Constructed by: Adam T. Cobb
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Music Exchange
Today’s themed answers are common phrases with one word EXCHANGED with a similar-sounding MUSICAL instrument:
- 30A. Janus-inspired stringed instrument? : TWO-FACED LYRE (from “two-faced liar”)
- 43A. Task for roadies? : LOAD THE BASSES (from “load the bases”)
- 65A. Bit of criticism from Ravi Shankar? : CLOSE BUT NO SITAR (from “close, but no cigar”)
- 93A. Percussionist’s answer to “When do you practice?”? : IN MY SNARE TIME (from “in my spare time”)
- 110A. Hi-hat for high society? : STATUS CYMBAL (from “status symbol”)
- 5D. Instrument carved from the Tree of Knowledge? : FORBIDDEN FLUTE (from “forbidden fruit”)
- 51D. What Tubby brushes with? : TUBA TOOTHPASTE (from “tube of toothpaste”)
Bill’s time: 17m 28s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Spiced rice : PILAF
“Pilaf” is a Persian word, and we use it to describe rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth.
6. Idle in sketches : ERIC
Eric Idle is one of the founding members of the Monty Python team. Idle was very much the musician of the bunch, and is an accomplished guitarist. If you’ve seen the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian”, you might remember the closing number “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It was sung by Idle, and was indeed written by him. That song made it to number 3 in the UK charts in 1991.
18. Mexican marinade : ADOBO
In Spanish and Mexican cuisine, a dish prepared “Adobo” has been marinated in a mixture containing paprika, oregano, salt, garlic and vinegar. “Adobo” is Spanish for “marinade, seasoning”.
19. Former Cubs slugger : SOSA
Sammy Sosa was firmly in the public eye in 1998 when he and Mark McGwire were vying to be the first to surpass the home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire fell out of public favor due to stories of steroid abuse (stories which he later admitted were true) while Sosa fell out of favor when he was found to be using a corked bat in a 2003 game.
20. “__ cloud in the sky, Got the sun in my eyes … “: Carpenters lyric : NOT A
“Not a cloud in the sky, Got the sun in my eyes … ” is a lyric from the Carpenters 1972 hit “Top of the World”.
Karen Carpenter was an accomplished drummer, although she only started playing drums in high school, as a member of the school band. After she graduated she started playing jazz with her brother, Richard, and a college friend. Later, she and Richard played with a group called Spectrum, and submitted many demo tapes to recording companies, but all were unsuccessful. Finally, Karen and Richard got a recording contract with A&M Records, and when they had Karen take the lead on their songs, they hit the big time and toured as the Carpenters. Sadly, Karen passed away at only 32-years-old, dying from heart failure brought on by anorexia.
21. ’50s pol Stevenson : ADLAI
Adlai Stevenson (AES) ran for president unsuccessfully against Dwight D. Eisenhower (DDE) in 1952 and in 1956. Some years after his second defeat, Stevenson served under President Kennedy (JFK) as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson was always noted for his eloquence and he had a famous exchange in a UN Security Council meeting during the Cuban missile crisis. Stevenson bluntly demanded that the Soviet representative on the council tell the world if the USSR was installing nuclear weapons in Cuba. His words were “Don’t wait for the translation, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’!” followed by “I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over!”
26. Wikipedia policy : NO ADS
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, and the most-used reference site on the Internet. It was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001. I, for one, am very grateful …
27. Chinese tea : CHA
“Cha” is a Chinese word for “tea”.
28. Author Harte : BRET
Bret Harte was a storyteller noted for his tales of the American West, even though he himself was from back East, born in Albany, New York. One work attributed to him is “Ah Sin”, a disastrously unsuccessful play written by Bret Harte and Mark Twain. The two writers didn’t get on at all well during the writing process, and when the play was produced for the stage it was very poorly received. Nevertheless, Twain suggested a further collaboration with Harte, and Harte downright refused!
30. Janus-inspired stringed instrument? : TWO-FACED LYRE (from “two-faced liar”)
The lyre is a stringed instrument most closely associated with Ancient Greece, and with the gods Hermes and Apollo in particular. According to myth, Hermes slaughtered a cow from a sacred herd belonging to Apollo and offered it to the gods but kept the entrails. Hermes used the entrails to make strings that he stretched across the shell of a tortoise, creating the first lyre. Apollo liked the sound from the lyre and agreed to accept it as a trade for his herd of cattle.
