Constructed by: Agnes Davidson & C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris
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Theme: Use a Body Part
Our themed answers today are phrases involving the use of a body part:
- 18A…Mug for the camera..MAKE A FACE
- 23A…Pitch in..LEND A HAND
- 37A…Do the slightest thing..LIFT A FINGER
- 50A…What the winning quarterback may do as time runs out..TAKE A KNEE
- 57A…Theatrical “Good luck!”..BREAK A LEG!
Bill’s time: 5m 14s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…With 66-Across, crisp serving with pâté..MELBA …
(66A…See 1-Across.. … TOAST)
Melba toast is a dry, thinly sliced toast that is usually served with soup or salad. Melba toast was created by chef Auguste Escoffier for opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, for whom he also created the dessert called Peach Melba.
10…Australian gem..OPAL
97% of the world’s opals come from Australia, so it’s no surprise perhaps that the opal is the national gemstone of the country. The state of South Australia provides the bulk of the world’s production, about 80%.
14…Mountains between Europe and Asia..URALS
The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.
15…Singer Guthrie..ARLO
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. Both father and son are renowned for their singing of protest songs about social injustice. Arlo is most famous for his epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, a song that lasts a full 18m 34s. In the song Guthrie tells how, after being drafted, he was rejected for service in the Vietnam War based on his criminal record. He had only one incident on his public record, a Thanksgiving Day arrest for littering and being a public nuisance when he was 18-years-old.
18…Mug for the camera..MAKE A FACE
The verb “to mug” means to make an exaggerated facial expression. The term comes from mugs used to drink beer (called Toby mugs) that are the made in the shape of heads with grotesque expressions. “Mug” can also be a noun meaning “face”.
20…Govt. assistance program..SSI
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is federal program that provides financial relief to persons with low incomes who are 65 or older, or who are blind or disabled. The SSI program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) even though the the Social Security trust fund is not used for SSI payments. SSI payments come out of general tax revenue.
22…Hot spot..SAUNA
As my Finnish-American wife will tell you, “sauna” is a Finnish word, and is correctly pronounced “sow-nah” (with “sow” as in the female pig).
27…Battery post..ANODE
A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.
30…Some iTunes downloads, briefly..EPS
An extended play record, CD or download (EP) contains more music than a single, but less than an LP.
32…Queen __..BEE
A queen bee has a stinger, just like worker bees. When a worker bee stings, it leaves it stinger in its victim. The worker bee dies after losing its stinger as the loss rips out part of its insides. However, a queen bee can sting with impunity as the stinger’s anatomy is different.
41…Voice of Carl Fredricksen in “Up”..ED ASNER
“Up” is the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, featuring wonderful animation as we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, as Tracy appeared in his last film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.
42…”What’s up, __?”..DOC
Bugs Bunny first said “What’s up, Doc?” in the 1940 cartoon short “A Wild Hare”, addressing the hunter Elmer Fudd.
43…iPhone, e.g., briefly..PDA
Personal digital assistant (PDA)
48…Shoulder wrap..STOLE
A stole is a lady’s clothing accessory, a narrow shawl. It can be made of quite light decorative material, or it can be heavier especially if made of fur.
50…What the winning quarterback may do as time runs out..TAKE A KNEE
In football, when the quarterback “takes a knee” after the snap, the play immediately ends. The quarterback kneel is often used to run down the clock.
53…Contemptible sort..TWERP
“Twerp” and “pipsqueak” are both terms used for someone who is insignificant and contemptible.
55…Prosecutors, for short..DAS
District Attorney (DA)
56…Seine season..ETE
In French, “été” (summer) is “la saison chaude” (the warm season).
The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. The Seine empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.
57…Theatrical “Good luck!”..BREAK A LEG!
There are many, many colorful theories for the origins of the expression “break a leg”, used in the world of theater to mean “good luck”. Regardless of the origin, what is clear is that using the phrase “good luck” is considered to be very “bad luck”.
62…Grand soirée..GALA
“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a “soirée” is an “evening party”. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.
63…Super Bowl party bowlful..CHILI
The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.
