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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris
Today’s Reveal Answer: Detective Story
Themed answers each include a hidden name. Together, those names give DETECTIVE STORY author EDGAR ALLEN POE:
- 58A Literary genre often associated with the writer concealed in 16-, 32- and 40-Across : DETECTIVE STORY
- 16A A step up from a carport, perhaps : UNHEATED GARAGE (hiding “Edgar”)
- 32A Limitation-of-freedom metaphor : BALL AND CHAIN (hiding “Allan”)
- 40A Ding-a-ling or ding-dong : ONOMATOPOEIA (hiding “Poe”)
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… a complete list of answers
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Bill’s time: 10m 35s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 Some munchies : CHIPS
French fries are called “chips” back in Ireland where I grew up. And what we call “chips” in the US are known as “crisps” in Britain and Ireland. In France, French fries are known as “pommes frites” (fried potatoes).
10 Latin initialism on a cross : IHS
“IHS” is an abbreviation for the name “Jesus Christ” that is sometimes used as a symbol in the Christian tradition, particularly in western Christianity. “IHS” is a Latinized form of the first three letters of “Jesus” written in Greek, i.e. iota-eta-sigma.
13 WWII riveter : ROSIE
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon that represented women working in factories across the country during WWII as part of the war effort. The term “Rosie the Riveter” first appeared as the title of a 1942 song that was a national hit. The image that we bring to mind today that supposedly depicts “Rosie” is a wartime poster with the words “We Can Do It!”, which shows a woman in blue overalls and a red and white polka-dot headscarf. However, this image was used by Westinghouse as an internal motivation tool only for a two-week period in 1943, and was never associated with the Rosie the Riveter persona. The “Rosie” association to that image came decades later, in the 1980s. The best-known WWII representation of Rosie the Riveter was a “Saturday Evening Post” cover drawn by Norman Rockwell in 1943. This image shows a female worker with a rivet gun, and a lunch box bearing the name “Rosie”.
19 Electronic dance music genre : TECHNO
Techno is a type of electronic dance music that originated in Detroit in the eighties. Techno involves a heavy beat in common time, and what seems to be a lot of repetition. Not for me …
21 Org. that’s not lax at LAX : TSA
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently, the “X” has no significant meaning.
27 German brewing surname : STROH
Bernard Stroh was the son of a German brewer. Stroh immigrated to the US in 1848 and set up his own brewery in 1850 in Detroit. Years later, the Stroh Brewing Company introduced a European process called fire-brewing. This results in higher temperatures at a crucial stage in the brewing process, supposedly bringing out flavor. Apparently, Stroh’s is the only mainstream American beer that still uses this process.
36 Doubled, perhaps : GOT A HIT
That would be baseball.
39 Corrida figures : TOREROS
“Toreador” is an old Spanish word meaning “bullfighter”, but it’s a term not used any more in Spain nor in Latin America. In English we use the term “toreador”, but in Spanish a bullfighter is a “torero”. A female bullfighter in a “torera”.
Spanish bullfighting is known locally as “corrida de toros”, literally “race of bulls”.
40 Ding-a-ling or ding-dong : ONOMATOPOEIA (hiding “Poe”)
Onomatopoeia is the naming of something by vocally imitating the sound associated with it. Examples of onomatopoeia are “chirp”, “clash”, “click” and “hiccups”.
42 Zilch : NADA
“Nada” is the Spanish word for “nothing”.
We use the term “zilch” to mean “nothing”. Our current usage evolved in the sixties, before which the term was used to describe “meaningless speech”. There was a comic character called Mr. Zilch in the 1930s in “Ballyhoo” magazine. Mr. Zilch’s name probably came from the American college slang “Joe Zilch” that was used in the early 1900s for “an insignificant person”.
43 Greater N.Y. school : LIU
Long Island University (LIU) in Brooklyn, New York is a private school that was chartered in 1926. LIU’s focus has always been on providing moderately-priced, effective education to people from all walks in life. To that end, LIU opened a second campus in 1951 in Brookville in the suburbs of New York City, recognizing the need to serve families that were living outside of the metropolis. The athletic teams of LIU’s Brooklyn campus are known as the Brooklyn Blackbirds, and the teams of the Brookville campus are called the Post Pioneers.
44 Orchestra section : BRASS
Brass instruments are also known as “labrosones”, a term meaning “lip-vibrated instruments”.
Not all brass instruments are made from brass, but all produce sound with the vibration of the lips. Alphorns and didgeridoos are classified as brass instruments, but are made from wood. On the other hand, saxophones are classified as woodwinds, and are made from brass.
48 Chicago airport code : ORD
The IATA airport code for O’Hare International in Chicago is ORD, which comes from Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field (OR-D).
