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Jump to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
CROSSWORD SETTER: Tom Uttormark & C.C. Burnikel
THEME: Two Things Made into One … each of today’s themed answers is a common object made from two words. Each of those words describes two different but similar things:
17A. Whole-grain food … or two universities BROWN RICE (Brown University & Rice University)
40A. Soviet military force … or two ants RED ARMY (red ant & army ant)
64A. Bridal bouquet flower … or two waters WHITE ROSE (whitewater and rosewater)
11D. Immigrant’s document … or two rooms GREEN CARD (green room & card room)
35D. Aristocrat … or two moons BLUE BLOOD (blue moon & blood moon)
BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 4m 55s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
5. Koi or goldfish CARP
Koi are also called Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.
Goldfish are small carp that were first domesticated in ancient China. Originally silver in color, the gold hue is the result of a genetic mutation.
9. Toaster waffles EGGOS
Eggo is the brand name of a line of frozen waffles made by Kellogg’s. When they were introduced in the 1930s, the name “Eggo” was chosen to promote the “egginess” of the batter. “Eggo” replaced the original name chosen, which was “Froffles”, created by melding “frozen” and “waffles”.
14. Taj Mahal city AGRA
The most famous mausoleum in the world has to be the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal was built after the death of the third wife of Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal (hence the name of the mausoleum). The poor woman died in childbirth delivering the couple’s 14th child.
15. Great Salt Lake site UTAH
The Great Salt Lake in Utah is extremely shallow, and so the area of the lake fluctuates greatly with the changing volume of water. Back in 1963 the lake shrunk to 950 square miles, whereas in 1988 the area was measured at a whopping 3,300 square miles.
17. Whole-grain food … or two universities BROWN RICE (Brown University & Rice University)
Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Brown has been around a long time, founded in 1764, years before America declared independence from England. The university took the name of Brown in 1804 after one Nicholas Brown, Jr. gave a substantial gift to the school.
Rice University is a private school in Houston, Texas. William Marsh Rice had made a will endowing the funds for the establishment of the school at the time of his death. When he was found dead one morning in his bed, his lawyer announced that his will had been changed, with the bulk of Rice’s estate actually going to the lawyer making the announcement. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the lawyer had paid Rice’s valet to murder his employer using chloroform and a fake will was written. Eventually the original will was deemed valid, and the funds were disbursed so that the school could be built.
20. Native land of many recent marathon winners KENYA
Kenya lies on the east coast of Africa, right on the equator. The country takes her name from Mount Kenya, the second highest peak on the continent (after Kilimanjaro).
26. Dispatches, as a dragon DOES IN
Our English word “dragon” comes from the Greek “drakon” meaning “serpent, giant seafish”.
36. GPS display MAP
Global Positioning System (GPS)
38. Aquafina rival DASANI
Dasani is a Coca-Cola brand of bottled water. Dasani is filtered tap water with some trace minerals added.
Aquafina is a Pepsico brand of bottled water. Aquafina is just plain old municipal water that has been purified.
40. Soviet military force … or two ants RED ARMY (red ant & army ant)
The association of the color red with communism dates back to the French Revolution. A red flag was chosen as a symbol by the revolutionaries, with the color representing the blood of workers who had died in the fight against capitalism.
Fire ants are stinging ants, many species of which are called red ants. Most stinging ants bite their prey and then spray acid on the wound. The fire ant however, bites to hold on and then injects an alkaloid venom from its abdomen, creating a burning sensation in humans that have been nipped.
Army ants are a collection of over two hundred different species of ants. Each of the species is known for aggressively raiding a certain area en masse, foraging for food. Army ants also stay on the move, never building permanent nests.
42. GPS suggestion RTE
Route (rte.)
51. Expenditures plan BUDGET
We started using the word “budget” in a financial sense in the mid-1700s. The term comes from the Latin “bulga” meaning “leather bag”. The idea was that a minister of the treasury would keep fiscal plans (budgets) in a wallet or leather bag.
53. Capulet killed by Romeo TYBALT
In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, the main antagonist of the piece is Tybalt, who is a very combative cousin of Juliet and a sworn enemy of Romeo.
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 …
57. Six-time Emmy winner Tyne DALY
The actress Tyne Daly really came into the public eye playing Detective Lacey in “Cagney and Lacey”. From 1999 to 2005, Daly played the mother of the title character in the TV show “Judging Amy”. She also played the female lead opposite Clint Eastwood in the “Dirty Harry” movie from 1976 called “The Enforcer”.
61. Jazz singer Jones NORAH
The beguiling Norah Jones is the daughter of famous sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, and is one of my favorite singers. If you haven’t heard Jones sing her song “Come Away with Me”, you just haven’t lived …
62. Double-reed instruments OBOES
The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”. When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance you’ll note (pun intended!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”.
64. Bridal bouquet flower … or two waters WHITE ROSE (whitewater and rosewater)
Rosewater is a flavoring used in some foods, as well as a component of some cosmetics. It is made by steeping rose petals in water.
