0325-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 25 Mar 14, Tuesday

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Rainbow maker : PRISM
When light passes through a prism, it is split up (“disperses”) into differing wavelengths. It then becomes clear that white light is actually a mixture of different colors, which show up as beautiful spectra.

10. Cereal word after Rice, Wheat or Corn : CHEX
The original Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina. Ralston Purina had a logo with a checkerboard square on it, which gave the pattern to the cereal as well as its name. Chex used characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip in its advertising for many years.

14. An Obama girl : SASHA
Sasha is the younger of the two Obama children, born in 2001. She is the youngest child to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. moved in with his parents as a small infant. Sasha’s Secret Service codename is “Rosebud”, and her older sister Malia has the codename “Radiance”.

15. Frisco’s state : CALI
“Frisco” is not a term you’d hear used in the San Francisco Bay Area for our main city. Acceptable nicknames are “the City by the Bay” and “Fog City”. We usually just refer to it as “the City”.

17. WIth 57-Across, a die-hard’s statement : IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL
(57A. See 17-Across : THE FAT LADY SINGS)
“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” is an American colloquialism. The message is that the outcome isn’t clear until the final whistle, until it’s really, truly over. The reference is to Grand Opera, and the cliched perception that the soprano lead is always overweight.

21. TV’s “___ Edition” : INSIDE
“Inside Edition” is a news magazine program that has be on the air since 1989. The first anchor for the show was Englishman David Frost, who was quickly replaced with Bill O’Reilly. The current anchor is Deborah Norville, who took over from O’Reilly in 1995.

25. Smucker’s container : JAR
The J. M. Smucker Co. was founded in 1897 by Jerome Monroe Smucker, with his first product being apple butter he sold off the back of his horse-drawn wagon. The operation he set up has grown a bit since then, and now Smucker’s owns Jif (peanut butter), Crisco (oil), Pillsbury (baking mixes) and Folgers (coffee).

26. President pro ___ : TEM
“Pro tempore” can be abbreviated to “pro tem” or “p.t.” “Pro tempore” is a Latin phrase that best translates as “for the time being”. It is used to describe a person who is acting for another, usually a superior.

The President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the US Senate, after the US Vice President who is also the President of the Senate. The tradition is that the most senior senator of the majority party is chosen as the President pro tem. The President pro tem is also the third in the line of succession to the presidency, after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

27. Hit that proves 17-/57-Across : WALK-OFF HOMER
In baseball, a walk-off home run is one that ends the game.

31. Award for Best New American Play : OBIE
The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies are presented annually and the recipients are chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper.

32. Designer Cassini : OLEG
Oleg Cassini, the French-born American fashion designer, had two big names particularly associated with his designs. In the sixties he produced the state wardrobe for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and he was also the exclusive designer for Hollywood’s Gene Tierney, who was Cassini’s second wife.

36. ___ of God (epithet for Jesus) : LAMB
“Agnus Dei” is Latin for “Lamb of God”, a term used in Christian faiths for Jesus Christ, symbolizing His role as a sacrificial offering to atone for the sins of man.

39. “Jolly old” fellow : CHAP
“Chap” is an informal term for “lad, fellow”, especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.

41. Lipton selection : TEAS
Sir Thomas Lipton was a grocer in Glasgow, Scotland. He founded a tea packing company in North America in 1893, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was very successful as his blends of tea became popular in the US. Despite the Lipton roots in the UK, Lipton black tea isn’t available there, so I’ve always thought of it as an American brand.

43. City on Utah Lake : OREM
Orem, Utah was originally known as “Sharon” (a Biblical name), then “Provo Bench”, and in 1914 it was given the family name of a local railroad operator called “Orem”. Orem gave itself the nickname “Family City USA” and sure enough in 2010, “Forbes” rated Orem the 5th best place in the country to raise a family.

45. Shot that proves 17-/57-Across : BUZZER BEATER
In basketball, a “buzzer beater” is a shot taken just before the game ends, which successfully passes through the net after the buzzer has sounded.

48. Film noir weather condition : FOG
The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

62. Chips Ahoy! alternative : OREO
How the Oreo cookie came to get its name seems to have been lost in the mists of time. One theory is that it comes from the French “or” meaning “gold”, a reference to the gold color of the original packing. Another suggestion is that the name is the Greek word “oreo” meaning “beautiful, nice, well-done”.

Chips Ahoy! is a Nabisco brand of chocolate chip cookies.

63. Smidgen : IOTA
Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

Our word “smidgen”, meaning a small amount, might come from the Scots word “smitch” that means the same thing or “a small insignificant person”.

67. Swiss peak in an Eastwood title : EIGER
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is a noted peak for mountain climbing, with its treacherous north face being the most famous approach to the summit. Over sixty climbers have died since 1935 on that north face.