64…Chianti and cabernet..REDS
Chianti is a red wine from the Chianti region of central Tuscany in Italy. Historically, Chianti was stored in a characteristically bulbous bottle wrapped in a straw basket. However, the pragmatists have won the day and regular wine bottles tend to be used nowadays.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has been around since the 17th century, and is the result of a chance crossing in southwestern France of the Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc grapes.
Down
1…Granola kin..MUESLI
“Muesli” is a Swiss-German term describing a breakfast serving of oats, nuts, fruit and milk. “Muesli” is a diminutive of the German word “Mues” meaning “puree”. Delicious …
The name “Granola” (and “Granula”) were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.
3…Rita Moreno or Gloria Estefan..LATINA
The Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress Rita Moreno is one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. Moreno got her big break, and won her Oscar, for playing Anita in the 1961 screen adaption of “West Side Story”.
Gloria Estefan is a Cuban American singer, born in Havana. Estefan fled Cuba along with her family after the Cuban Revolution, and ended up in Miami. Her father fought for the US military in Vietnam, and also took part in the doomed Bay of Pigs invasion. Years later, Estefan herself was approached by the CIA to work for the agency due to her skill with languages. She ended up doing quite well singing instead …
4…__-ray Disc..BLU
A CD player reads the information on the disc using a laser beam. The beam is produced by what’s called a laser diode, a device similar to a light-emitting diode (LED) except that a laser beam is emitted. That laser beam is usually red in CD and DVD players. Blu-ray players are so called as they use blue lasers.
5…Snake that bit Cleopatra..ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.
6…South Pacific island nation..SAMOA
The official name for the South Pacific country formerly known as Western Samoa is the Independent State of Samoa. “Samoa” is the western part of the island group, with American Samoa lying to the southeast. The whole group of islands used to be known as Navigators Island, a name given by European explorers in recognition of the seafaring skills of the native Samoans.
7…Shrimp kin..PRAWN
The terms “prawn” and “shrimp” are often used interchangeably on menus. Over in the UK, the term “prawn” is most common, while “shrimp” is seen more often here in North America. Sometimes there is a differentiation from a food standpoint, with “prawn” being used for larger species and “shrimp” for smaller species. As a result, “jumbo prawns” seems to be an acceptable descriptor for a dish, whereas “jumbo shrimp” seems to be an oxymoron.
8…Fraternal club member..ELK
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome.
12…Video game spots..ARCADES
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.
13…Dixie general..LEE
Robert E. Lee is renowned as a southern officer in the Civil War. Lee was a somewhat reluctant participant in the war in that he opposed the secession of his home state of Virginia from the Union. At the beginning of the war, President Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the whole Union Army but he declined, choosing instead to stay loyal to his home state. During the Civil War, Lee’s men referred to him affectionately as “Marse Robert”, with “marse” being slang for “master”.
“Dixie” is a nickname sometimes used for the American South, and often specifically for the original 11 states that seceded from the Union just prior to the Civil War. It’s apparently not certain how the name “Dixie” came about. One theory is that it comes from the term “dixie” which was used for currency issued by banks in Louisiana. The 10-dollar bills had the word “dix” on the reverse side, the French for “ten”. From the banknote, the French speaking area around New Orleans came to be known as Dixieland, and from there “Dixie” came to apply to the South in general.
31…Cents..PENNIES
The official name of our smallest denomination coin is a “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. However, in the UK the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets.
36…Pfizer rival..MERCK
Merck & Co., Inc. is a US company, once a subsidiary of the German company known today as Merck KGaA. The US subsidiary of the German firm was confiscated in 1917 during WWI, and set up as an independent company that grew into the giant that it is today.
Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company based in New York City that was founded in 1849 by cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart. Pfizer has an impressive list of successful products that includes Lipitor (to lower cholesterol), Viagra (to help with erectile disfunction) and Celebrex (an anti-inflammatory).
37…Plant that is poisonous to livestock..LOCOWEED
“Locoweed” is the familiar name given to several plants that produce a toxin known as swainsonine. Locoweeds tend to be quite palatable to livestock, even though it is poisonous to the animal. As such, ingestion of locoweed is the most widespread poisonous plant problem in the nation.
