0519-14 New York Times Crossword Answers 19 May 14, Monday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Michael Hawkins
THEME: Calling Terms … today’s themed answer each include a term associated with the calling, telephoning:

18A. Sound familiar : RING A BELL
24A. “Stop being such a pompous jerk!” : DIAL IT DOWN
40A. “Will you please hurry?” : WHAT IS THE HANG-UP?
52A. Extremely cool, in slang : OFF THE HOOK
61A. Do a job with minimal effort : PHONE IT IN

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 6m 25s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

6. Poe bird that quoth “Nevermore” : RAVEN
“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allen Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore” …

14. Opulent : RITZY
The adjective “ritzy” meaning “high quality and luxurious” derives from the opulent Ritz hotels in New York, London, Paris etc.

Cesar Ritz was a Swiss hotelier, who had a reputation for developing the most luxurious of accommodations and attracting the wealthiest clientèle. He opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris in 1898, and the second of his most famous hotels, the Ritz Hotel in London, in 1906. Ritz was lucky in his career, as before starting his own hotel chain, he had been dismissed from the Savoy Hotel in London, implicated in the disappearance of a substantial amount of wine and spirits.

18. Sound familiar : RING A BELL
The expression “rings a bell” is used when something seems familiar. It is thought that the phrase might be a reference to the famous experiments by the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov who famously trained dogs to give certain responses to stimuli such as the ringing of a bell.

Ivan Pavlov was studying gastric function in dogs in the 1890s when he observed that his subject dogs started to salivate before he even presented food to them. This “psychic secretion”, as he called it, interested him so much that he changed the direction of his research and studied the reactions of dogs to various stimuli that were associated with the presentation of food. Famously, he discovered that a dog could be conditioned to respond as though he was about to be fed, just by sensing some stimulus that he had come to associate with food. This might be a bell ringing, an electric shock (poor dog!) or perhaps the waving of a hand. Nowadays we might describe someone as “Pavlov’s Dog” if that person responds just the way he/she has been conditioned to respond, rather than applying critical thinking.

23. Timber wolf : LOBO
The timber wolf is also known as the gray wolf, tundra wolf or lobo.

29. Russian city on the Ural : ORSK
The city of Orsk is located about 60 miles southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains in Russia. The city lies on the Ural River, which forms the boundary between Europe and Asia. As a result, Orsk can be considered as lying in two continents. Orsk also lies where the Or River joins the Ural, and so the Or gives the city its name.

The Ural River rises in the Ural Mountains in Russia and flows for half its length through Russian territory until it crosses the border into Kazakhstan, finally emptying into the Caspian Sea.

37. “Zoinks!” : EGAD!
“Egad!” developed as a polite way of saying “oh God!” in the late 1600s and is an expression of fear or surprise somewhat like “good grief!”.

39. Actress Sandra of “A Summer Place” : DEE
The actress Sandra Dee started out as a model before moving into film. After a promising start to her career it seemed to peter out, and the public became more interested in her 7-year marriage to Bobby Darin. And of course she will forever be remembered from the song in the movie and stage-show “Grease” called “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee”.

“A Summer Place” is a 1959 movie based on a novel of the same name by Sloan Wilson. The film is a romantic drama starring Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire. “Theme from A Summer Place” became a number one hit for Percy Faith in 1960.

46. Sonnets and haikus : POEMS
A sonnet is a short poem with varying rhyming schemes but always with 14 lines. The sonnet form has been around at least since the 13th century. The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three quatrains (4 lines) and a final couplet (2 lines).

A haiku is a very elegant form of Japanese verse. When writing a haiku in English we tend to impose the rule that the verse must contain 17 syllables. This restriction comes from the rule in Japanese that the verse must contain 17 sound units called “moras”, but moras and syllables aren’t the same thing. What the difference is though, is not so clear to me. Here’s an example of a Haiku:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator

49. Gunderson on “The Simpsons” : GIL
The character Gil Gunderson is a real estate agent on the Fox animated show “The Simpsons”. Gunderson is also known as “Ol’ Gil” and is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.

50. One whose work is taxing, for short? : CPA
Certified public accountant (CPA)

60. Hurry : HIE
“To hie” is to move quickly, to bolt.

Down
2. Language of Delhi : HINDI
New Delhi is the capital city of India. New Delhi resides within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (otherwise known as the metropolis of Delhi). New Delhi and Delhi, therefore, are two different things.

