Constructed by: James Sajdak
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Bottoms Up
Today’s themed answers come in pairs, with one directly UNDER the other in the grid. As a result, the complete answer is in the form X UNDER Y. BOTTOMS UP!
- 36A…Toaster’s words, and a hint to solving eight puzzle answers..BOTTOMS UP!
- 15A…See 18-Across..FOOT
- 18A…Literally, forms an obstruction..GETS (under FOOT)
- 19A…See 23-Across..THE BUS
- 23A…Literally, sacrifices to save one’s own neck..THROWS (under THE BUS)
- 56A…See 61-Across..ARREST
- 61A…Literally, books..PLACES (under ARREST)
- 62A…See 66-Across..OATH
- 66A…Literally, commits perjury..LIES (under OATH)
Bill’s time: 10m 52s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…Liner..SHIP
The use of the word “line” with reference to transportation started in the 1780s, in the context of stagecoaches. Such transportation operated a string of stagecoaches between towns and cities along regular “lines”. The concept shifted to shipping “lines” operating ocean-going “liners” between ports.
5…Hope __..CHEST
A “hope chest” is (or perhaps “was”) used by young unmarried women to collect items for their new household in anticipation of marriage. The term used for the same thing in the UK is “bottom drawer” and in Australia is “glory box”.
10…Shred of evidence?..DNA
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.
13…A, to Bach..EINE
Johann Sebastian Bach raised a very large family. He had seven children with his first wife, who died suddenly. He had a further thirteen children with his second wife. Of his twenty youngsters, there were four sons who became famous musicians in their own right:
- Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (aka “the Halle Bach”)
- Carl Philipp Bach (aka “the Hamburg Bach”)
- Johann Christoph Bach (aka “the Buckeberg Bach”)
- Johann Christian Bach (aka “the London Bach”)
16…Turkish warlord..AGHA
“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.
17…Physicist’s proposed particle..AXION
In theory, large quantities of axions were created during the Big Bang. Axions are purely theoretical particles, and have never been observed in reality. They may be a component of dark matter.
25…RV chain..KOA
Recreational vehicle (RV)
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) was founded in 1962 by Montana businessman Dave Drum, who opened up his first property along the Yellowstone River. His strategy was to offer a rich package of services including hot showers, restrooms and a store, which he hoped would attract people used to camping in the rough. The original campground was an immediate hit and Drum took on two partners and sold franchises all over the country. There are about 500 KOA sites today.
26…Chou En-__..LAI
Zhou Enlai (also Chou En-Lai) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.
27…Like adobe..EARTHEN
The building material known as adobe has been around a long time, and has been used in dry climates all over the world. The original form of the word “adobe” dates back to Middle Egyptian times, about 2000 BC. The original spelling is “dj-b-t”, and translates as mud (sun-dried) brick.
31…Sundance’s love..ETTA
Etta Place is the schoolteacher character played by the lovely Katharine Ross in the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.
33…Blackguard..CUR
Back in the early 1500s, a “blackguard” was someone who worked in the scullery or kitchen. The term was probably of mock-military origin, referring to shoeblacks or perhaps lower-level servants dressed in black. Nowadays, a blackguard is a lowlife, a cur.
40…Fills..SATES
“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.
44…World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki..ISAO
Isao Aoki is one of Japan’s greatest golfers, now playing on the senior circuit. Aoki’s best finish in a major tournament was runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1980 US Open.
48…Soul seller..KIA
The Kia Soul is a compact car produced in South Korea, although it was designed by Kia here in the US, in Irvine, California. Yep, the Kia Soul is made in Seoul …
49…1972 Olympics city..SAPPORO
Sapporo is the fourth largest city in Japan, and lies on the island of Hokkaido. The city and surrounding area was home to the first Olympic Games to be held in Asia, the Winter Games of 1972. For the beer drinkers out there, Sapporo is also home to Sapporo Brewery, with the Sapporo beer being one of the more internationally recognizable.
53…Beantown landmark, with “the”..PRU
“The Pru” is the familiar name given to the Prudential Tower in Boston. It is currently the second highest building in the city, after the John Hancock Tower. However, if one includes the height of the radio tower on its roof, then it is the highest building in Boston. When it was completed in 1964, the Pru was the tallest building in the country outside of New York City.
63…Tin Pan Alley gp…ASCAP
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) collects licence fees for musicians and distributes royalties to composers whose works have been performed. BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) provides the same service.
Tin Pan Alley was originally a specific location, West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. The area was associated with the music publishing business from about 1885 to the start of the Great Depression The name itself is possibly a reference to the tinny sound of cheap pianos that were common at the time.
