0524-18 NY Times Crossword Answers 24 May 2018, Thursday

Constructed by: Erik Agard & Andy Kravis
Edited by: Will Shortz

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Today’s Reveal Answer: Spoonerisms

Themed clues are spoonerisms, in more ways than one. Each answer is a spoonerism of something eaten with a spoon:

  • 61A. What 18-, 25-, 37- and 52-Across all are (whose circled letters name something used with the base phrases) : SPOONERISMS
  • 18A. Horse races? : WHINNY MEETS (a spoonerism of “Mini-Wheats”)
  • 25A. Seinfeld’s stringed instrument? : JERRY CELLO (a spoonerism of “cherry Jell-O”)
  • 37A. Particularly pale Ph.D. ceremony? : PASTY HOODING (a spoonerism of “hasty pudding”)
  • 52A. Pony up for a certain online deal? : PAY GROUPON (a spoonerism of “Grey Poupon”)

Bill’s time: 12m 47s

Bill’s errors: 2

  • DAD (bad!)
  • THE WEEKND (The Week’n’B??!!)
  • Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

    Across

    1. Hot gossip : DISH

    To dish the dirt is to talk about someone or something without regard to veracity. The phrase comes from “dish” (in the sense of dishing out food) and “dirt” (in the sense of negative information).

    5. Onetime big name in Filipino politics : MARCOS

    Ferdinand Marcos served as President of the Philippines from 1965 until 1986, when he was forced to flee the country in the face of a popular revolt. Marcos, and his infamous wife Imelda, were known for their excesses and corruption. Ferdinand Marcos died in exile in Honolulu in 1989.

    15. When Romeo first sees Juliet : ACT I

    William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

    16. King played in film by Sean Connery, Richard Harris and Clive Owen : ARTHUR

    King Arthur (and his Round Table) probably never really existed, but his legend is very persistent. Arthur was supposedly a leader of the Romano-British as they tried to resist the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.

    “First Knight” is a not-so-great 1995 film based on the legend of King Arthur. There is a great cast, including Sean Connery as Arthur, Julia Ormond as Guinevere and Richard Gere as Lancelot.

    “Camelot” is a Lerner and Loewe musical based on the legend of King Arthur. The show was first shown on Broadway in 1960 and ran for 873 performances, with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton starring. “Camelot” was made into a very successful film version that was released in 1967 starring Richard Harris as King Arthur and Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere.

    “King Arthur” is a 2004 movie that is based on the legend of the British king. The twist is that the title character in the film is portrayed as a Roman officer rather than a British medieval knight. Clive Owen plays Arthur, and Keira Knightley plays Guinevere.

    18. Horse races? : WHINNY MEETS (a spoonerism of “Mini-Wheats”)

    Frosted Mini-Wheats is a breakfast cereal made by Kellogg’s. It consists of pieces of shredded wheat cereal that are frosted with sugar. Another major ingredient is gelatin (made from animal bones and fat), so vegans beware …

    20. “Happy Days” actress Moran : ERIN

    Erin Moran was the lovely actress most famous for playing Joanie Cunningham on “Happy Days” and the resulting (short-lived) spin-off sitcom called “Joanie Loves Chachi”. Long before she got her big break in “Happy Days”, Moran played Jenny Jones on the children’s drama “Daktari” from the late sixties.

    22. Unadon fish : EEL

    “Unadon” is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. “Unadon” is actually a contraction, of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).

    24. Awards since 1956 : OBIES

    The Obies are the “Off-Broadway Theater Awards”. The Obies have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients are chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper.

    25. Seinfeld’s stringed instrument? : JERRY CELLO (a spoonerism of “cherry Jell-O”)

    Jerry Seinfeld is a standup comedian and comic actor from Brooklyn, New York. Jerry is most famous for playing the lead in the “Seinfeld” sitcom from 1989 to 1998. “Seinfeld” was good for Jerry, earning him $267 million in 1998 alone, and making him the highest-paid celebrity that year.