4. Lao-___ : TZU
Lao Tse (also Lao-Tzu) was a central figure in the development of the religion/philosophy of Taoism.

5. Relationship between barnacles and whales, e.g. : SYMBIOSIS
Barnacles and whales can have a symbiotic relationship described as commensalism. The barnacles benefits from attaching itself to the back of the whale so that plankton becomes available for feeding as the whale moves through the water. The whale doesn’t benefit from the presence of the barnacles, and nor is it harmed.

The term “symbiosis” describes a close relationship between members of two different species that benefits at least one member. There are three types of symbiotic relationship. In mutualism, the relationship is mutually beneficial. In parasitism, only member benefits, and the other is harmed. In commensalism, one species benefits without any significant impact on the other.

6. Stood on hind legs, with “up” : RARED
Horses “rear up” on their hind legs. I think that the term “rare up” is used as well, for the same meaning, but I think that it might be slang.

7. Boxer known as “The Greatest” : ALI
One of Muhammad Ali’s famous most famous lines is “I am the greatest!” So famous is the line that in 1963, Ali released an album of spoken word that had the title “I Am the Greatest!”

8. ___ Trapp family of “The Sound of Music” : VON
“The Sound of Music” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers”, a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war and one family descendant from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I reside in California.

9. The “E” of E.S.L.: Abbr. : ENG
English as a Second Language (ESL) is sometimes referred to as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

10. Best Actress Oscar winner Patricia : NEAL
Patricia Neal won her Best Actress Oscar relatively late in her career, for playing the middle-aged housekeeper in 1963’s “Hud”. A few years’ later she was offered the role of Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate” but turned it down. Famously, Neal had an affair with Gary Cooper who was married at the time. She became pregnant with his child, but he persuaded her to have an abortion. Not long afterwards Neal married British writer Roald Dahl (of “Willy Wonka” fame) and the couple had five children together before divorcing in 1983.

11. Frozen structure that facilitates animal migration : ICE BRIDGE
An ice bridge is temporary frozen structure that spans bodies of water. Ice bridges can facilitate that migration of animals, migration that would not be possible through the body of water itself. The most significant ice bridges are those caused by glaciation as they can be extremely large and span very deep bodies of water.

12. World’s largest amphitheater : COLOSSEUM
The Colosseum of Rome was the largest amphitheater in the whole of the Roman Empire in its day, and could seat about 50,000 people. Even today, it is the largest amphitheater in the world. The structure was originally called the “Amphitheatrum Flavium” but the name changed to “Colosseum” when a colossal statue of Emperor Nero was located nearby.

13. Former Senate minority whip Jon : KYL
Jon Kyl is a former US Senator from Arizona, serving from 1995 until his retirement in 2013. Kyl was also the Senate Minority Whip. He is the son of John Henry Kyl who served as the US Representative for the State of Iowa for many years. Kyl now works as a lobbyist.

22. Since Jan. 1 : YTD
Year-to-date (ytd)

25. Aspiring atty.’s exam : LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has been around since 1948.

35. What may have a “no bull” policy? : CHINA SHOP
The idiom “like a bull in a china shop” has been around since the early 1800s.

36. Cylindrical alternative to French fries : TATER TOTS
Ore-Ida founders came up with the idea for Tater Tots when they were deciding what to do with residual cuts of potato. They chopped up the leftovers, added flour and seasoning, and extruded the mix through a large hole making a sausage that they cut into small cylinders. We eat 70 million pounds of this extruded potato every year!

38. Sharply dressed guy : DAPPER DAN
A man described as a “Dapper Dan” is one who is dressed very nattily. There have been a few people who have used the Dapper Dan moniker over the years, including a gangster in the twenties called Dapper Dan Hogan and a baseball player who was active around the same time called Dapper Dan Howley.

41. Kind of palm : SAGO
When I was growing up in Ireland I was very familiar with pearl sago, which is very similar to pearl tapioca. Pearls of sago are simply little balls of sago starch used to make breads, pancakes, biscuits, or the steamed puddings that we ate as kids. Sago comes from pith of the sago palm tree. To get at the starch the tree has to be cut down and the trunk split to reveal the pith. The pith is crushed and manipulated to make the starch available, which is then washed out of a fibrous suspension. One sago palm tree yields about 150-300 kg of starch. Personally I love the stuff, but then, I am a bit weird …

42. End-of-week cry : TGIF!
“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) is a relatively new expression that originated in Akron, Ohio. It was a catchphrase used first by disk jockey Jerry Healy of WAKR in the early seventies.