65…Mr. Bean’s car..MINI
Mr. Bean is a famous comedic character created and performed by the marvelous English comedian Rowan Atkinson.
The original mini was a fabulous car, one that I drove all over Ireland in my youth. It had a unique front-wheel-drive layout that took up very little space, allowing for a lot of room (relatively speaking) for passengers and baggage. One space-saving trick was to mount the engine transversely, so it sits rotated 90-degrees from the norm. That engine had a capacity of only 848cc. In 1961, a Mini Cooper model was introduced, a sporty version of the Mini. The Mini Cooper was a phenomenal hit, especially after repeated wins in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Mini marque has been owned by BMW since 1994.
67…Onetime NPR host Hansen..LIANE
Liane Hansen was the very capable host of Weekend Edition Sunday, who retired quite recently from broadcasting. She was married to fellow NPR broadcaster Neil Conan, although the two divorced in 2011.
69…”The Conspiracy Against Childhood” author LeShan..EDA
Eda LeShan wrote several nonfiction books including “When Your Child Drives You Crazy” and “The Conspiracy Against Childhood”. LeShan was also host of the PBS television show “How Do Your Children Grow?”
70…Itzhak Perlman choice..STRAD
Generations of the Stradivari family produced violins, the most famous of which were constructed by Antonio Stradivari.
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-American violinist from Tel Aviv, and a virtuosi who I had the pleasure of hearing perform not too long ago. Little known fact: Perlman is a distant cousin of comedian Howie Mandel.
71…Tart fruit..SLOE
The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin.
Down
1…City named for a Duwamish chief..SEATTLE
The Washington city of Seattle was founded on a site that had been occupied by Native Americans for over 4,000 years before the first Europeans arrived in the area. The name “Seattle” was chosen in honor of Duwamish Chief Seattle who had a reputation for welcoming white settlers.
4…R&B singer Bryson..PEABO
Peabo Bryson is a singer from Greenville, South Carolina. Bryson is noted for singing hits on Disney film soundtracks, often duets. Examples are “Beauty and the Beast” with Céline Dion, and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme) with Regina Bella.
6…Spell..HEX
“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.
9…Academic status..TENURE
A job in a university that is described as “tenure-track” is one that can lead to a tenured position. A tenured position is a “job for life”. A person with tenure can only be dismissed for cause.
20…Former NHL defenseman Krupp..UWE
Uwe Krupp is a former professional hockey player as well as former coach of the German national hockey team. Krupp was the first German-born player on a Stanley Cup-winning team, doing so in 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche.
22…Infomercial cutlery brand..GINSU
Ginsu knives are more famous for their hard-sell television ads than they are for their efficacy in the kitchen. The Ginsu phenomenon took off in the seventies when two brothers found a set of knives called “Eversharp” that were being manufactured in Ohio. The brothers changed the brand name to something more exotic, and Japanese in particular (Ginsu), and then produced ads that made references to Japanese martial arts. I think they made a fortune …
32…Actor Vigoda..ABE
Abe Vigoda played Detective Sergeant Phil Fish in television’s “Barney Miller” in the seventies, and even got his own spinoff show called “Fish”. On the big screen, Vigoda played Sal Tessio in “The Godfather” and Grandpa Ubriacco in “Look Who’s Talking”.
35…Center opening..EPI-
The “epicenter” is that point on the surface of the earth which is directly above the focus of an earthquake.
37…Davis of “Do the Right Thing”..OSSIE
Ossie Davis was a very successful African-American actor, but also a director, poet, playwright and social activist. One of Davis’s better known performances was in the 1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men”, in which he played the owner of the bait shop by the lake.
“Do the Right Thing” is a Spike Lee movie, released in 1989. Much of the action in the film is centered on a local pizzeria called “Sal’s” owned by Italian-American Salvatore Frangione (played by Danny Aiello).
38…Tiananmen Square honoree..MAO
Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing, China. It is the third largest city square in the world, after Merdeka Square in Jakarta, Indonesia and Praça dos Girassóis in Palmas, Brazil. Tiananmen Square can hold up to 600,000 people, and has been the site of major protests on several occasions over the years. The protests of 1989 are also referred to as the “Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989” as 200-300 (official figures) or perhaps several thousand (unofficial estimates) protesters and soldiers were killed when the military was sent in to restore order.
41…Blitz..AIR RAID
“Blitz”, as it is used in English means a fast-moving and overwhelming attack. The term is a shortened version of the German word “blitzkrieg”. The blitzkrieg was a tactic used by the Germans running up to and during WWII. In the original German blitzkrieg, the army and air-force threw everything into a rapid penetration of enemy lines without stopping to reinforce its flanks. The word “blitz” means “lightning” (and “krieg” means “war”).