68. Part of EMT: Abbr. EMER
Emergency medical technician (EMT)
69. Delivery co. with a white arrow outlined within its logo FEDEX
FedEx began operations in 1973 as Federal Express, but now operates very successfully under it’s more catchy abbreviated name. Headquartered in Memphis with its “SuperHub” at Memphis International Airport, FedEx is the world’s largest airline in terms of tons of freight flown. And due to the presence of FedEx, Memphis Airport has the largest-volume cargo operation of any airport worldwide.
Down
1. Spongy sweet cake BABKA
Babka is a sweet yeast cake that can also be called Bobka or baba. Babka originated in Eastern Europe and is served traditionally in Easter Sunday.
2. Grim Grimm guys OGRES
The Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm) were two German academics noted for collecting and publishing folk tales. Among the tales in their marvelous collection are “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella”.
3. Waffle cookers IRONS
You can’t get a Belgian waffle in Belgium, and the nearest thing is probably a Brussels waffle. Brussels waffles were introduced to the world in 1958, and arrived in the US in 1962 at the Century 21 Exposition in Seattle. The name “Brussels” was changed to “Bel-Gem” for the US market, which evolved into “Belgian”.
8. Wunderkind PHENOM
A “wunderkind” is a child prodigy, especially in the musical arena. The term is German in origin and translates literally as “wonder child”.
9. Sixth sense letters ESP
Extrasensory perception (ESP)
10. Small pet rodents GERBILS
Most species of gerbil are native to arid regions, and in fact used to be called “desert rats”. They make popular household pets because they are very social and friendly by nature. As desert natives, they also have specially adapted kidneys that produce a very small amount of waste so that bodily fluids are preserved.
11. Immigrant’s document … or two rooms GREEN CARD (green room & card room)
A “green card” is more correctly called a US Permanent Resident Card. The informal term harks back to the period between 1946 and 1964 when the document was in fact green in color. In fact, the Permanent Resident Card was changed back to a green color in 2010.
A “green room” in the world of show business is a lounge area used by performers before and after a show, or when they are not required on stage. There are several etymologies cited for the term that relate to specific theaters, but it does seem clear that the original green rooms were indeed decorated mainly in green.
A card room is a more than just a room where one plays cards, but is really a gaming establishment with many rooms, where one can play cards for money. A card room differs from a casino in that gambling is largely limited to card games.
18. Prefix with second NANO-
“Nanosecond” is more correctly abbreviated to “ns”, and really is a tiny amount of time: one billionth of a second.
34. __ cloud: remote solar system region OORT
The Oort Cloud is a hypothetical spherical cloud of comets that lies about a light-year from the sun. It is postulated that periodic comets that enter our solar system (like Halley’s Comet) originate in the Oort Cloud.
35. Aristocrat … or two moons BLUE BLOOD (blue moon & blood moon)
The idiom “blue blood” applies to someone of noble descent. The phrase is a translation from the Spanish “sangre azul”, which was applied to the royal family in Spain. The notion is that someone of noble birth does not have to work outdoors in the fields, and so has untanned skin. The veins showing in the skin had “blue blood”, whereas those veins were masked by the darker skin of the peasant classes.
As there is a full moon once every four weeks, approximately monthly, there are usually twelve full moons in any given year. However, every 2-3 years, depending on the phase of the moon at the beginning of the calendar year, there may be a thirteenth full moon. The “extra” full moon is called a “blue moon”, although no one seems to really know why the term “blue” is used, as far as I can tell. Which of the thirteen full moons that is designated as the blue moon varies depending on tradition. My favorite definition is from the Farmer’s Almanac. It states that as each of the seasons normally has three full moons (twelve divided by the four seasons), then the season with four full moons is designated as “special”, then the THIRD (and not the fourth) full moon in that “special” season is the blue moon. Complicated, huh?
Blood Moon is also known as the hunter’s moon or sanguine moon. It is the first full moon after the harvest moon (the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox). The name comes from the tradition of hunting for food in the fall to stockpile food for the winter.
37. “__ the Bunny”: touch-and-feel baby book PAT
“Pat the Bunny” is a popular children’s “book”, actually a collection of different surfaces applied to pages that can be felt by the child. One such page contains the fake fur of a rabbit, that one might pat. “Pat the Bunny” was written by Dorothy Kunhardt and first published way back in 1940.
40. “The Fountainhead” writer Ayn RAND
“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand was first published in 1943, her first novel to achieve public success. The story focuses on an idealistic architect, Howard Roark. Roark is uncompromising in his designs, refusing the give the public what it wants, staying doggedly loyal to his own vision.
44. Swiss cheese GRUYERE
Gruyère is a hard cheese that is named for the medieval Swiss town of Gruyères. I had the pleasure of visiting Gruyères many years ago, and have very fond memories of stuffing myself with the most delicious fondue made from the local cheese mixed with wine …
48. Wiggle room LEEWAY
Our word “leeway” meaning “spare margin” is nautical in origin. A vessel’s leeway is the amount of drift motion away from her intended course that is caused by the action of the wind.
