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Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Reveal Answer: That’s Rich!
Themed answers might be described as “RICH”:
- 56A “You’re one to talk!,” or what can be said about the answers to the starred clues : THAT’S RICH!
- 17A *Layered dessert with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache : OPERA CAKE
- 25A *Evergreen used to make incense : SANDALWOOD
- 36A *Silicon Valley success story : TECH BILLIONAIRE
- 46A *Triangular landform : RIVER DELTA
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
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Bill’s time: 5m 40s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
9 “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Mo : ROCCA
Mo Rocca is a humorist and journalist who is perhaps best known for his appearances on “CBS Sunday Morning”. He had gotten his start in television appearing on the Comedy Channel’s “The Daily Show”. My wife and I listen to him on the excellent NPR quiz show “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”
16 Cartography collection : ATLAS
Cartography is the art of producing maps.
17 *Layered dessert with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache : OPERA CAKE
Opera cake is a confection from French cuisine. A traditional recipe calls for layers of almond sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, interleaved with ganache and a coffee-flavored buttercream, with the whole thing covered in a chocolate glaze. Wow!
25 *Evergreen used to make incense : SANDALWOOD
The wood from sandalwood trees and the extracted sandalwood oil have a very distinct and desirable fragrance. As a result, sandalwood is one of the most expensive woods in the world. The price is further exacerbated by the fact that sandalwoods are very slow-growing trees, and have in the past been over-harvested.
29 Celtic “The Celts” singer : ENYA
1987’s “Enya” is the debut studio album released by Irish singer Enya. The tracks were all composed by Enya for the soundtrack of the 1987 BBC documentary series “The Celts”. The album was released in 1992, this time under the title “The Celts”. Sales of the rerelease outperformed the original.
30 Sambuca flavor : ANISE
Sambuca is an Italian liqueur that is flavored with anise. It is often served straight up with three coffee beans floating on the surface. The beans are said to represent health, happiness and prosperity. A more “saucy” representation for the beans is husband, wife and mistress.
33 Network that airs many MGM and RKO films : TCM
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels as it delivers just what its name promises, i.e. classic movies.
36 *Silicon Valley success story : TECH BILLIONAIRE
The Santa Clara Valley, located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.
40 CIA forerunner : OSS
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed during WWII in order to carry out espionage behind enemy lines. A few years after the end of the war the OSS functions were taken up by a new group, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947.
42 Eatery with its own lingo : DINER
Diner lingo, the verbal slang used by the staff, can be very colorful. Here are a few examples:
- Adam & Eve on a raft: two poached eggs on toast
- Adam & Eve on a raft and wreck ’em: two scrambled eggs on toast
- Burn one: put a hamburger on the grill
- Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion
- Down: on toast
- Whiskey down: on rye toast
- Cluck and grunt: ham and eggs
46 *Triangular landform : RIVER DELTA
A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …
53 Wheelchair-bound “Glee” teen : ARTIE
Artie Abrams is a character in the Fox television show “Glee”. He is played by the young actor Kevin McHale, and is the character who gets around in a wheelchair.
60 Discovery astronaut Ochoa : ELLEN
Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman in space, serving on a nine-day mission on the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She spent over 1,000 hours in space over the course of four missions. In 2013, Ochoa became only the second woman to serve as Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Down
1 “House of the Dragon” network : HBO
The “House of the Dragon” fantasy TV series serves as a prequel to the TV show “Game of Thrones”. Both shows are adaptations of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels by George R. R. Martin. Due to the success of “Game of Thrones”, expectations were high for “House of the Dragon”. The premiere episode of the latter was really well received by audiences, and so it took just five days for HBO to decide to renew “House of Dragons” for a second season.
2 Alley-__ : OOP
An alley-oop is a play in basketball in which one player lobs the ball close to the basket for a teammate who usually scores with a slam dunk.