38…Rowlands of “The Notebook”..GENA
Gena Rowlands is an actress best known for the films made with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes. More recently, Rowlands played a lead role opposite James Garner in the weepy, weepy 2004 film “The Notebook”. “The Notebook” was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands was nominated for Oscars for her performances in two films: “Gloria” (1980) and “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974).
45…Lack of vim and vigor..ANEMIA
The term “anemia” (or “anaemia” as we write it back in Ireland) comes from a Greek word meaning “lack of blood”. Anemia is a lack of iron in the blood, or a low red blood cell count. Tiredness is a symptom of the condition.
51…Singer with the albums “19,” “21” and “25”..ADELE
Adele is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. More recently, her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US.
52…Sotomayor colleague..KAGAN
Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. I hear she is a fan of Jane Austen, and used to reread “Pride and Prejudice” once a year. Not a bad thing to do, I’d say …
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic justice on the US Supreme Court, and the third female justice. Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama to replace the retiring Justice David Souter.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…With 66-Across, crisp serving with pâté..MELBA …
6…Gush forth..SPEW
10…Australian gem..OPAL
14…Mountains between Europe and Asia..URALS
15…Singer Guthrie..ARLO
16…Bring on board, workwise..HIRE
17…Enjoy to the max..EAT UP
18…Mug for the camera..MAKE A FACE
20…Govt. assistance program..SSI
21…”Holy smokes!”..WOW!
22…Hot spot..SAUNA
23…Pitch in..LEND A HAND
27…Battery post..ANODE
29…Aggressive poker words..I RAISE
30…Some iTunes downloads, briefly..EPS
32…Queen __..BEE
33…Road problem needing patching..POTHOLE
36…Catcher’s protection..MASK
37…Do the slightest thing..LIFT A FINGER
39…Aware of..IN ON
41…Voice of Carl Fredricksen in “Up”..ED ASNER
42…”What’s up, __?”..DOC
43…iPhone, e.g., briefly..PDA
44…HOW THIS IS TYPED..IN CAPS
48…Shoulder wrap..STOLE
50…What the winning quarterback may do as time runs out..TAKE A KNEE
53…Contemptible sort..TWERP
55…Prosecutors, for short..DAS
56…Seine season..ETE
57…Theatrical “Good luck!”..BREAK A LEG!
59…”Really, bro?!”..AW, MAN!
61…Was sorry for..RUED
62…Grand soirée..GALA
63…Super Bowl party bowlful..CHILI
64…Chianti and cabernet..REDS
65…Paradise..EDEN
66…See 1-Across.. … TOAST
Down
1…Granola kin..MUESLI
2…Error remover..ERASER
3…Rita Moreno or Gloria Estefan..LATINA
4…__-ray Disc..BLU
5…Snake that bit Cleopatra..ASP
6…South Pacific island nation..SAMOA
7…Shrimp kin..PRAWN
8…Fraternal club member..ELK
9…Misfortunes..WOES
10…”Terrific … not!”..OH FUN!
11…Lounge with keyboard music..PIANO BAR
12…Video game spots..ARCADES
13…Dixie general..LEE
19…Remote batteries..AAAS
21…Stimulated, as one’s appetite..WHETTED
24…Scoop up, as salsa with a chip..DIP IN
25…Starting on..AS OF
26…Meat markets..DELIS
28…Cry of fright..EEK!
31…Cents..PENNIES
34…Attacked..HAD AT
35…All __ sudden..OF A
36…Pfizer rival..MERCK
37…Plant that is poisonous to livestock..LOCOWEED
38…Rowlands of “The Notebook”..GENA
39…Crooks may have fake ones..IDS
40…”You lie!”..NOT TRUE!
43…Company car, e.g…PERK
45…Lack of vim and vigor..ANEMIA
46…Colorful flower parts..PETALS
47…”Caught that movie last week”..SEEN IT
49…Detectives follow them..LEADS
51…Singer with the albums “19,” “21” and “25”..ADELE
52…Sotomayor colleague..KAGAN
54…Senate aide..PAGE
57…”I’m freezing!”..BRR!
58…Young fellow..LAD
59…Fake it..ACT
60…”__ goes there?”..WHO
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