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Constructed by:Jon Markman & Jeff Chen
Edited by: Rich Norris
Today’s Reveal Answer: MLB Closers
Themed answers start with the name of an MLB baseball team. The second word in each answer is a repeat of the final letters of the team’s name. Clever …
- 57A. Ace relievers, briefly … and a hint to 16-, 22-, 28-, 39- and 46-Across : MLB CLOSERS
- 16A. N.L. West team’s pests? : GIANTS’ ANTS
- 22A. N.L. East team’s untruths? : PHILLIES’ LIES
- 28A. N.L. East team’s parties? : BRAVES’ RAVES
- 39A. A.L. East team’s cheers? : ORIOLES’ OLES
- 46A. N.L. Central team’s pitchers? : BREWERS’ EWERS
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 6m 51s
Bill’s errors: 0
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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. __ tag: game with infrared beams : LASER
The name “Laser Tag” is really a misnomer as lasers are rarely used in the game. The “guns” actually send out infrared light, and not laser light, which is picked up by infrared detectors worn by the players.
6. Make full : SATE
“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.
10. Bro : BUB
“Bub” is American slang, and a term used to address males. “Bub” is possibly a variation of “bud”.
13. 10th-century Holy Roman emperor : OTTO I
Otto I the Great ruled the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, from 962 until his death in 973.
16. N.L. West team’s pests? : GIANTS’ ANTS
Today’s San Francisco Giants baseball team was founded in 1883 as the New York Gothams. The team’s name was changed to the Giants in 1885, and the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958.
18. Martial __ : ARTS
Martial arts are various fighting traditions and systems used in combat or simply to promote physical well-being. The term ultimately derives from Latin and means “Arts of Mars”, a reference to Mars, the Roman god of war.
22. N.L. East team’s untruths? : PHILLIES’ LIES
Philadelphia’s baseball team was founded in 1883 as the Quakers, with the name changing to the Philadelphias and Phillies not long into the team’s history. The Phillies have been based in the same city using the same team name longer than any other team in US professional sports.
28. N.L. East team’s parties? : BRAVES’ RAVES
The Atlanta Braves are the only team to have won baseball’s World Series in three different home cities. They won as the Boston Braves in 1914, the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and the Atlanta Braves in 1995.
35. Sumptuous : LUXE
“Luxe” is another word for “luxury”. The term came into English via French from the Latin “luxus” meaning “luxury”.
37. Metered ride : TAXI
We call cabs “taxis”, a word derived from “taximeter cabs” that were introduced in London in 1907. A taximeter was an automated meter designed to record distance travelled and fare to be charged. The term “taximeter” evolved from “taxameter”, with “taxa” being Latin for “tax, charge”.
39. A.L. East team’s cheers? : ORIOLES’ OLES
The Baltimore Orioles (the “O’s”) are one of the eight charter teams of MLB’s American League, so the franchise dates back to 1901. Prior to 1901, the team has roots in the Minor League Milwaukee Brewers, and indeed entered the American League as the Brewers. In 1902 the Brewers moved to St. Louis and became the Browns. The team didn’t fare well in St. Louis, so when it finally relocated to Baltimore in the early fifties the team changed its name completely, to the Baltimore Orioles. The owners so badly wanted a fresh start that they traded 17 old Browns players with the New York Yankees. The trade didn’t help the team’s performance on the field in those early days, but it did help distance the new team from its past.
43. “Around the __”: ESPN panel show : HORN
“Around the Horn” is a 30-minute sports roundup aired every day on ESPN. I’m told that the show takes the format of a debating panel game.
46. N.L. Central team’s pitchers? : BREWERS’ EWERS
The Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball (MLB) team was founded in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots only played one season in Seattle before going bankrupt, relocating to Milwaukee and adopting the “Brewers” name. At that time, the Brewers were playing in the American League, and joined the National League in 1998. Only two MLB teams have switched leagues, the other being the Houston Astros.
52. Govt. security : T-BILL
A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A T-bill is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.
53. Milne hopper : ROO
Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, the kangaroo named “Roo” was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
59. “O.G. Original Gangster” rapper : ICE-T
Rapper Ice-T must be sick of having his name come up as an answer in crossword puzzles (I know I am!). Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T has been interested in acting for decades and made his film debut in the 1984 movie about breakdancing called “Breakin’”. He has also played Detective Fin Tutuola in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since the year 2000.
“O.G. Original Gangster” is a 1991 song by rap artist Ice-T. Anyone interested in the exploits of Ice-T might want to listen to this one, as it deals with his life before he started rapping.