6 Disney princess voiced by Anika Noni Rose : TIANA
As of 2022, there were 12 “official” Disney princesses:
- Princess Snow White (from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”)
- Princess Cinderella (from “Cinderella”)
- Princess Aurora (from “Sleeping Beauty)
- Princess Ariel (from “The Little Mermaid”)
- Princess Belle (from “Beauty and the Beast”)
- Princess Jasmine (from “Aladdin”)
- Princess Pocahontas (from “Pocahontas”)
- Princess Mulan (from “Mulan”)
- Princess Tiana (from “The Princess and the Frog”)
- Princess Rapunzel (from “Tangled”)
- Princess Merida (from “Brave”)
- Princess Moana (from “Moana”)
“The Princess and the Frog” is an animated feature released in 2009 by Walt Disney Studios. The film is set in New Orleans in the twenties. A waitress called Tiana kisses a prince who had been turned into a frog, and then she herself turns into a frog.
Anika Noni Rose is a singer from Bloomfield, Connecticut who is known to moviegoers as the star of the 2006 film “Dreamgirls”. More recently, Rice played Beneatha Younger in a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” on Broadway.
7 Arcade coin : TOKEN
Our word “arcade” comes from the Latin “arcus” meaning “arc”. The first arcades were passages made from a series of arches. This could be an avenue of trees, and eventually any covered avenue. I remember arcades lined with shops and stores when I was growing up on the other side of the Atlantic. Arcades came to be lined with lots of amusements, resulting in amusement arcades and video game arcades.
8 “Best Song Ever” singers __ Direction : ONE
“Best Song Ever” is a 2013 song released by the English-Irish boy band One Direction. While the song did pretty well in the charts, it didn’t really live up to the title “Best Song Ever”.
One Direction is a UK-based boy band. Each member of the band competed in the reality show “The X Factor”, and didn’t do very well. The five were then combined in a boy band at a later stage of the competition. They only finished in third place, but I don’t think they care. They’re doing very, very well for “losers” …
10 Canadian capital : OTTAWA
Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.
12 __ shorts: garment with lots of pockets : CARGO
Cargo pants are trousers made out of hard-wearing material and have several large pockets designed to carry tools. They are sometimes referred to as “combat pants”, reflecting the original use by members of the armed forces in the 1930s and 1940s.
18 Peppery salad slice : RADISH
Radishes are edible root vegetables that are commonly grown for use in salads. Gardeners also use radishes as companion plants as the odor given off can deter pests such as aphids, ants and cucumber beetles.
21 Poem division : CANTO
A canto is a section of a long poem. “Canto” is the Italian for “song”, and is a term first used by the Italian poet Dante.
22 Muse for poets : ERATO
In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.
23 Part of one’s inheritance? : GENES
A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.
24 “Sound Mind, Sound Body” athletic brand : ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese company based in Kobe that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The company name comes from the first letters of the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano”, which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.
26 “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two” director Villeneuve : DENIS
Denis Villeneuve is a Canadian filmmaker who has directed several hit movies, including “Sicario” (2015), “Arrival” (2016), “Blade Runner 2049” (2017), “Dune” (2021) and “Dune: Part Two” (2024).
28 DOI head Haaland : DEB
Deb Haaland became US Secretary of the Interior in 2021, making her the first Native-American Cabinet secretary. However, she was not the first Native American to serve in the Cabinet. That honor went to Charles Curtis, US Vice President under Herbert Hoover.
31 Jet : PLANE
The first jet fighter to go into operation was Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262, in April of 1944. Three months later, the first British jet fighter went into service: the Gloster Meteor. The first operational American fighter was the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, which entered into service in late 1944.
38 Confidentiality contract, for short : NDA
Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
47 Novelist Calvino : ITALO
As well as being an author, Italo Calvino was a famous Italian journalist. He was a supporter of communism and so wasn’t very popular in the US nor in Britain.
48 “Behold!” : VOILA!
The French word “voilà” means “there it is”, and “voici” means “here it is”. The terms come from “voi là” meaning “see there” and “voi ici” meaning “see here”.
49 Christine of the Paramount+ series “Evil” : LAHTI
Christine Lahti is an actress probably best known for playing Dr. Kate Austen on the TV medical drama “Chicago Hope”. If you read “The Huffington Post” you might run across her as well, as Lahti is a contributing blogger.
