0427-13 New York Times Crossword Answers 27 Apr 13, Saturday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Chris A. McGlothlin
THEME: None
COMPLETION TIME: 39m 13s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 2 … LOYALISTS (royalists!), KRANEPOOL (Kranepoor)

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

15. Legendary lutist : ALAN-A-DALE
According to the legend of Robin Hood, Alan-a-Dale was a member of Robin’s outlaw band of Merry Men. Based on the legend, Alan-a-Dale was a wandering minstrel.

16. TV host Chung : ALEXA
Alexa Chung is a television presenter from England who now is pursuing a career in the US. These days, she can be seen on MTV. So, I won’t be spotting her any time soon …

17. Asia Minor, e.g. : PENINSULA
Asia Minor is also known as Anatolia. It is the geographic part of Asia that protrudes out into the west, towards Europe, and is roughly equivalent to modern-day Turkey.

18. Dumps : JILTS
To “jilt” someone with whom you have a relationship is to drop them suddenly or callously. “Jilt” is an obsolete noun that used to mean “harlot” or “loose woman”.

22. One highly unlikely to react : RARE GAS
The noble gases (also “rare gases”) are those elements over on the extreme right of the Periodic Table. Because of their “full” complement of electrons, noble gases are very unreactive. The six noble gases that occur naturally are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.

28. Character in “Unforgiven” : CAPITAL U
The first character in the word “Unforgiven” is a capital U.

30. 2011 All-Star pitcher Correia : KEVIN
Kevin Correia is a professional baseball player who pitches for the Minnesota Twins.

32. He was born “all over like an hairy garment” : ESAU
Esau, was the grandson of Abraham and the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When Esau was born, the event was described, “Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment”. Esau is portrayed later in life as being very different from his brother, as a hunter and someone who loves the outdoor life.

34. Trail rider’s concoction : GORP
“Gorp” is the name sometimes used for trail mix, particularly by hikers. It’s not really known for sure how this name came about, but some say it stands for “good old raisins and peanuts” or perhaps “gobs of raw protein”.

35. Gov. Cuomo’s purview : NYS
Andrew Cuomo won the gubernatorial election for the State of New York in 2010. Andrew is the son of former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo. Andrew was also married for 13 years to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.

36. “Bless ___” (1941 hit song) : ‘EM ALL
“Bless ‘Em All” is a song written in England in 1917 that also goes by the name “The Long and the Short and the Tall”.

Bless ’em all,
Bless ’em all.
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all those Sergeants and WO1’s,
Bless all those Corporals and their blinkin’’ sons,
Cos’ we’re saying goodbye to ’em all.
And back to their Billets they crawl,
You’ll get no promotion this side of the ocean,
So cheer up my lads bless ’em all

37. Slow march, maybe : DIRGE
An elegy is a mournful poem or funeral song, also known as a dirge. Perhaps the most famous elegy in the English language is that written by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750. His “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is the source of many oft-quoted phrases, including:

– Celestial fire
– Far from the Madding Crowd
– Kindred spirit

38. Player in a pocket : IPOD NANO
The iPod Nano is the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There have been five versions of the Nano to date and the current Nano as well as playing tunes is an FM player, records voice memos, and even has a pedometer!

40. Holy smoker? : CENSER
A censer is a vessel in which incense is burned during religious services.

41. Title character singing in the “Tea for Two” duet : NANETTE
The 1925 musical “No, No, Nanette” spawned two famous songs: “Tea for Two” and “I Want to Be Happy”.

50. “Allahu ___” (Iraqi flag phrase) : AKBAR
The Iranian flag in use today was adopted in 1980, a product of the Iranian Revolution. The flag is a tricolor composed of horizontal bands of green, white and red. Included in the green and red bands are the repeated words “Allahu Akbar”, which translates as “God is great”.

51. Drill command involving a rifle : ORDER ARMS!
Two examples of drill commands are “Present, arms!”, at which point the soldiers being drilled present a rifle or hand salute. The command “Order, arms!” instructs the soldiers to ring their rifle or hand back to their sides.

52. Whoopi’s first leading film role : CELIE
Whoopi Goldberg played Celie Harris Johnson in Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple”, the 1985 screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alice Walker.

53. One who doesn’t click in a clique : ODD MAN OUT
A “clique” is a small, exclusive group of people. The term of course comes to us from France, where it has the same meaning. In French it somehow evolved in meaning from the original “clique” meaning a sharp noise, or as we would say today, a “click”.

Down
2. Olive genus : OLEA
Oleum (plural: olea) is the Latin word for “oil”. The term oleum is used for a whole host of pharmaceutical oils, extracted from both plant and animal sources.

4. Old-time actress Bennett : ENID
Enid Bennett was an actress from Australia who made a name for herself in the age of silent movies. Bennett’s most famous role was Maid Marian in 1922, which she played opposite Douglas Fairbanks.

6. Ill-fated line of the 1950s : 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”.

8. “The Producers” sex kitten : ULLA
The sex kitten married to Leo Bloom in the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers” is called Ulla, although her full name is Ulla Inga tor Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson Bloom!

“The Producers” is a 1968 satirical movie written and directed by Mel Brooks, the first film he ever directed. Brooks adapted the movie into a hugely successful Broadway musical that won a record 12 Tony Awards. The original leads in the stage show, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, then appeared in a 2005 movie adaptation of the musical version of the original film!

11. Biblically named Michigan college : OLIVET
Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan opened to students in 1844. The school is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.