43. 2014 biblical title role for Russell Crowe : NOAH
The 2014 epic film “Noah” stars Russell Crowe in the title role, and is based on the biblical story of “Noah’s Ark”. The film was largely shot in Southern Iceland. Scenes that included the ark itself were shot in Upper Brookville, New York at the Planting Fields Arboretum.

53. Basic belief : TENET
A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he holds”.

56. Ken who wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” : KESEY
Ken Kesey wrote the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Kesey was one of a group of friends who called themselves the “Merry Pranksters”, a bunch of guys who were associated with the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, all icons of the Beat Generation.

62. “Nobody Knows the Trouble ___ Seen” : I’VE
“Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” is a old spiritual song that has been recorded by many artists over the years, including respected renditions by Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong and Paul Robeson.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “___ all she wrote” : THAT’S
6. Poe bird that quoth “Nevermore” : RAVEN
11. “Disgusting!” : ICK!
14. Opulent : RITZY
15. Without company : ALONE
16. Playfully shy : COY
17. “To recap …” : IN SUM …
18. Sound familiar : RING A BELL
20. Suffix with orange or lemon : -ADE
21. “See ya!” : BYE!
23. Timber wolf : LOBO
24. “Stop being such a pompous jerk!” : DIAL IT DOWN
29. Russian city on the Ural : ORSK
31. Grassy cover : SOD
32. Aye’s opposite : NAY
33. Get out of bed : RISE
34. Represent : ACT AS
37. “Zoinks!” : EGAD!
39. Actress Sandra of “A Summer Place” : DEE
40. “Will you please hurry?” : WHAT IS THE HANG-UP?
44. Physically strong : FIT
45. Multigenerational story : SAGA
46. Sonnets and haikus : POEMS
47. Some: Fr. : UNES
49. Gunderson on “The Simpsons” : GIL
50. One whose work is taxing, for short? : CPA
51. Meadow bird : LARK
52. Extremely cool, in slang : OFF THE HOOK
57. Begin to come out of sleep : STIR
59. Play it by ___ : EAR
60. Hurry : HIE
61. Do a job with minimal effort : PHONE IT IN
65. Daybreaks : DAWNS
67. Hooey : ROT
68. Dodge : EVADE
69. Came out of sleep : AWOKE
70. Special ___ : OPS
71. Train station : DEPOT
72. Full of the latest : NEWSY

Down
1. Group of three : TRIAD
2. Language of Delhi : HINDI
3. Adrift, say : AT SEA
4. Lao-___ : TZU
5. Relationship between barnacles and whales, e.g. : SYMBIOSIS
6. Stood on hind legs, with “up” : RARED
7. Boxer known as “The Greatest” : ALI
8. ___ Trapp family of “The Sound of Music” : VON
9. The “E” of E.S.L.: Abbr. : ENG
10. Best Actress Oscar winner Patricia : NEAL
11. Frozen structure that facilitates animal migration : ICE BRIDGE
12. World’s largest amphitheater : COLOSSEUM
13. Former Senate minority whip Jon : KYL
19. Lout : BOOR
22. Since Jan. 1 : YTD
25. Aspiring atty.’s exam : LSAT
26. 50% : ONE HALF
27. Hourly compensation : WAGE
28. When repeated, a child’s taunt : NYAH
30. Play for ___ : KEEPS
34. Horrible : AWFUL
35. What may have a “no bull” policy? : CHINA SHOP
36. Cylindrical alternative to French fries : TATER TOTS
38. Sharply dressed guy : DAPPER DAN
41. Kind of palm : SAGO
42. End-of-week cry : TGIF!
43. 2014 biblical title role for Russell Crowe : NOAH
48. “Canvas” for tattoos : SKIN
50. “___-ching!” : CHA
53. Basic belief : TENET
54. “That’s amazing!” : OH WOW!
55. Pig sounds : OINKS
56. Ken who wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” : KESEY
58. ___ instrument : REED
61. Expert : PRO
62. “Nobody Knows the Trouble ___ Seen” : I’VE
63. Faucet : TAP
64. Words of commitment : I DO
66. Amazement : AWE

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