Janus was a Roman god usually depicted with two heads, one looking to the past and the other to the future. As such, as a god Janus is often associated with time. The Romans named the month of Ianuarius (our “January”) after Janus.
32. Tiny colony defender : SOLDIER
In an ant colony, soldier ants differ from worker ants in that they have stronger mandibles and are hence more suitable for fighting. However, when they aren’t fighting, that basically carry out the same functions as the workers. All worker and soldier ants are sterile females.
34. Safari sight : LION
“Safari” is a Swahili word, meaning “journey” or “expedition”.
36. Pkg. payment methods : CODS
Cash on delivery (COD)
37. Used a dugout : CANOED
The boat called a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.
39. Top note in a common triad : SOL
A triad is a group of three, and specifically in music is a chord is made up of three notes.
40. Airer of old MGM films : TCM
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is one of my favorite television channels, delivering just what its name promises: classic movies.
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film studio was founded in 1924 by Marcus Loew. Loew was already a successful movie theater owner when he purchased Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919, and then Goldwyn Pictures in 1924. Later in 1924, Loew also purchased Louis B. Mayer Pictures, mainly so that Louis B. Meyer could merge all three studios and run them himself as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
43. Task for roadies? : LOAD THE BASSES (from “load the bases”)
A “roadie” is someone who loads, unloads and sets up equipment for musicians on tour, on the road.
48. SEC Network owner : ESPN
The SEC Network is a TV channel dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports events featuring schools in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an athletic conference comprised mainly of schools in the southeastern US. The SEC was founded back in 1932 with a roster of thirteen schools, ten of which are still members of the conference.
51. The Willis in Chicago, for one : TOWER
Sears made a big splash in the world’s newspapers in 1974 when it completed its new headquarters in Chicago, the Sears Tower. At 110 stories, it was the tallest building in the world, and remained so until the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were completed in 1996. Sears moved out of the building in 1993, but had the rights to the name on the building until early 2009. Since that time, the building has been called the Willis Tower, after the new owners.
57. Spirit of Saint-Louis? : ANGE
“Ange” is French for “angel”.
59. Deprived (of) : BEREFT
“Bereft” is the adjectival form of the verb “to bereave”.
61. One of the U.S.’s 435 : REP
The number of seats in the US House of Representatives has been 435 since the year 1913, although there was a temporary increase to 437 seats at the time of the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the Union. The number of representatives assigned to each state is proportional to that state’s population, except that each state is guaranteed a minimum of one delegate by the US Constitution.
63. Radii, e.g. : ARM BONES
The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinkie-side”.
65. Bit of criticism from Ravi Shankar? : CLOSE BUT NO SITAR (from “close, but no cigar”)
The sitar has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking, and is used most often in Hindustani classical music. In the West we have been exposed to the instrument largely through the performances of Ravi Shankar and some music by George Harrison of the Beatles, a onetime student of Shankar.
Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous virtuoso (to us Westerners) from the world of Indian classical music, and was noted for his sitar playing. Also, Shankar was the father of the beautiful pop singer Norah Jones.
74. Britain’s Penny Black and Two Penny Blue : STAMPS
Postage stamps were first introduced in 1840 in the UK, with the first stamp sold being the famous penny black, which is adorned with the head of Queen Victoria. The second stamp followed a few week’s later, and is known as the two penny blue.
79. Voting coalition : BLOC
“Bloc” is the French word for “block”.
82. Quarter of a bushel : PECK
A “peck” is a dry measure equal to a quarter of a bushel. The term can be used figuratively to mean a considerable quantity in general, as in the phrase “a peck of trouble”.
In the imperial system of weights and measures, a bushel is a unit of dry volume made up of 4 pecks. In the US system, a bushel is a dry volume of 8 gallons. We have used the term “bushel” to mean “large quantity” since the 14th century.
86. Like certain gases : NOBLE
The noble gases (also “rare gases”) are those elements over on the extreme right of the Periodic Table. Because of their “full” complement of electrons, noble gases are very unreactive. The six noble gases that occur naturally are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon.