61. Flat-package furniture stores : IKEAS
Every IKEA store features a restaurant that serves traditional Swedish food, including Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. Each store also has a Swedish Food Market where customers can purchase specialty foods from Sweden.
63. “American __”: Starz series based on a Neil Gaiman novel : GODS
“American Gods” is a 2001 fantasy novel by English author Neil Gaiman. The book has been adapted into a TV series, with the first season airing on Starz in 2017. It’s all about gods and mythological creatures in contemporary America. Not my cup of tea, although there is a leprechaun named Mad Sweeney in the mix …
64. Nabisco wafer brand : NILLA
As one might expect, “Nilla” is a shortened form of “vanilla”. However, you won’t find any vanilla in Nilla brand cookies or wafers. They have always been flavored with vanillin, which is synthetic vanilla. Is nothing sacred …?
The National Biscuit Company was formed in 1898 with the merger of three existing bakery businesses. The company name today is “Nabisco”, an abbreviated form of “National Biscuit Company”.
Down
1. Ships’ records : LOGS
The word “logbook” dates back to the days when the captain of a ship kept a daily record of the vessel’s speed, progress etc. using a “log”. A log was a wooden float on a knotted line that was dropped overboard to measure speed through the water.
5. “Sherlock Holmes” director Guy : RITCHIE
Guy Ritchie is an English screenwriter and movie director who is best known for directing films like “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) and two “Sherlock Holmes” films. Famously, Ritchie was married to the singer Madonna for several years. Ritchie and Madonna have two children together: Rocco born 2000, and David adopted in Malawi in 2006.
8. Rwandan tribe : TUTSI
Rwanda is a sovereign nation in central Africa that is populated by three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi (aka “Watutsi”) and Twa. The Tutsi are the second largest population of people in Rwanda, with the Hutu being the largest group. The bloody conflict that has existed between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples dates back to about 1880 when Catholic missionaries arrived in the region. The missionaries found that they had more success converting the Hutus than the Tutsi, and when the Germans occupied the area during WWI they confiscated Tutsi land and gave it to Hutu tribes in order to reward religious conversion. This injustice fuels fighting to this very day.
9. Sci-fi visitors : ETS
An alien life form (ALF) might pilot an unidentified flying object (UFO).
10. Cold War dividing line until 1989 : BERLIN WALL
Starting in 1952, the border between East And West Germany was strictly controlled, with the help of fences and walls running over 850 miles from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. There was a big “gap” in the restrictive barrier, in the divided city of Berlin. Regulations controlling movement between East and West in the city were very lax for most of the fifties (you could take a subway train “under” the border, for example). As a result, Berlin became a gateway for emigration, almost exclusively from East to West. In August 1961, under orders from Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, East Germany closed the border in Berlin and construction started on the fortified wall.
15. Breakfast syrup type : MAPLE
About 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from the province of Quebec. The US’s biggest producer is the state of Vermont, which produces 5-6% of the world’s supply.
22. Cover with asphalt : PAVE
The asphalt surface on roads (or basketball courts) is more properly called asphaltic concrete, because asphalt itself (also known as “bitumen”) is just a sticky black liquid that comes from crude petroleum. Asphalt is used as a binder with aggregate to form asphaltic concrete.
29. Outdoor gear brand : REI
Sporting goods company REI introduced a #OptOutside campaign starting on Black Friday in 2015. The initial focus of the campaign was to encourages customers and employees alike to head out into nature instead of swamping retail outlets on the day that kicked off the holiday shopping season. REI actually closed its doors on Black Friday 2015, rather than participate in the annual shopping frenzy.
31. Encyclopedia bk. : VOL
An encyclopedia is a compendium reference work containing summary information about a branch of knowledge, or about all knowledge. The word “encyclopedia” comes from the Greek “enkyklios paideia” meaning “general education”, or literally “general rearing of a child”.
34. King cobra warning : HISS
The king cobra isn’t a cobra at all and rather belongs to its own genus. The king cobra is the world’s longest venomous snake and can grow to over 18 feet in length.
“Cobra” is the name given to a group of snakes, some of which are in different animal families. The term is reserved for those snakes that can expand their neck ribs to create a hood. The name “cobra” is an abbreviated form of “cobra de capello” which translates from Portuguese as “snake with hood”.
40. Mil. time off : R‘N’R
Rest and relaxation/recuperation/recreation (R&R, “R‘n’R”)
41. Tom of “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL
The actor Tom Ewell is best remembered for playing the male lead in the “The Seven Year Itch”, both on the Broadway stage and in the 1955 Hollywood movie. I also know Ewell as the “bad guy” in one of my favorite movies, 1949’s “Adam’s Rib”.