    If you like Jell-O, then you might want to stop by LeRoy, New York where you can visit the only Jell-O museum in the world. While at the museum, you can walk along the Jell-O Brick Road …

    31. Literary character with a powerful face : HELEN

    According to Greek mythology, Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda. When Helen reached the age of marriage, she had many suitors as she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Menelaus was chosen as her husband, and he took her back to his home of Sparta. Paris, a Trojan prince, seduced Helen, as she eloped with him and travelled to Troy. This event sparked the Trojan War that waged between the city of Troy and Greece. Because of this war, Helen was said to have “the face that launched a thousand ships”. And because of this phrase, it has been suggested, probably by author Isaac Asimov, that the amount of beauty needed launch a single ship is one “millihelen”.

    34. 12th of 12: Abbr. : DEC

    December is the twelfth month in our calendar but was the tenth month in the old Roman calendar, hence the name (“decem” is Latin for “ten”). Back then there were only ten months in the year. “Ianuarius” (January) and “Februarius” (February) were then added as the eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Soon after, the year was reset and January and February became the first and second months.

    37. Particularly pale Ph.D. ceremony? : PASTY HOODING (a spoonerism of “hasty pudding”)

    “Hasty pudding” is a traditional British dish made of wheat flour cooked in boiling milk or water. Over in the US, there are variants of hasty pudding that are based on wheat, oat and corn.

    42. Grp. with a firearms museum : NRA

    National Rifle Association (NRA)

    43. ___ jokes : DAD

    I tell dad jokes all the time, just to annoy the kids …

    52. Pony up for a certain online deal? : PAY GROUPON (a spoonerism of “Grey Poupon”)

    Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that was started in 2008. The concept behind the business is illustrated by the company name, a portmanteau of “group coupon”. Each day a discount coupon is offered to website members who sign up knowing that the coupon requires a minimum number of “takers” in order for it to be valid. If too few buyers sign up, then the coupon is void. When sufficient buyers sign up the coupon is honored, and the retailer benefits from the large volume of business generated. Groupon was very successful for a couple of years and predictions were made that the company would reach $1 billion in sales faster than any other company in history. That forecast changed dramatically, and the CEO was ousted in February 2013.

    Grey Poupon mustard dates way back to 1777 when Maurice Grey started making mustard with Auguste Poupon in Dijon, France.

    57. Multinational electronics company : ACER

    Acer is a Taiwanese company that I visited a couple of times when I was in the electronics business. I was very impressed back then with the company’s dedication to quality, although I have heard that things haven’t gone so well in recent years …

    58. Sch. with a Concord campus : UNH

    The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is the largest university in the state. It was founded as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in 1866. The school’s athletic teams are known as the Wildcats.

    61. What 18-, 25-, 37- and 52-Across all are (whose circled letters name something used with the base phrases) : SPOONERISMS

    Spoonerisms are errors in speech in which letters or sounds are switched from one word to another. Famous examples are “Three cheers for our queer old dean” (dear old Queen … Victoria) and “Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?” (customary to kiss …). Spoonerisms are named after an Oxford don William Archibald Spooner, who was notorious for his tendency to pepper his speech with “spoonerisms”.

    64. Catherine, to Jules et Jim : AMIE

    A male friend in France is “un ami”, and a female friend is “une amie”.

    69. Hostlers’ workplaces : INNS

    A hostler (also “ostler”) is a groom usually employed at an inn to tend to horses. The spelling “Hostler” is used in American English, while “ostler” is used in British English. The term derives from the Latin “hostilarius”, the word for a monk who entertains guests at a monastery.

    Down

    1. ___ City, center of the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush : DAWSON

    The Klondike is a region in Canada’s Yukon territory that is perhaps most famous for the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s. About 100,000 prospectors migrated to the area, with many coming from Seattle and San Francisco. While a few prospectors did make their fortunes, the vast majority of prospectors endured the long trak and harsh conditions in vain.

    2. First name in a Washington Irving story : ICHABOD

    Ichabod Crane is the protagonist in Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. It’s thought that Irving “stole” the moniker from someone he actually knew, a captain in the army named Ichabod B. Crane.

    5. Parts of springs : MAYS

    The month of May was named after Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility.