89. Transient with a bindle : HOBO
No one seems to know for sure how the term “hobo” originated, although there are lots of colorful theories. My favorite is that “hobo” comes from the first letters in the words “ho-meward bo-und”, but it doesn’t seem very plausible. A kind blog reader tells me that according to Click and Clack from PBS’s “Car Talk” (a great source!), “hobo” comes from “hoe boy”. Hoe boys were young men with hoes looking for work after the Civil War. Hobos differed from “tramps” and “bums”, in that “bums” refused to work, “tramps” worked when they had to, while “hobos” traveled in search of work.
“Bindle” is the name given to that bag or sack that the stereotypical hobo carried on a stick over his shoulder. “Bindle” is possibly a corruption of “bundle”.
91. PC dial-up upgrade : DSL
The abbreviation “DSL” originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but is now accepted to mean (Asymmetric) Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is the technology that allows Internet service be delivered down the same telephone line as voice service, by separating the two into different frequency signals.
93. Percussionist’s answer to “When do you practice?”? : IN MY SNARE TIME (from “in my spare time”)
Snare drums are so called because they have a set of wire strands (called snares) stretched across the bottom surface of the drum. When the drum is struck, the snares vibrate against the bottom drumhead producing a unique sound.
97. __ gibbon: zoo animal : LAR
The lar gibbon is a relatively common gibbon species found from southwest China to the Malay Peninsula. Despite their relative prevalence, lar gibbons are threatened by the continuing loss of their habitat.
98. A.L. East squad : TOR
The Toronto Blue Jays baseball franchise was founded in 1977. The Blue Jays are the only team based outside the US to have won a World Series, doing so in 1992 and 1993. And since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, the Blue Jays are the only Major League Baseball team now headquartered outside of the US.
101. Delivery on deliverance : SERMON
Our word “sermon” comes from the Latin “sermonem” meaning “discourse, talk”. The literal translation of “sermonem” is “a stringing together of words”, from the Latin “serere” meaning “to join”, as in the related word “series”.
102. “Now I get it!” : AHSO!
The slang term “ahso” is used in American English to mean “I see”. The term derives from the Japanese expression “Ah so desu ka” meaning “Oh, that’s how it is”.
103. Cold-weather wear : PARKAS
A parka is a hooded jacket, often lined with fur, that is worn in cold weather. The original parka was a pullover design, but nowadays it is usually zipped at the front. “Parka” is the Russian name for the garment , absorbed into English in the late 1700s via the Aleut language.
106. Appearance : MIEN
One’s “mien” is one’s bearing or manner. “Mien” shares the same etymological root as our word “demeanor”.
110. Hi-hat for high society? : STATUS CYMBAL (from “status symbol”)
In a drum kit, a hi-hat is a pairing of cymbals that sits on a stand and is played by using a foot pedal. The top cymbal is raised and lowered by the foot, hence creating a crashing sound.
113. She, in Capri : ESSA
The island of Capri off the coast of Southern Italy has been a tourist resort since the days of ancient Rome. Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto, a sea cave that is illuminated with sunlight that’s colored blue as it passes through the seawater into the cave.
114. “Science Guy” Bill : NYE
That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. Bill’s show ran on PBS for four years from 1993-97.
115. “The King and I” group : HAREM
“Harem” is a Turkish word, derived from the Arabic for “forbidden place”. Traditionally a harem was the female quarters in a household in which a man had more than one wife. Not only wives (and concubines) would use the harem, but also young children and other female relatives. The main point was that no men were allowed in the area.
“The King and I” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called “Anna and the King of Siam” first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the king’s wives.
118. “Cheese!” consequence : SMILE
Photographers often instruct us to say “cheese”, to elicit a smile-like expression. Even Japanese photographers use the word “cheese” for the same effect. Bulgarians use the word “zele” meaning “cabbage”. The Chinese say “eggplant”, the Danish “orange”, the Iranians “apple” and the most Latin Americans say “whiskey”.
121. Dark genre : NOIR
The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.
122. Biblical brother : ESAU
Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the founder of the Israelites. When their mother Rebekah gave birth to the twins “the first emerged red and hairy all over (Esau), with his heel grasped by the hand of the second to come out (Jacob)”. As Esau was the first born, he was entitled to inherit his father’s wealth (it was his “birthright”). Instead, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for the price of a “mess of pottage” (a meal of lentils).