49 “Golden Boy” playwright : ODETS
“Golden Boy” is a play written by Clifford Odets that was first performed in 1937 on Broadway. There was a film adaptation released in 1939 that starred a young William Holden. “Golden Boy” was the film that launched Holden’s career.
51 Hotel amenity : SPA
The word “spa” migrated into English from Belgium, as “Spa” is the name of a municipality in the east of the country that is famous for its healing hot springs. The name “Spa” comes from the Walloon word “espa” meaning “spring, fountain”.
52 President of Princeton, then the U.S. : WILSON
Woodrow Wilson was a professor at Princeton from 1890 to 1902 at which time he was promoted to president of the university. Professor Wilson had earned his PhD. at Johns Hopkins University in 1886, so that when he was elected 28th President of the United States in 1912, he became the only US President to hold a PhD.
55 Stride affectedly : SASHAY
To sashay is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.
58 Literary genre often associated with the writer concealed in 16-, 32- and 40-Across : DETECTIVE STORY
Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.Edgar Allan Poe (EAP) lived a life of many firsts. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was also the first notable American author to make his living through his writing, something that didn’t really go too well for him as he was always financially strapped. In 1849 he was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in dire need of medical help. Poe died a few days later in hospital at 39 years of age.
63 Arabian, for one : HORSE
The Arab (also “Arabian”) breed of horse takes its name from its original home, the Arabian Peninsula. Like any animal that humans have over-bred, the horse falls prey to genetic diseases, some of which are fatal and some of which require the horse to be euthanized.
64 DE Dec. setting : EST
On the other side of the Atlantic, daylight saving time (DST) is known as “summer time”. The idea behind summer/daylight-savings is to move clocks forward an hour in spring (“spring forward”), and backwards in the fall (“fall back”) so that afternoons have more daylight. Here in the US, DST starts on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.
The state of Delaware takes its name from Virginia’s first colonial governor, Englishman Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Delaware is known as “the First State” as it was the first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.
65 What might take a while? : ERST-
“Erst” is an archaic way of saying “formerly, before the present time”. The term is mostly seen as part of the word “erstwhile”, an adjective meaning “of times past”.
66 Fencing blades : EPEES
The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, although the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.The sword known as an épée has a three-sided blade. The épée is similar to a foil and sabre, although the foil and saber have rectangular cross-sections.
Down
1 Pizza party leftovers : CRUSTS
October is National Pizza Month, an observance that was designated by the US Congress in 1987. Really …?
3 Eponymous goddess of a 1987 film flop : ISHTAR
“Ishtar” is a 1987 film that really bombed at the box office. It stars Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman, as lounge singers working in Morocco! There’s a Cold War plot and, thank goodness, it’s a comedy. Apparently, the film is so bad that it never even made it to DVD.
4 Painter Mondrian : PIET
Piet Mondrian was a painter from the Netherlands who also lived and worked in Paris, London and New York. Mondrian’s works ranged in style from Impressionism to Abstract.
6 Sweetie, in recent slang : BAE
“Bae” is a contemporary term of endearment. It is a pet name that is an abbreviation of “babe, baby”, although I’ve also read that it is an acronym standing for “before anyone else”.
9 Hawaii, e.g. : STATE
Alaska became the 49th state to join the United States on January 3rd, 1959. Hawaii became the 50th state just a few months later, on August 21st.
10 Apple desktop : IMAC
The iMac is a desktop computer platform that Apple introduced in 1998. One of the main features of the iMac is an “all-in-one” design, with the computer console and monitor integrated. The iMac also came in a range of colors that Apple marketed as “flavors”, such as strawberry, blueberry and lime.
12 Hypothetical account : SCENARIO
A scenario is an outline of the plot of perhaps a novel or play. The term “scenario” can also describe a sequence of hypothetical events.
15 Kate Brown is its gov. : ORE
Kate Brown became Governor of Oregon after having served for six years as Oregon’s Secretary of State. Brown took over as governor on the resignation of John Kitzhaber in 2015, and was elected to the office in her own right in 2016. Winning that 2016 election made her the first openly LGBT person to be elected governor of a US state.
28 “The Audacity of Hope” author : OBAMA
Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign focused on the themes of hope and change. The future-president also wrote a book called “The Audacity of Hope” that was first published in 2006.
34 Female ruminant : DOE
Ruminants are animals that “chew the cud”. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work. We also use the verb “to ruminate” in a figurative sense, to mean “to muse, ponder, chew over”.
35 Nursery item : CRIB
In Old English, the word “cribbe” applied to a manger, an open box holding fodder for livestock. Probably because of the association of a manger used as a bed for the infant Jesus, the word “crib” came to describe an enclosed bed for a child.
36 First big song success for The Moody Blues : GO NOW
The song “Go Now” was written by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett, and first recorded by Larry’s wife Bessie Banks in 1962. The most famous version of the song was recorded by the Moody Blues, and released in the US in 1965 as “Go Now!” The exclamation point in the Moody Blues title wasn’t on the original song.