“The Eiger Sanction” is a very entertaining action film that was released in 1975, which stars and was directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is all about assassins and mountain climbers, and is based on a 1972 novel of the same name by Trevanian (a pen name of author Rodney William Whitaker).

Down
1. The Beatles’ “___ Love You” : PS I
“P.S. I Love You” was recorded by the Beatles way back in 1962. On the recording, Ringo Starr is playing the maracas, not the drums. A session musician played the drums, replacing Pete Best who had just been fired by Brian Epstein. Ringo had not yet been “anointed” as Best’s replacement.

2. Fink : RAT
A “fink” is an informer, someone who rats out his cohorts.

3. “Rhythm ___ Dancer” (1992 hit by Snap!) : IS A
Snap! is a Eurodance group from Germany. Apparently, Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that arose in the 1980s.

4. Serving with a skewer : SHISH KEBAB
The name “kebab” (also “kabob”) covers a wide variety of meat dishes that originated in Persia. In the West, we usually use “kebab” when talking about shish kebab, which is meat (often lamb) served on a skewer. “Shish” comes from the Turkish word for “skewer”.

5. Shoe designer Blahnik : MANOLO
Manolo Blahnik is a Spanish fashion designer, born in the Canary Islands. He took some expert device in the early seventies and decided to stick to shoe design. Apparently, his shoes are all the rage (women’s only, I think).

6. Sean Connery, for one : SCOT
Sean Connery is of course most famous for playing the original James Bond in the successful series of movies. Back in his native Scotland, Connery is very active in politics and is a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party. He actively campaigns for Scottish independence from Britain and has stated that he believes Scotland will achieve that goal within his own lifetime.

7. Mauna Kea emission : LAVA
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, the peak of which is the highest point in the whole state. Mauna Kea is in effect the tip of a gigantic volcano rising up from the seabed.

8. Sam Adams product : ALE
Samuel Adams was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, from Boston Massachusetts. Adams followed his father into the family’s malthouse business a few years after young Samuel graduated from Harvard. There were generations of Adams family members who were “maltsters” i.e. those producing malt needed for making beer. Samuel Adams is often described as a brewer, but he was actually a malster. The Samuel Adams brand of beer isn’t directly associated with the Adams family, but it is named in honor of the patriot.

9. Moses’ sister : MIRIAM
According to the Bible, Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron. It was Miriam who hid baby Moses in a basket at the side of the river to avoid being killed as a newborn Hebrew boy.

12. Skip, like the H’s in “‘enry ‘iggins” : ELIDE
Eliza Doolittle is Professor Henry Higgins’ speech student in George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. Of course “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

13. Plant tissue : XYLEM
Xylem is a vascular tissue in many plants, the function of which is to transport water and some nutrients. It is xylem tissue that makes up what we know as wood.

19. General Assembly participant, for short : UN REP
The Charter of the United Nations was signed by the member states in San Francisco June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945. October 24 was chosen as United Nations Day in 1971, with the intent that UN Day become a public holiday in all UN member states.

22. Baselessly off-base? : AWOL
Absent without leave (AWOL)

23. Capital of Morocco : RABAT
Rabat is the capital city of the Kingdom of Morocco. After WWII, the United States maintained a major Air Force Base in Rabat, part of Strategic Air Command (SAC). Responding to pressure from the Moroccan government of King Mohammed V, the USAF pulled out in 1963.

24. The Arctic, for one : CLIME
Clime is just another word for climate, as in the expression “in search of warmer climes”.

28. Roxie in “Chicago,” e.g. : FLOOZY
“Floozy” is a derogative term for a woman who is deemed to be sexually promiscuous.

The wonderful 1975 musical “Chicago” is based on a 1926 play of the same name written by a news reporter called Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins had been assigned to cover the murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the “Chicago Tribune”, and used the story that unfolded as the basis for her play. Annan became the character Roxie Hart, and Gaertner became Velma Kelly. I’ve only ever seen the movie version of “Chicago” and never a live performance …

29. 1/24 of un jour : HEURE
In French, 1/24 of a day (jour) is an hour (heure).

30. Shakespeare character who says “I have set my life upon a cast” : RICHARD III
“Richard III” is one of the more famous of William Shakespeare’s historical plays. A well-known 1955 version of the play was made for the big screen with Laurence Olivier playing the title role. The most oft-quoted words from “Richard III” are probably the opening lines “Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this sun of York”, and Richard’s plea at the climax of battle “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”

34. Certain sorority woman : THETA
The Greek letter theta is the one that looks like a number zero with a horizontal line in the middle.

35. Setting for Scheherazade : HAREM
Scheherazade was a Persian queen of legend, and the storyteller in the wonderful “One Thousand and One Nights”.