124. Places to get in shape : GYMS
Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed.
126. Gambit : RUSE
A gambit is a chess opening that intrinsically involves the sacrifice of a piece (usually a pawn) with the intent of gaining an advantage. The term “gambit” was first used by the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura who took it from the Italian expression “dare il gambetto” meaning “to put a leg forward to trip someone”. Said priest gave his name to the common Ruy Lopez opening, which paradoxically is not a gambit in that there is no sacrifice. The chess term dates back to the mid-1600s. We’ve been using “gambit” more generally for any opening move designed to gain advantage since the mid-1800s.
127. Some MIT grads : ENGRS
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was founded in 1861 and first offered classes in 1865, in the Mercantile building in Boston. Today’s magnificent campus on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge opened in 1916.
Down
1. __ nationaux: French tourist attractions : PARCS
The first of France’s collection of “parcs nationaux” (national parks) opened in 1963.
2. Pocatello locale : IDAHO
Pocatello is a city in the southeast of Idaho. It is home to Idaho State University (ISU). The city was founded as a railroad stop in the days of the gold rush. Pocatello was named for the chief of the Shoshone tribe who granted the right of way for the railroad to pass through the nearby Fort Hall Indian Reservation.
4. Face on a fiver : ABE
The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Lincoln’s portrait is on the front. An Abe is also referred to as a “fin”, a term that has been used for a five-pound note in Britain since 1868.
5. Instrument carved from the Tree of Knowledge? : FORBIDDEN FLUTE (from “forbidden fruit”)
In the Christian tradition, the “fall of man” took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This went against the bidding of God, and was at the urging of the serpent. As a result, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden to prevent them becoming immortal by eating from the tree of life. The first humans had transitioned from a state of innocent obedience to a state of guilty disobedience.
6. Glyceride, for one : ESTER
Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.
8. Mideast nation: Abbr. : ISR
The land that is now Israel was ruled by the British after WWI as the British Mandate of Palestine. The British evacuated the area after WWII, largely responding to pressure from both Jewish and Arab nationalist movements. The British Mandate expired on 14 May 1948 and the State of israel was established at the same time. This declaration of a new state was followed by the immediate invasion of the area by four Arab countries and the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. A ceasefire was declared after a year of fighting, and tension has persisted in the region ever since.
9. Baja bar : CANTINA
Baja California is both the most northern and the most western of the Mexican states. The name translates from Spanish as “Lower California”.
10. World’s largest island country : INDONESIA
Indonesia is a remarkable country. It is the fourth most populous country in the world, and is the country with the largest population of Muslims. And Indonesia has an amazing 17,508 islands.
13. End zone celebrations : DANCES
That would be football.
14. “Water Music” composer : HANDEL
“Water Music” is a collection of orchestral suites written by George Frideric Handel in 1717. The work was written at the request of British King George I as he wanted a concert that he could listen to on the River Thames. On the occasion of the first performance, the king and his entourage were seated on the royal barge, and the musicians nearby on a second barge. The barges floated down the river for many, many hours as King George was having such a good time. He commanded the musicians to play the whole concert through three times.
17. __ City, Iraq : SADR
Sadr City is a suburb of Baghdad that is oft in the news in recent years. Sadr City is named after the deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.
25. “Just Do It” logo : SWOOSH
I remember seeing a lady named Carolyn Davidson on the television show “I’ve Got a Secret”. Davidson created the Nike “swoosh” back in 1971 when she was a design student at Portland State. She did it as freelance work for Blue Ribbon Sports, a local company introducing a new line of athletic footwear. The “swoosh” is taken from the wing of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. Years later, BRS changed its name to Nike, so I suppose the company should be grateful to Carolyn for both the great design, and a great company name.
The Nike slogan “Just Do It” was created in an advertising meeting in 1988. Apparently the phrase was inspired by the last words of famed criminal Gary Gilmore. Gilmore faced execution by the state of Utah in 1977 and when asked if he had any last words he simply replied, “Let’s do it”. A few minutes later, Gilmore was executed by a firing squad.