The Moody Blues are an English rock band that was formed in 1964. The Moody Blues were noted in the early days for fusing classical music with rock and released a famous 1967 album in that style called “Days of Future Passed”.
50 Montreal-to-Boston dir. : SSE
The original name of Montreal was “Ville-Marie”, meaning “City of Mary”. “Ville-Marie” is now the name of a borough in the city, the borough which includes the downtown area and “Old Montreal”. The present-day city covers most of the Island of Montreal (in French, “Île de Montréal”) that is located where the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers meet. The name “Montreal” comes from the three-headed hill that dominates the island and is called “Mount Royal”.
Boston is the capital of the state of Massachusetts. The city was founded by Puritan colonists from England in 1630. The city takes its name from Boston, England from where hailed several of the early Puritan settlers.
53 RBI or ERA : STAT
Those would be baseball stats.
54 Venerable ref. : OED
Work started on what was to become the first “Oxford English Dictionary” (OED) in 1857. Several interim versions of the dictionary were published in the coming years with the first full version appearing, in ten bound volumes, in 1928. The second edition of the OED appeared in 1989 and is made up of twenty volumes. The OED was first published in electronic form in 1988 and went online in 2000. Given the modern use of computers, the publishing house responsible feels that there will never be a third print version of the famous dictionary.
56 Queens tennis venue honoree : ASHE
Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997 and for years was the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium was often criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather. Well, that changed in 2016 when the stadium debuted its new retractable roof, a $150 million investment in the facility.
59 Paving stuff : TAR
The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call tarmac.
61 Nov. honoree : VET
Veterans Day used to be known as Armistice Day, and is observed on November 11th each year. This particular date was chosen as the Armistice that ended WWI was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Some munchies : CHIPS
6 Asks to be excused, with “off” : BEGS …
10 Latin initialism on a cross : IHS
13 WWII riveter : ROSIE
14 Relating to body structure : ANATOMIC
16 A step up from a carport, perhaps : UNHEATED GARAGE (hiding “Edgar”)
18 Come to terms : SETTLE
19 Electronic dance music genre : TECHNO
21 Org. that’s not lax at LAX : TSA
22 Interval : LAPSE
26 Space : GAP
27 German brewing surname : STROH
30 Common Korean surname : LEE
31 Extremely dry : SERE
32 Limitation-of-freedom metaphor : BALL AND CHAIN (hiding “Allan”)
36 Doubled, perhaps : GOT A HIT
39 Corrida figures : TOREROS
40 Ding-a-ling or ding-dong : ONOMATOPOEIA (hiding “Poe”)
42 Zilch : NADA
43 Greater N.Y. school : LIU
44 Orchestra section : BRASS
48 Chicago airport code : ORD
49 “Golden Boy” playwright : ODETS
51 Hotel amenity : SPA
52 President of Princeton, then the U.S. : WILSON
55 Stride affectedly : SASHAY
58 Literary genre often associated with the writer concealed in 16-, 32- and 40-Across : DETECTIVE STORY
62 One happy to have no class? : GRADUATE
63 Arabian, for one : HORSE
64 DE Dec. setting : EST
65 What might take a while? : ERST-
66 Fencing blades : EPEES
Down
1 Pizza party leftovers : CRUSTS
2 “Really” : HONEST
3 Eponymous goddess of a 1987 film flop : ISHTAR
4 Painter Mondrian : PIET
5 Stop from leaking : SEAL
6 Sweetie, in recent slang : BAE
7 Stop : END
8 Joke : GAG
9 Hawaii, e.g. : STATE
10 Apple desktop : IMAC
11 A condition of maximum activity : HIGH GEAR
12 Hypothetical account : SCENARIO
15 Kate Brown is its gov. : ORE
17 Business card no. : TEL
20 Bids first : OPENS
23 Considered in full : ALL TOLD
24 Tiny soup base : PEA
25 Mailed, as invites : SENT OUT
28 “The Audacity of Hope” author : OBAMA
29 “I’m amused” : HA HA
31 Gather wool from : SHEAR
33 Set ablaze : LIT
34 Female ruminant : DOE
35 Nursery item : CRIB
36 First big song success for The Moody Blues : GO NOW
37 Positioned for ambush, as in many Westerns : ON A RIDGE
38 Two-year-olds, say : TODDLERS
41 Dessert choice : PIE
45 Like sailors on leave : ASHORE
46 Spread out : SPARSE
47 Agree : SAY YES
49 At the proper moment : ON CUE
50 Montreal-to-Boston dir. : SSE
53 RBI or ERA : STAT
54 Venerable ref. : OED
56 Queens tennis venue honoree : ASHE
57 Where to get off : STOP
59 Paving stuff : TAR
60 “__ nothing new” : IT’S
61 Nov. honoree : VET
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