40. Suspect, in police lingo : PERP
Perpetrator (perp.)

42. Certain bacteria-fighting drug : SULFA
“Sulfa drug” is a common term for sulphonamides. Many sulfa drugs have antibacterial properties, and were the first antimicrobial drugs developed. The first sulphonamide introduced to treat bacterial infections was named Prontosil, and was developed by Bayer AG in Germany.

46. Pleasingly plump : ZAFTIG
A woman who is “zaftig” has a full and shapely figure. “Zaftig” comes from the Yiddish word “zaftik” meaning “juicy”. I am not going to touch that one …

48. Aperture setting : F-STOP
Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in sharper photographs.

49. Yellowish hue : OCHRE
Ochre is often spelled “ocher” in the US (it’s “ochre” where I come from). Ocher is a light, yellowy-brown color, although variations of the pigment are possible such as red ocher and purple ocher.

55. Pro ___ distribution : RATA
“Pro rata” is a Latin phrase meaning “in proportion”.

56. Big wheel in the cheese world? : EDAM
Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

58. Online chuckle : LOL
Laugh out loud (LOL)

60. Test for future Ph.D.’s : GRE
Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

61. Moldavia, e.g.: Abbr. : SSR
I think that this clue might be a little misleading. Moldavia is a geographic and historical region lying partly in Romania and partly in the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova (usually referred to as “Moldova”) was the Moldavian Socialist Republic before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Return to top of page

For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Rainbow maker : PRISM
6. Bad-mouth : SLAM
10. Cereal word after Rice, Wheat or Corn : CHEX
14. An Obama girl : SASHA
15. Frisco’s state : CALI
16. Like unwashed hair : OILY
17. WIth 57-Across, a die-hard’s statement : IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL
20. Somewhat, informally : SORTA
21. TV’s “___ Edition” : INSIDE
22. In a mischievous manner : ARCHLY
25. Smucker’s container : JAR
26. President pro ___ : TEM
27. Hit that proves 17-/57-Across : WALK-OFF HOMER
31. Award for Best New American Play : OBIE
32. Designer Cassini : OLEG
33. Heart of the matter : PITH
36. ___ of God (epithet for Jesus) : LAMB
37. Makeup for the cheeks : ROUGE
39. “Jolly old” fellow : CHAP
41. Lipton selection : TEAS
43. City on Utah Lake : OREM
44. “___, boy!” (cry to Rover) : HERE
45. Shot that proves 17-/57-Across : BUZZER BEATER
48. Film noir weather condition : FOG
51. ___ of the land : LAY
52. Access to a highway : ON-RAMP
53. More than just a five o’clock shadow : SCRUFF
55. Overhauled : REDID
57. See 17-Across : THE FAT LADY SINGS
62. Chips Ahoy! alternative : OREO
63. Smidgen : IOTA
64. Perjurers : LIARS
65. Tamed animals : PETS
66. Glitz : GLAM
67. Swiss peak in an Eastwood title : EIGER

Down
1. The Beatles’ “___ Love You” : PS I
2. Fink : RAT
3. “Rhythm ___ Dancer” (1992 hit by Snap!) : IS A
4. Serving with a skewer : SHISH KEBAB
5. Shoe designer Blahnik : MANOLO
6. Sean Connery, for one : SCOT
7. Mauna Kea emission : LAVA
8. Sam Adams product : ALE
9. Moses’ sister : MIRIAM
10. Not pros : CONS
11. Show-starting words : HIT IT!
12. Skip, like the H’s in “‘enry ‘iggins” : ELIDE
13. Plant tissue : XYLEM
18. Go after : TRY FOR
19. General Assembly participant, for short : UN REP
22. Baselessly off-base? : AWOL
23. Capital of Morocco : RABAT
24. The Arctic, for one : CLIME
25. Pedometer wearer, maybe : JOGGER
28. Roxie in “Chicago,” e.g. : FLOOZY
29. 1/24 of un jour : HEURE
30. Shakespeare character who says “I have set my life upon a cast” : RICHARD III
34. Certain sorority woman : THETA
35. Setting for Scheherazade : HAREM
38. Personify : EMBODY
40. Suspect, in police lingo : PERP
42. Certain bacteria-fighting drug : SULFA
46. Pleasingly plump : ZAFTIG
47. Strand, in a way : ENISLE
48. Aperture setting : F-STOP
49. Yellowish hue : OCHRE
50. Shake hands with, say : GREET
54. ETs pilot them : UFOS
55. Pro ___ distribution : RATA
56. Big wheel in the cheese world? : EDAM
58. Online chuckle : LOL
59. Pester : NAG
60. Test for future Ph.D.’s : GRE
61. Moldavia, e.g.: Abbr. : SSR

Return to top of page

The Best of the New York Times Crossword Collections
Amazon.com Widgets