31. Novelist Umberto : ECO
Umberto Eco is an Italian writer who is probably best known for his novel “The Name of the Rose”, published in 1980. In 1986, “The Name of the Rose” was adapted into a movie with the same title starring Sean Connery.
33. Classic O’Brien 121-Across film : DOA
(121A. Dark genre : NOIR)
Both the original 1950 film “D.O.A.” starring Edmond O’Brien, and its 1988 remake starring Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, are excellent movies in my opinion. The basic storyline is that the lead character discovers he has been poisoned, and uses the limited time he has to live in order to discover who “murdered” him.
34. Black or yellow pet : LAB
The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814. The breed comes in three registered colors: black, yellow and chocolate.
37. Red coin? : CENT
Something that is “not worth a red cent” has very little value. The “red” reference is to the color of a copper penny.
38. Laura of “Jurassic Park” : DERN
The actress Laura Dern is the daughter of the actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. Among her many notable roles, Laura played the Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in the 2008 movie “Recount”, and Dr. Ellie Sattler in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park”.
“Jurassic Park” is a 1990 novel by Michael Crichton that was adapted into a hugely successful movie by Steven Spielberg in 1993. One of the main premises of the novel is that dinosaur DNA could be harvested from mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree resin), the DNA coming from the dinosaur blood consumed by the mosquitoes. The dinosaur DNA is then sequenced and used to create clones of the original beasts. A clever idea, but apparently not very practical from what I’ve read …
41. Labyrinth site of myth : CRETE
Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands. Crete figures heavily in Greek mythology. Zeus was born in a cave at Mount Ida, the highest peak on the island. Crete was also home to the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was slain by Theseus. Icarus and Daedalus, after having crafted the Labyrinth, escaped from the island using wings that they crafted.
42. Parisian parents : MERES
In French, a mother (mère) bears a child (enfant).
43. Tatting fabric : LACE
One is tatting when one is making lace. The word “tatting” has been around since the 1830s, but no one seems to have unearthed its etymology.
44. PC options : HPS
The giant multinational called HP (originally Hewlett-Packard) was founded in 1939 with an investment of $538, in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company name would have been Packard-Hewlett if Dave Packard had won a coin toss!
45. Genesis and Dreamcast : SEGAS
Sega is a Japanese videogame company headquartered in Tokyo. Sega actually started out 1940 in the US as Standard Games and was located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The owners moved the operation to Tokyo in 1951 and renamed the company to Service Games. The name “Sega” is a combination of the first two letters of the words “Se-rvice” and “Ga-mes”.
46. Arizona desert : SONORAN
Sonora is the state in Mexico lying just south of the borders with Arizona and New Mexico. The Sonoran Desert actually straddles the US-Mexico border, covering 120,000 square miles in parts of the states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Arizona and California.
47. Thumb drive port : USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.
A thumb drive is a USB flash drive.
50. Pak of the LPGA : SE-RI
Se-Ri Pak is a South Korean golfer playing on the LPGA tour. Having a Korean name, we really should be calling her Pak Se-Ri as she is known in her homeland. Korean names always start with the family name.
51. What Tubby brushes with? : TUBA TOOTHPASTE (from “tube of toothpaste”)
“Tubby the Tuba” is a 1945 tune about a singing tuba that became quite a hit after the end of WWII. Such was the level of success that an animated puppet short was made in 1947 using the song’s storyline, and eventually a 1975 animated feature.
56. Little, in Lille : PEU
Lille is a large city in the very north of France sitting right on the border with Belgium. The name “Lille” is a derivation of the term “l’isle” meaning “the island”. The name “L’Isle” dates back to 1066, and is a reference to a castle that once stood on an island in the Deûle river that runs through the city. The city grew around the island and the castle.
62. Harper Valley org. : PTA
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
“Harper Valley PTA” is a country song that was a hit for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. The song tells of a widowed mother of a teenage girl who is labelled by the daughter’s school’s PTA as scandalous, primarily for wearing a short hemline. The hit song was parlayed into successful 1978 comedy film starring Barbara Eden (of “I Dream of Jeannie”). The movie was successful enough to spawn a TV series, with Barbara Eden again taking the lead. But, the sitcom just made it through two seasons before being pulled from the schedules.