    7. What a detour alters: Abbr. : RTE

    Route (rte.)

    12. Mulligan in a dice game : REROLL

    There doesn’t seem to be a definitive account for the origin of the term “Mulligan”, which is most often used for a shot do-over in golf. There are lots of stories about golfers named Mulligan though, and I suspect that one of them may be true …

    13. Cousin of a meadowlark : ORIOLE

    The songbird called an oriole builds an interesting nest. It is a woven cup-like structure that is suspended from a branch like a hammock.

    Meadowlarks are New World birds. Meadowlarks are distantly related to Old Word Blackbirds.

    14. Bodily connector : TENDON

    Tendons are bands of collagen that connect muscle to bone. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae, which are also connective tissue made out of collagen, but ligaments join bone to bone, and fasciae connect muscle to muscle.

    19. Loch ___ : NESS

    Loch Ness is one of the two most famous lakes in Scotland. Loch Ness is famous for its “monster”, and Loch Lomond is famous for the lovely song “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”. Oh, ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road …

    25. Baby kangaroos : JOEYS

    In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just the one name for young kangaroos, i.e. joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.

    27. Masala ___ (hot, spicy drink) : CHAI

    Masala chai is an Indian drink made with black tea (the “chai) and mixed spices (the “masala”).

    30. Best Buy buy : HDTV

    Best Buy is a retailer specializing in the supply of consumer electronics. Best Buy services include the famous “Geek Squad”, a band of technical experts that will help solve your computer and other consumer electronic problems.

    33. What Tropical Rain Forest is, in a Crayola box : DARK GREEN

    In the year 2000, the Crayola company held the “Crayola Color Census 2000”, in which people were polled and asked for their favorite Crayola colors. President George W. Bush chose “Blue Bell” and Tiger Woods chose “Wild Strawberry”.

    35. Oscar winner Sophia : LOREN

    Sophia Loren certainly has earned her exalted position in the world of movies. In 1962 Loren won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the Italian film “Two Women”, the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking performance. She received a second nomination for Best Actress for her role in “Marriage Italian-Style”, another Italian-language movie, released in 1964.

    44. Portable music player brand : DISCMAN

    The Discman was Sony’s first portable CD player and was introduced in 1984. The Discman was a follow-up to the incredibly successful Walkman portable audio cassette players. Eventually, the Discman name was dropped and today’s Sony portable CD players are called Walkmans.

    46. City on Puget Sound : TACOMA

    Tacoma is a city on Puget Sound in the state of Washington. The city took its name from Mount Rainier that is nearby, as the peak used to be known as Mount Tahoma.

    George Vancouver was a British explorer, and an officer in the Royal Navy. As well as exploring the coast of Australia, he is best known for his travels along the northwest coast of North America. The city of Vancouver was named in his honor. Travelling with him on his American voyage was a lieutenant Peter Puget, and in his honor, Vancouver named the waters south of the Tacoma Narrows “Puget’s Sound”. Nowadays, the name “Puget Sound” describes an area much greater than Vancouver had envisioned.

    48. Droid rival : IPHONE

    The Droid is a smartphone from Motorola that runs on Google’s Android operating system.

    49. ___-pei (wrinkly dog) : SHAR

    The shar-pei breed of dog is that one with the wrinkly face and really dark tongue. The breed originated in China, with “shar-pei” being the British spelling of the Cantonese name.

    51. Pack in Pac-Man : GHOSTS

    The Pac-Man arcade game was first released in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points. The name comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, known for his voracious appetite. The spin-off game called Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981.

    54. Let out of the corral : UNPEN

    “Corral” is the Spanish word for an enclosure for livestock, and is a word we’ve imported into English. Ultimately, the term comes from the Vulgar Latin “currale” meaning “enclosure for carts”, itself coming from “currus”, the Latin for “cart”.

    56. Out : ALIBI

    “Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi’”.

    62. Opposite of a poetry slam? : ODE

    A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read their own work (usually), with winners being chosen by members of audience. Apparently the first poetry slam took place in Chicago in 1984. Now there is a Nation Poetry Slam that takes place each year, with representatives from the US, Canada and France.