42…Break on “Downton Abbey”..TAKE TEA
In the incredibly successful period drama “Downton Abbey”, the patriarch of the family living at Downton is Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville. Lord Grantham married American Cora Levinson (played by Elizabeth McGovern. Lord and Lady Grantham had three daughters, and no son. The lack of a male heir implied that the Grantham estate would pass to a male cousin, and out of the immediate family. The Grantham daughters are Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and Lady Sybil (played by Jessica Brown Findlay). Lady Sybil had the audacity to marry the family chauffeur, an Irish nationalist. The shame of it all …
46…Hall of “Coming to America”..ARSENIO
Arsenio Hall got his big break with his role in the movie “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy in 1988. The following year he started hosting “The Arsenio Hall Show”, which ran until 1994. He had a loyal group of fans in the audience that had the habit of almost “barking” while pumping their fists in the air. The raucous move became so popular it extended far beyond the influences of Arsenio, and to this day it is still used as a mark of appreciation in some arenas. Not by me, mind you …
50…Historical records..ANNALS
“Annal” is a rarely used word, the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.
52…The NBA’s Magic..ORL
The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …
57…Cloverleaf branches..RAMPS
Cloverleaf interchanges allow two highways to cross without the need for stopping traffic. They are so called as when viewed overheard they look like the leaves of a four-leaf clover.
59…Old tape type..VHS
The video standard known as VHS is more fully referred to as the Video Home System. VHS was one of many standards touted by various manufacturers in the seventies. The biggest rival to VHS was Betamax, but we all knew which of the two standards won the final round in that fight.
64…Santa __, California..ANA
Santa Ana is the county seat of Orange County, California and takes its name from the Santa Ana River that runs through the city.
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Liner..SHIP
5…Hope __..CHEST
10…Shred of evidence?..DNA
13…A, to Bach..EINE
14…”I wanna do it”..LEMME
15…See 18-Across..FOOT
16…Turkish warlord..AGHA
17…Physicist’s proposed particle..AXION
18…Literally, forms an obstruction..GETS
19…See 23-Across..THE BUS
21…Camps..ROUGHS IT
23…Literally, sacrifices to save one’s own neck..THROWS
24…Pod opener..TRI-
25…RV chain..KOA
26…Chou En-__..LAI
27…Like adobe..EARTHEN
30…Publicity..INK
31…Sundance’s love..ETTA
33…Blackguard..CUR
34…Touch, for example..SENSE
36…Toaster’s words, and a hint to solving eight puzzle answers..BOTTOMS UP!
40…Fills..SATES
43…__ grass..OAT
44…World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki..ISAO
48…Soul seller..KIA
49…1972 Olympics city..SAPPORO
53…Beantown landmark, with “the”..PRU
54…Get riled..IRK
55…End of August?..-INE
56…See 61-Across..ARREST
58…Blocks..PREVENTS
61…Literally, books..PLACES
62…See 66-Across..OATH
63…Tin Pan Alley gp…ASCAP
65…Mr. Bean’s car..MINI
66…Literally, commits perjury..LIES
67…Onetime NPR host Hansen..LIANE
68…Settled..PAID
69…”The Conspiracy Against Childhood” author LeShan..EDA
70…Itzhak Perlman choice..STRAD
71…Tart fruit..SLOE
Down
1…City named for a Duwamish chief..SEATTLE
2…Snub..HIGH-HAT
3…Come into..INHERIT
4…R&B singer Bryson..PEABO
5…One to admire..CLASS ACT
6…Spell..HEX
7…Mideast monarch..EMIR
8…Like some operators..SMOOTH
9…Academic status..TENURE
10…Supple leather..DOESKIN
11…Whims..NOTIONS
12…On the line..AT STAKE
15…String next to E?..F-G-H
20…Former NHL defenseman Krupp..UWE
22…Infomercial cutlery brand..GINSU
28…It’s frustrating to be in one..RUT
29…Scout group..TROOP
32…Actor Vigoda..ABE
35…Center opening..EPI-
37…Davis of “Do the Right Thing”..OSSIE
38…Tiananmen Square honoree..MAO
39…Lacking, with “for”..STRAPPED
40…Stick on a slope..SKI POLE
41…Blitz..AIR RAID
42…Break on “Downton Abbey”..TAKE TEA
45…Reduced-price offering..SPECIAL
46…Hall of “Coming to America”..ARSENIO
47…Unlikely, as a chance..OUTSIDE
50…Historical records..ANNALS
51…Watch a friend’s dog, say..PET-SIT
52…The NBA’s Magic..ORL
57…Cloverleaf branches..RAMPS
59…Old tape type..VHS
60…Bad mark?..SCAR
64…Santa __, California..ANA