64. Cascade components: Abbr. : MTS
The Cascades are a mountain range in North America stretching from Northern California to southern British Columbia. The Cascade Range includes several active volcanoes, and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The range was named for the Cascades Rapids in the Columbia River Gorge, as they were referred to as the “mountains by the cascades” in the days following the Lewis and Clark expedition.
67. Zhou __ : ENLAI
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.
69. Flamenco shout : OLE!
Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
70. Concerning kidneys : RENAL
Something described as “renal” is related to the kidneys. “Ren” is the Latin word for “kidney”.
71. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA
The Enola Gay was the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima in August 1945. Enola Gay was the name of the mother of pilot Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.
72. Group once led by Meir and Rabin : LABOR PARTY
Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.
Yitzhak Rabin was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, and the first Prime Minister to have been born in the relatively young state of Israel. Rabin was a signatory of the Oslo Accords in 1993, along with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, and US President Bill Clinton. Sadly, this led to his death as he was assassinated two years later by a right-wing radical who opposed the Accords.
77. NBC skit show : SNL
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL)
81. Creamy French cheese : CAMEMBERT
Camembert cheese is named after the place it was first produced, the commune of Camembert in Normandy in the north of France.
83. Actor/stuntman Jackie : CHAN
Jackie Chan is an actor from Hong Kong who is noted for his action and martial arts films. When Chan was 17-years-old he featured as a stunt actor in Bruce Lee movies. He also starred in the 1982 Hong Kong action film “Dragon Lord” which includes a fight scene that required an amazing 2900 takes, a record in the movie industry.
84. “MASH” milieu: Abbr. : KOR
“MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors” is a novel written by “Richard Hooker” and first published in 1968. “Richard Hooker” was the pen name used by Dr. H, Richard Hornberger and writer W. C. Heinz. The novel was the inspiration for the iconic movie “M*A*S*H” and the great spinoff television series.
88. Damascus denizen : SYRIAN
Damascus is the second largest city in Syria (after Aleppo), and is the country’s capital. Damascus has the distinction of being the oldest, continuously-inhabited city in the world, having been settled in the 2nd millennium BC.
94. Ore refinery : SMELTER
Metals are found in ore in the form of oxides. In order to get pure metal from the ore, the ore is heated and the metal oxides within are reduced (i.e. the oxygen is removed) in the chemical process known as smelting. The oxygen is extracted by adding a source of carbon or carbon monoxide which uses up the excess oxygen atoms to make carbon dioxide, a waste product of smelting (and, a greenhouse gas).
95. __ compos mentis : NON
“Compos mentis” is Latin, and translates literally as “in command of one’s mind”, and is a term used in law.
96. Bar opening? : ISO-
An isobar is a line on a weather map connecting points of equal barometric pressure.
100. Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan : RACINE
Racine is a Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Root River. French explorers set up a trading post in 1699 where the Root River emptied into the lake, which developed into today’s city. The name “Racine” is French for “root”.
104. Mr. T’s troop : A-TEAM
“The A-Team” is an action television series that originally ran in the eighties. The A-Team was a group of ex-US special forces personnel who became mercenaries. Star of the show was Hollywood actor George Peppard (as “Hannibal” Smith), ably assisted by Mr. T (as “B.A.” Baracus) and Robert Vaughn (as Hunt Stockwell).
105. Layer in ecclesiastical governance : SYNOD
The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for assembly, or meeting. A synod is a church council, usually in the Christian faith.
108. Tenth American president : TYLER
John Tyler was the tenth President of the US, and the first to take the office on the death of the incumbent. Tyler’s predecessor was President William Henry Harrison, who was in office only 32 days before he died of natural causes. For a while there was a little confusion about the wording in the constitution that covered such an eventuality. There was an argument made that Tyler would continue as Vice-President but would assume the responsibilities of the office of President, in effect as “Acting President”. However, Tyler proceeded as though he was taking over as President and took the oath of office in his hotel room in Washington. Soon afterwards, Congress declared that Tyler was indeed President, although many continued to dispute the fact. Many of President Tyler’s opponents referred to him as “His Accidency”. His term in office ended in 1845. When the Civil War began in 1861, Tyler sided with the Confederacy and was even elected to the Confederate House of Representatives for the 3rd District of Virginia. President Tyler passed away only a few days after taking his seat in the House. His death was the only one in presidential history that was not recognized in the nation’s capital, as he sided with the Confederate States.
