. It has lots of pledges : PBS
36. Prefix with biology : EXO-
37. Possible predator of a 26-Down : CAT
42. Some collegiate output : ESSAYS
43. Crazy talk : ROT
46. Annoying buzzers : GNATS
47. Wetland denizen : EGRET
48. Body scans? : LEERS
49. Pitch : TOSS
51. Intensify, with “up” : RAMP
52. 25-Down, en français : ELLE
53. Something placed in the mouth of a pitcher? : CHAW
54. Time : HOUR
55. Some minor eruptions : ACNE
56. Org. meting out justice at The Hague : ICC
57. Chip, maybe : MAR


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