    63. Pince-___ : NEZ

    Pince-nez are eyeglasses clipped to the bridge of the nose. “Pince-nez” is French, and translates as “pinch the nose”.

    Complete List of Clues/Answers

    Across

    1. Hot gossip : DISH
    5. Onetime big name in Filipino politics : MARCOS
    11. Compete in a harness race : TROT
    15. When Romeo first sees Juliet : ACT I
    16. King played in film by Sean Connery, Richard Harris and Clive Owen : ARTHUR
    17. “Take one” : HERE
    18. Horse races? : WHINNY MEETS (a spoonerism of “Mini-Wheats”)
    20. “Happy Days” actress Moran : ERIN
    21. Base bosses, briefly : SARGES
    22. Unadon fish : EEL
    23. Walnut, for one : WOOD
    24. Awards since 1956 : OBIES
    25. Seinfeld’s stringed instrument? : JERRY CELLO (a spoonerism of “cherry Jell-O”)
    28. “___ fair!” : NOT
    29. Pics : SHOTS
    31. Literary character with a powerful face : HELEN
    32. Stinkeroo : DUD
    34. 12th of 12: Abbr. : DEC
    35. Security lapse : LEAK
    37. Particularly pale Ph.D. ceremony? : PASTY HOODING (a spoonerism of “hasty pudding”)
    41. Amps (up) : REVS
    42. Grp. with a firearms museum : NRA
    43. ___ jokes : DAD
    45. Bet : STAKE
    48. Articles : ITEMS
    50. Doctor or engineer : RIG
    52. Pony up for a certain online deal? : PAY GROUPON (a spoonerism of “Grey Poupon”)
    55. Rough : HARSH
    57. Multinational electronics company : ACER
    58. Sch. with a Concord campus : UNH
    59. Having spotted colors : CALICO
    60. Recommended amount : DOSE
    61. What 18-, 25-, 37- and 52-Across all are (whose circled letters name something used with the base phrases) : SPOONERISMS
    64. Catherine, to Jules et Jim : AMIE
    65. Watched : TENDED
    66. Tug or tub : BOAT
    67. Output of a spinning jenny : YARN
    68. Pooh-pooh, with “at” : SNEEZE

    Down

    1. ___ City, center of the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush : DAWSON
    2. First name in a Washington Irving story : ICHABOD
    3. Provoke a fight, colloquially : STIR IT UP
    4. Depend (on) : HINGE
    5. Parts of springs : MAYS
    6. Inlet : ARM
    7. What a detour alters: Abbr. : RTE
    8. Verbal tip of the hat : CHEERS!
    9. Peripheral : OUTER
    10. “Are you kidding me?,” in texts : SRSLY?
    11. R&B singer who had a 2015 #1 hit with “Can’t Feel My Face” : THE WEEKND
    12. Mulligan in a dice game : REROLL
    13. Cousin of a meadowlark : ORIOLE
    14. Bodily connector : TENDON
    19. Loch ___ : NESS
    25. Baby kangaroos : JOEYS
    26. Write indelibly : ETCH
    27. Masala ___ (hot, spicy drink) : CHAI
    30. Best Buy buy : HDTV
    33. What Tropical Rain Forest is, in a Crayola box : DARK GREEN
    35. Oscar winner Sophia : LOREN
    36. What queso de bola is another name for : EDAM
    38. One who knows what’s coming : SEER
    39. More than suspicious of : ONTO
    40. Military post : GARRISON
    44. Portable music player brand : DISCMAN
    45. Some “me” time : SPA DAY
    46. City on Puget Sound : TACOMA
    47. Naval agreement : AYE, SIR
    48. Droid rival : IPHONE
    49. ___-pei (wrinkly dog) : SHAR
    51. Pack in Pac-Man : GHOSTS
    53. Boots : OUSTS
    54. Let out of the corral : UNPEN
    56. Out : ALIBI
    59. Give up : CEDE
    62. Opposite of a poetry slam? : ODE
    63. Pince-___ : NEZ