14. Common religious artwork : LAST SUPPER
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural “The Last Supper” can be seen on an end wall of the dining hall in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. If you want to see it in person, you have to make a reservation ahead of time, and once you get there, you’re only allowed 15 minutes viewing time. The mural is a very, very popular tourist attraction …

23. “Scratch thee but with ___ …”: Shak. : A PIN
“Scratch thee but with a pin …” is a line from William Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It”.

27. Source of 13-Down eggs : EMU
Emu eggs are very large, with a thick shell that is dark-green in color. One emu egg weighs about the same as a dozen chicken eggs.

28. With 33-Across, “The Voice” vocal coach : CEE LO
33. See 28-Down : GREEN
Cee Lo Green is the stage name of rapper Thomas DeCarlo Callaway. Apparently Green is one of the coaches for the contestants on the singing TV show “The Voice”. That’s all I need to know …

30. Ed whose entire 18-season career was with the Mets : KRANEPOOL
Ed Kranepool is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the New York Mets. Kranepool was a member of the team known as the “Miracle Mets” who won the 1969 World Series. He hit a homerun in game 5 of the series.

33. Common B-school requirement : GMAT
A “B-school” is a business school.

If you want to get into a business school’s graduate program then you might have to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), which will cost you about $250, I believe …

34. Spirit in a sling : GIN
A sling is a cocktail made of brandy, whiskey or gin, sweetened and flavored with lemon. The most famous version of the sling is the Singapore Sling, invented by a bartender at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. I am proud to report that I once had a Singapore Sling in Raffles Hotel, many moons ago …

36. In the log, say : ENTERED
The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.

37. Right-handed : DEXTRAL
Someone or something described as “sinistral” is left-handed. Someone right-handed is “dextral”.

42. Blouse with a sailor collar : MIDDY
A middy blouse is a loose blouse with a sailor collar that might be worn by a woman or a child. The term “middy” comes from “midshipman”.

45. Great Seal word : ORDO
The Latin phrase “novus ordo seclorum” means “new order of the ages”. These words appear on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, a device used to authenticate some US federal documents. “Novus ordo seclorum” also appears on the back of one-dollar bills. The phrase itself is lifted from one of the works of the ancient Roman poet Virgil.

46. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI
Lani Guinier was the first African-American woman to achieve tenure at Harvard Law School.

49. Former faves of jet-setters : SSTS
The most famous Supersonic Transport (SST) was the Concorde, a plane that’s no longer flying. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag. It was lowered during taxi, takeoff and landing, so that the pilot had better visibility. The need for the droop nose was driven largely by the delta-shaped wings. The delta wing necessitates a higher angle of attack at takeoff and landing than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Stopped living the high life? : SOBERED UP
10. One paid to get shot : MODEL
15. Legendary lutist : ALAN-A-DALE
16. TV host Chung : ALEXA
17. Asia Minor, e.g. : PENINSULA
18. Dumps : JILTS
19. Trail rider’s accessory : SADDLEBAG
20. Public : OVERT
21. Draft pick : ALE
22. One highly unlikely to react : RARE GAS
24. Geneses : ONSETS
28. Character in “Unforgiven” : CAPITAL U
29. French verse : POEME
30. 2011 All-Star pitcher Correia : KEVIN
31. Flow controller : TAP
32. He was born “all over like an hairy garment” : ESAU
33. See 28-Down : GREEN
34. Trail rider’s concoction : GORP
35. Gov. Cuomo’s purview : NYS
36. “Bless ___” (1941 hit song) : ‘EM ALL
37. Slow march, maybe : DIRGE
38. Player in a pocket : IPOD NANO
40. Holy smoker? : CENSER
41. Title character singing in the “Tea for Two” duet : NANETTE
42. Not be a wallflower : MIX
43. Scrape : GRATE
44. 0-0 : POINTLESS
50. “Allahu ___” (Iraqi flag phrase) : AKBAR
51. Drill command involving a rifle : ORDER ARMS!
52. Whoopi’s first leading film role : CELIE
53. One who doesn’t click in a clique : ODD MAN OUT
54. Graph revelation, possibly : TREND
55. Nonrevolutionaries : LOYALISTS

Down
1. Easy marks : SAPS
2. Olive genus : OLEA
3. Ring : BAND
4. Old-time actress Bennett : ENID
5. Went long : RAN LATE
6. Ill-fated line of the 1950s : EDSELS
7. Beefy Provençal stew : DAUBE
8. “The Producers” sex kitten : ULLA
9. Landscaping alternative to sand : PEA GRAVEL
10. Study principally : MAJOR IN
11. Biblically named Michigan college : OLIVET
12. They don’t do it all themselves : DELEGATORS
13. Monster : EXTRA LARGE
14. Common religious artwork : LAST SUPPER
23. “Scratch thee but with ___ …”: Shak. : A PIN
24. Bill starter : OPENING ACT
25. Snoop : NOSY PARKER
26. Like unsurprising temperatures : SEASONABLE
27. Source of 13-Down eggs : EMU
28. With 33-Across, “The Voice” vocal coach : CEE LO
30. Ed whose entire 18-season career was with the Mets : KRANEPOOL
33. Common B-school requirement : GMAT
34. Spirit in a sling : GIN
36. In the log, say : ENTERED
37. Right-handed : DEXTRAL
39. Hold up : DETAIN
40. Its patrons are usually kept in the dark : CINEMA
42. Blouse with a sailor collar : MIDDY
45. Great Seal word : ORDO
46. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI
47. Symbol of love : EROS
48. Sanitization target : SMUT
49. Former faves of jet-setters : SSTS


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