50. Baseball Hall of Famer Sandberg RYNE
Ryne “Ryno” Sandberg is a former second baseman who played most of his career for the Chicago Cubs. Sandberg holds the major league fielding percentage record at second base … .989.
52. Western resort lake TAHOE
Lake Tahoe is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.
55. Surgical beam LASER
The term “laser” is an acronym, coming from “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation” (LASER). It has been pointed out that a more precise name for laser technology is “Light Oscillation by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”, but the resulting acronym isn’t quite so appealing, namely LOSER …
56. “Voilà!” THERE!
“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”.
57. Tip, as one’s hat DOFF
One doffs one’s hat usually as a mark of respect. To doff is to take off, with “doff” being a contraction of “do off”. The opposite of “doff” is “don” meaning “to put on”.
60. Old Italian coin LIRA
The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from a British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.
63. Doo-wop horn SAX
Doo-wop developed in the 1940s and can be described as a vocal-based R&B music. Even though the style has been around since the forties, the name “doo-wop” wasn’t introduced until the early sixties.
65. “Superstation” letters TBS
The tbs cable television station started out in 1967 as local broadcast TV station in Atlanta. The station’s first call letters were WJRJ-TV, and this was changed to WTCG in 1970 when it was acquired by Ted Turner (the TCG stood for Turner Communications Group). In 1976, Turner started distributing WTCG via satellite making its programming available in other parts of the country. WTCG was only the second channel to transmit via satellite, following HBO. The difference was that WTCG was broadcast without requiring a premium subscription. The station’s call sign was changed again in 1979, to WTBS, and in 1981 adopted the moniker “Superstation WTBS”.
For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Prepare, as water for tea BOIL
5. Koi or goldfish CARP
9. Toaster waffles EGGOS
14. Taj Mahal city AGRA
15. Great Salt Lake site UTAH
16. Start of a tennis point SERVE
17. Whole-grain food … or two universities BROWN RICE (Brown University & Rice University)
19. Fuss in front of a mirror PREEN
20. Native land of many recent marathon winners KENYA
21. Look after TEND
23. Show flexibility BEND
24. Agreement ASSENT
26. Dispatches, as a dragon DOES IN
28. Bubble and churn ROIL
30. Retail security employee MALL COP
33. Corn discards COBS
36. GPS display MAP
38. Aquafina rival DASANI
39. Gmail alternative AOL
40. Soviet military force … or two ants RED ARMY (red ant & army ant)
42. GPS suggestion RTE
43. Careful with money FRUGAL
45. Stocking part TOE
46. Altar promises I DOS
47. Lasting forever ETERNAL
49. Toasty WARM
51. Expenditures plan BUDGET
53. Capulet killed by Romeo TYBALT
57. Six-time Emmy winner Tyne DALY
59. Close tightly SEAL
61. Jazz singer Jones NORAH
62. Double-reed instruments OBOES
64. Bridal bouquet flower … or two waters WHITE ROSE (whitewater and rosewater)
66. Regional plant life FLORA
67. Simple choice A OR B
68. Part of EMT: Abbr. EMER
69. Delivery co. with a white arrow outlined within its logo FEDEX
70. Pro votes YEAS
71. Have the nerve DARE
Down
1. Spongy sweet cake BABKA
2. Grim Grimm guys OGRES
3. Waffle cookers IRONS
4. Courtroom team LAWYERS
5. Nasty mutt CUR
6. Going __: fighting AT IT
7. Went fast RACED
8. Wunderkind PHENOM
9. Sixth sense letters ESP
10. Small pet rodents GERBILS
11. Immigrant’s document … or two rooms GREEN CARD (green room & card room)
12. Broiling spot OVEN
13. Texter’s button SEND
18. Prefix with second NANO-
22. Doomed one, in slang DEAD MEAT
25. Intervals between causes and effects TIME-LAGS
27. Delight at the comedy club SLAY
29. Young boy LAD
31. Suspicious of ONTO
32. Desserts with crusts PIES
33. Sidewalk eatery CAFE
34. __ cloud: remote solar system region OORT
35. Aristocrat … or two moons BLUE BLOOD (blue moon & blood moon)
37. “__ the Bunny”: touch-and-feel baby book PAT
40. “The Fountainhead” writer Ayn RAND
41. Line of seats ROW
44. Swiss cheese GRUYERE
46. Cabin fever complaint I’M BORED
48. Wiggle room LEEWAY
50. Baseball Hall of Famer Sandberg RYNE
52. Western resort lake TAHOE
54. Coffee lure AROMA
55. Surgical beam LASER
56. “Voilà!” THERE!
57. Tip, as one’s hat DOFF
58. Skilled ABLE
60. Old Italian coin LIRA
63. Doo-wop horn SAX
65. “Superstation” letters TBS