110. “I’m Dying Up Here” airer, for short : SHO
Showtime (SHO) is a competitor of the Movie Channel (TMC) in terms of program lineup, although both channels are in fact owned by CBS.
“I’m Dying Up Here” is a Showtime comedy-drama inspired by a 2010 book of the same name by William Knoedelseder. Set in 1973, the show follows up-and-coming comedians performing at Goldie’s comedy club on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
112. XIX x LIII : MVII
In Roman numerals, XIX x LIII (19 x 53) comes to MVII (1,007).
113. Ballpark figs. : ERAS
Earned run average (ERA)
117. The Beavers of the Pac-12 : OSU
The athletic teams of Oregon State University (OSU) are known as the Beavers. The big rivals to the Beavers are the Ducks of the University of Oregon, a rivalry that has been dubbed “the Civil War”. The two schools’ football teams play a game every year for the Platypus Trophy.
119. Calendar abbr. : MON
We have seven days in a week because there are seven classical planets in the Solar System. The days were named for the planets during the Roman era:
- Sun (Sunday)
- Moon (Monday)
- Mars (Tuesday)
- Mercury (Wednesday)
- Jupiter (Thursday)
- Venus (Friday)
- Saturn (Saturday)
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1. Spiced rice : PILAF
6. Idle in sketches : ERIC
10. Popular tablet : IPAD
14. Potential replacement sites : HIPS
18. Mexican marinade : ADOBO
19. Former Cubs slugger : SOSA
20. “__ cloud in the sky, Got the sun in my eyes … “: Carpenters lyric : NOT A
21. ’50s pol Stevenson : ADLAI
23. Starting blocks user : RACER
24. Rejects : TURNS DOWN
26. Wikipedia policy : NO ADS
27. Chinese tea : CHA
28. Author Harte : BRET
30. Janus-inspired stringed instrument? : TWO-FACED LYRE (from “two-faced liar”)
32. Tiny colony defender : SOLDIER
34. Safari sight : LION
35. School interlude : RECESS
36. Pkg. payment methods : CODS
37. Used a dugout : CANOED
39. Top note in a common triad : SOL
40. Airer of old MGM films : TCM
43. Task for roadies? : LOAD THE BASSES (from “load the bases”)
46. Cross : SORE
47. Text ender? : -UAL
48. SEC Network owner : ESPN
49. Employs : HIRES
51. The Willis in Chicago, for one : TOWER
52. Contempt : SCORN
54. Discontinue : STOP
57. Spirit of Saint-Louis? : ANGE
58. Join : UNITE
59. Deprived (of) : BEREFT
61. One of the U.S.’s 435 : REP
63. Radii, e.g. : ARM BONES
65. Bit of criticism from Ravi Shankar? : CLOSE BUT NO SITAR (from “close, but no cigar”)
70. Have faith in : RELY UPON
73. Require treatment, perhaps : AIL
74. Britain’s Penny Black and Two Penny Blue : STAMPS
78. Legislate : ENACT
79. Voting coalition : BLOC
82. Quarter of a bushel : PECK
85. Red, yellow or white veggie : ONION
86. Like certain gases : NOBLE
87. Envisioned being : SAW AS
89. Transient with a bindle : HOBO
91. PC dial-up upgrade : DSL
92. Skin product enhancement : ALOE
93. Percussionist’s answer to “When do you practice?”? : IN MY SNARE TIME (from “in my spare time”)
97. __ gibbon: zoo animal : LAR
98. A.L. East squad : TOR
101. Delivery on deliverance : SERMON
102. “Now I get it!” : AHSO!