“The Seven Year Itch” is a 1955 movie by Billy Wilder that is based on a stage play of the same name by George Axelrod. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Ewell as the guy with “the itch”. Perhaps the most famous scene in the film is the one with Monroe standing over a subway grate allowing the updraft to billow the skirt of her white dress above her knees. The manoeuvre was meant to cool her down, but I think it had the opposite effect on some in the audience! The phrase “seven year itch” had been used by psychologists to describe declining interest in staying monogamous after seven years of marriage.
42. Beef cut : SIRLOIN
There’s a folk tale that has been going around since the 1600s that the sirloin cut of beef is so called because a king so enjoyed it that he dubbed it a knight. The list of kings associated with “Sir Loin” includes Henry VIII, James I and Charles II.
47. Veg-O-Matic maker : RONCO
Ronco is a company the builds and sells products mainly for the kitchen. Over the years, the company has been closely associated with the “-O-Matic” suffix, and particularly the “Veg-O-Matic” vegetable slicer. Ronco is also associated with the phrase “set it and forget it”, which was used for the Showtime Rotisserie Grill.
48. Canonized pope known as “The Great” : ST LEO
The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.
55. Legendary Greek mount : OSSA
Mount Ossa in Greece is located between Mount Pelion in the south, and the famed Mount Olympus in the north. Mount Ossa is also known as Kissavos.
57. Fuel efficiency stat : MPG
Miles per gallon (mpg)
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. __ tag: game with infrared beams : LASER
6. Make full : SATE
10. Bro : BUB
13. 10th-century Holy Roman emperor : OTTO I
14. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT
15. Restaurant list : MENU
16. N.L. West team’s pests? : GIANTS’ ANTS
18. Martial __ : ARTS
19. Muddy pen : STY
20. Not quite a B : C-PLUS
21. Illuminated from below, as a statue : UPLIT
22. N.L. East team’s untruths? : PHILLIES’ LIES
24. Reach : ATTAIN
27. “Peachy-__!” : KEEN
28. N.L. East team’s parties? : BRAVES’ RAVES
32. Cry from a crib : WAH!
35. Sumptuous : LUXE
36. Swelled head : EGO
37. Metered ride : TAXI
38. “You rang?” : YES?
39. A.L. East team’s cheers? : ORIOLES’ OLES
43. “Around the __”: ESPN panel show : HORN
45. Exercises, as power : WIELDS
46. N.L. Central team’s pitchers? : BREWERS’ EWERS
51. Dice throws : ROLLS
52. Govt. security : T-BILL
53. Milne hopper : ROO
56. Poker buy-in : ANTE
57. Ace relievers, briefly … and a hint to 16-, 22-, 28-, 39- and 46-Across : MLB CLOSERS
59. “O.G. Original Gangster” rapper : ICE-T
60. Glimpse : PEEK
61. Flat-package furniture stores : IKEAS
62. Neither’s partner : NOR
63. “American __”: Starz series based on a Neil Gaiman novel : GODS
64. Nabisco wafer brand : NILLA
Down
1. Ships’ records : LOGS
2. “They’re __ again!” : AT IT
3. “Don’t move, Rover!” : STAY!
4. Ages and ages : EON
5. “Sherlock Holmes” director Guy : RITCHIE
6. Slot in a stable : STALL
7. Declare void : ANNUL
8. Rwandan tribe : TUTSI
9. Sci-fi visitors : ETS
10. Cold War dividing line until 1989 : BERLIN WALL
11. Loosen, as laces : UNTIE
12. Sculpted works : BUSTS
15. Breakfast syrup type : MAPLE
17. Manipulates politically : SPINS
21. Exploits : USES
22. Cover with asphalt : PAVE
23. __ out a living : EKE
24. With competence : ABLY
25. Loyal : TRUE
26. Financial adviser’s suggestion : TAX SHELTER
29. Outdoor gear brand : REI
30. Earlier : AGO
31. Encyclopedia bk. : VOL
33. Chopped down : AXED
34. King cobra warning : HISS
37. On one’s __: alert : TOES
39. Mine contents : ORES
40. Mil. time off : R‘N’R
41. Tom of “The Seven Year Itch” : EWELL
42. Beef cut : SIRLOIN
44. Little hooter : OWLET
46. Really smart person : BRAIN
47. Veg-O-Matic maker : RONCO
48. Canonized pope known as “The Great” : ST LEO
49. Flowed back : EBBED
50. Candle threads : WICKS
53. Film spool : REEL
54. __ hygiene : ORAL
55. Legendary Greek mount : OSSA
57. Fuel efficiency stat : MPG
58. Hit the slopes : SKI
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