“Evil” is a TV series, a drama show about three people appointed by the Roman Catholic church to investigate reported supernatural incidents.
54 Rae of “Barbie” : ISSA
In the 2023 hit movie “Barbie”, actress Issa Rae plays President Barbie, the ruler of Barbieland.
57 Hoppy brew, for short : IPA
India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.
58 Cartoon frame : CEL
Animation cels are transparent sheets made of celluloid acetate that were used in traditional hand-drawn animation to create animated films. They were first introduced in the 1930s and were widely used in animation production until the late 1990s, when digital animation techniques began to dominate the industry.
59 Pillbox, for one : HAT
A pillbox hat is so called because it looks somewhat like a larger version of a small, cylindrical box used to carry pills. It has a flat crown, upright sides and no brim. Famously, First Lady Jackie Kennedy was wearing a pink pillbox hat as she rode in the car beside her husband when he was assassinated.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 All the rage : HOT
4 “Same here” : DITTO
9 “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Mo : ROCCA
14 Sweetie : BOO
15 Strike caller? : UNION
16 Cartography collection : ATLAS
17 *Layered dessert with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache : OPERA CAKE
19 Barren and severe : STARK
20 Dress style : A-LINE
21 Plug in : CHARGE
22 Quaint cry : EGAD!
25 *Evergreen used to make incense : SANDALWOOD
27 Live (in) : RESIDE
29 Celtic “The Celts” singer : ENYA
30 Sambuca flavor : ANISE
31 Cooped (up) : PENT
33 Network that airs many MGM and RKO films : TCM
36 *Silicon Valley success story : TECH BILLIONAIRE
40 CIA forerunner : OSS
41 Mountain route : PASS
42 Eatery with its own lingo : DINER
43 Bridge : SPAN
45 Cashless exchange : BARTER
46 *Triangular landform : RIVER DELTA
51 Game with a rhyming name : I-SPY
52 Performs penance : ATONES
53 Wheelchair-bound “Glee” teen : ARTIE
55 Up : RAISE
56 “You’re one to talk!,” or what can be said about the answers to the starred clues : THAT’S RICH!
60 Discovery astronaut Ochoa : ELLEN
61 Pigpens : STIES
62 Shade of green : PEA
63 Map lines : ROADS
64 Rather, informally : KINDA
65 Outside the mainstream, genrewise : ALT
Down
1 “House of the Dragon” network : HBO
2 Alley-__ : OOP
3 Low digit? : TOE
4 Binary : DUAL
5 Carve : INCISE
6 Disney princess voiced by Anika Noni Rose : TIANA
7 Arcade coin : TOKEN
8 “Best Song Ever” singers __ Direction : ONE
9 Without thinking things through : RASHLY
10 Canadian capital : OTTAWA
11 Spanish “Of course” : CLARO
12 __ shorts: garment with lots of pockets : CARGO
13 Inquired : ASKED
18 Peppery salad slice : RADISH
21 Poem division : CANTO
22 Muse for poets : ERATO
23 Part of one’s inheritance? : GENES
24 “Sound Mind, Sound Body” athletic brand : ASICS
26 “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two” director Villeneuve : DENIS
28 DOI head Haaland : DEB
31 Jet : PLANE
32 Raised trains : ELS
33 Shades : TINTS
34 Advance slowly : CREEP
35 “__ Christmas!” : MERRY
37 Apple tablets : IPADS
38 Confidentiality contract, for short : NDA
39 Less stuffy : AIRIER
43 Had a feeling : SENSED
44 Primps : PREENS
45 Went for a run? : BATTED
46 Less common : RARER
47 Novelist Calvino : ITALO
48 “Behold!” : VOILA!
49 Christine of the Paramount+ series “Evil” : LAHTI
50 Coach : TRAIN
54 Rae of “Barbie” : ISSA
56 Sound of shame : TSK!
57 Hoppy brew, for short : IPA
58 Cartoon frame : CEL
59 Pillbox, for one : HAT
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