103. Cold-weather wear : PARKAS
106. Appearance : MIEN
107. Tariffed goods : IMPORTS
110. Hi-hat for high society? : STATUS CYMBAL (from “status symbol”)
113. She, in Capri : ESSA
114. “Science Guy” Bill : NYE
115. “The King and I” group : HAREM
116. They have ideas : INVENTORS
118. “Cheese!” consequence : SMILE
120. Not bottled : ON TAP
121. Dark genre : NOIR
122. Biblical brother : ESAU
123. In shape : TONED
124. Places to get in shape : GYMS
125. Polish, in a way : EDIT
126. Gambit : RUSE
127. Some MIT grads : ENGRS
Down
1. __ nationaux: French tourist attractions : PARCS
2. Pocatello locale : IDAHO
3. Regional asset : LOCAL COLOR
4. Face on a fiver : ABE
5. Instrument carved from the Tree of Knowledge? : FORBIDDEN FLUTE (from “forbidden fruit”)
6. Glyceride, for one : ESTER
7. Force into ignominious retreat : ROUT
8. Mideast nation: Abbr. : ISR
9. Baja bar : CANTINA
10. World’s largest island country : INDONESIA
11. [It’s gone!] : POOF!
12. Clashing : AT WAR
13. End zone celebrations : DANCES
14. “Water Music” composer : HANDEL
15. Hollywood faves : IDOLS
16. Goes for the gold : PLAYS TO WIN
17. __ City, Iraq : SADR
22. Expert’s conclusion? : -ISE
25. “Just Do It” logo : SWOOSH
29. Breaks : RESTS
31. Novelist Umberto : ECO
33. Classic O’Brien 121-Across film : DOA
34. Black or yellow pet : LAB
37. Red coin? : CENT
38. Laura of “Jurassic Park” : DERN
41. Labyrinth site of myth : CRETE
42. Parisian parents : MERES
43. Tatting fabric : LACE
44. PC options : HPS
45. Genesis and Dreamcast : SEGAS
46. Arizona desert : SONORAN
47. Thumb drive port : USB
50. Pak of the LPGA : SE-RI
51. What Tubby brushes with? : TUBA TOOTHPASTE (from “tube of toothpaste”)
53. Get more out of : RECYCLE
55. Ball : ORB
56. Little, in Lille : PEU
60. Finest : TOP
62. Harper Valley org. : PTA
64. Cascade components: Abbr. : MTS
66. Blubbers : SOBS
67. Zhou __ : ENLAI
68. Bit from a bottle : NIP
69. Flamenco shout : OLE!
70. Concerning kidneys : RENAL
71. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA
72. Group once led by Meir and Rabin : LABOR PARTY
75. When some late risers get started : MID-MORNING
76. Model act : POSE
77. NBC skit show : SNL
80. Admits, with “up” : OWNS
81. Creamy French cheese : CAMEMBERT
83. Actor/stuntman Jackie : CHAN
84. “MASH” milieu: Abbr. : KOR
88. Damascus denizen : SYRIAN
90. Rays : BEAMS
94. Ore refinery : SMELTER
95. __ compos mentis : NON
96. Bar opening? : ISO-
98. Outdoes : TRUMPS
99. Approves : OKS
100. Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan : RACINE
104. Mr. T’s troop : A-TEAM
105. Layer in ecclesiastical governance : SYNOD
107. Give out : ISSUE
108. Tenth American president : TYLER
109. Planted pips : SEEDS
110. “I’m Dying Up Here” airer, for short : SHO
111. Sharpness : TANG
112. XIX x LIII : MVII
113. Ballpark figs. : ERAS
117. The Beavers of the Pac-12 : OSU
119. Calendar abbr. : MON
26:55, no errors. Pretty easy one except for one little section on the right, about 3/4 of the way from bottom to top, where I tried MINOS before CRETE, ENTER and ENROL before UNITE, TELE before TUBA, AMC before TCM, HOTEL before TOWER – in short, utter confusion before clarity … ?
42:46. Finished but got the dreaded silent treatment meaning there was an error. On a Sunday grid that can be a daunting task to find. I finally did see I had ENGiS rather than ENGRS and I was done. Incidentally that made Tylei our 10th President.
112D only counts if you did the math in your head…..
Best –
DNF on this one about like the WSJ. Just too much nonsense to overcome.
Hi folks!!
DNF — just didn’t have time, even with copious cheating.
Hey Jeff, I’ll have you know that I DID do 112 D in my head, in the sense that I thought about it for about a nanosecond before deciding to cheat. Does that count? ?
Interesting stuff about TYLER. “His Accidency” …. funny. Had no idea he was still alive at the start of the Civil War. Guess what else? He had 15 children!!?
Eclipse tomorrow! Neat!
Be well~~™?
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