Day: April 17, 2023

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Constructed by: Catherine Cetta
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Full of Beans

Themed answers each include a kind of BEAN as a hidden word:

• 58A Completely wrong, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are? : FULL OF BEANS

• 17A *”Don’t be a stranger!” : KEEP IN TOUCH! (hiding “PINTO”)
• 27A *Vision in the mind’s eye : MENTAL IMAGE (hiding “LIMA”)
• 43A *Enthusiastic compliment in the fitting room : THAT IS SO YOU (hiding “SOY”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Hornets and yellow jackets : WASPS

A hornet is a large type of wasp, with some species reaching over two inches in length.

“Yellowjacket” is a name commonly used in North America for what are often referred to simply as “wasps” in other English-speaking parts of the world. Both terms describe several different species.

6 Meghan Trainor’s “All __ That Bass” : ABOUT

My taste in music tends to be buried in the past, but I do like Meghan Trainor’s 2014 debut single “All About That Bass”. To me, the song has a bit of a retro feel to it.

17 *”Don’t be a stranger!” : KEEP IN TOUCH! (hiding “PINTO”)

Pinto beans are so-called because their skins have a mottled (“pinto”) appearance.

24 “Save Your Tears” singer Grande : ARIANA

“Save Your Tears” is a 2020 song released by Canadian singer/songwriter the Weeknd. The following year, he released a remix version of the song with Ariana Grande.

27 *Vision in the mind’s eye : MENTAL IMAGE (hiding “LIMA”)

The lima bean is also known as the butter bean or madagascar bean. It was introduced to Europe from the area around Lima, Peru, hence the name.

38 Prez on a fiver : ABE

The US five-dollar bill is often called an “Abe”, as President Abraham 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.

41 Kerfuffle : ADO

“Kerfuffle” comes from the Scottish “curfuffle”, with both words meaning “disruption”.

42 Trumpets and tubas : HORNS

We get our word “trumpet”, describing the brass instrument, from the Old French word “trompe”. A “trompe” was a long, tube-like instrument, and a “trompette” was a smaller version.

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

43 *Enthusiastic compliment in the fitting room : THAT IS SO YOU (hiding “SOY”)

What are known as soybeans here in the US are called “soya beans” in most other English-speaking countries. So, I drink soy milk here in America, but when I am over in Ireland I drink “soya milk”.

47 Utopias : EDENS

The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book “Utopia” published in 1516 to describe an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

48 Familiar saying : OLD SAW

A saw is an old saying, one that is often repeated and is very familiar. The term “old saw” is actually a tautology, as by definition a “saw” is “old”.

52 Soul singer Baker : ANITA

Anita Baker is an R&B and soul singer who was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Baker’s most successful song is the Grammy-winning “Sweet Love” that was released in 1986.

53 “Creations from la cocina” brand : GOYA

Goya Foods is a supplier of food products headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey. The company was founded in 1936 by two immigrants from Spain.

58 Completely wrong, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are? : FULL OF BEANS

The idiom “full of beans” is often used to mean “full of energy”. The same phrase can be used to mean “telling lies”.

62 “August: __ County”: Meryl Streep film : OSAGE

“August: Osage County” is a dark comedy play by Tracy Letts that won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I saw the 2013 movie adaptation that has a great cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, and Benedict Cumberbatch. I really enjoyed it …

63 Novelist Jong : ERICA

Author Erica Jong’s most famous work is her first: “Fear of Flying”, a novel published in 1973. Over twenty years later, Jong wrote “Fear of Fifty: a midlife memoir”, published in 1994.

Down

2 Apple : Siri :: Amazon : __ : ALEXA

Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with Amazon Echo smart speakers. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.

3 Take the helm : STEER

In its broadest sense, the term “helm” describes the whole of a ship’s steering mechanism, including the rudder and tiller. In a more specific sense, the helm is the handle, tiller or wheel that is used to control the steering gear.

4 One side in the cola wars : PEPSI

“Cola Wars” is a phrase used to describe the competing marketing campaigns of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Coke is winning …

5 __ Lanka : SRI

The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India. The name “Sri Lanka” translates from Sanskrit into English as “venerable island”. Before 1970, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, a name given to the country during British rule.

6 Insect-sized superhero played by Paul Rudd : ANT-MAN

In the Marvel universe, Ant-Man has been the superhero persona of three different fictional characters: Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady. In the 2015 film “Ant-Man”, Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym, and Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang.

7 Jazz Age cartoon Betty __ : BOOP

Betty Boop made her first appearance on the screen in 1930, in a cartoon called “Dizzy Dishes”. Her character was modeled on the It-girl, the sexy Clara Bow of movie fame. Back then Betty Boop was a sexy poodle and it wasn’t until 1932 that she morphed into completely human form. Betty was quite the risqué figure, but her vampish ways only lasted a few years. When the Production Code of 1934 came into force, Betty started to dress more modestly and toned down her behavior.

9 Duke’s ACC rival : UNC

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill started enrolling students way back in 1795, making it the first public university in the country to open its door to students.

10 Island in French Polynesia : TAHITI

Tahiti is the most populous island in French Polynesia, which is located in the central Southern Pacific. Although Captain Cook landed in Tahiti in 1769, he wasn’t the first European to do so. However, Cook’s visit was the most significant in that it heralded a whole spate of European visitors, who brought with them prostitution, venereal disease and alcohol. Included among the subsequent visitors was the famous HMS Bounty under the charge of Captain Bligh.

French Polynesia (Polynésie française) is a vast overseas territory of France that is located in the South Pacific Ocean. It comprises 118 islands and atolls dispersed over 1,609 square miles, the most populous being Tahiti.

12 Melodramatic cry of exhaustion : I CAN’T GO ON!

A melodrama is a play or film that usually pits good against evil, with an obvious hero or heroine vying against an obvious villain. Melodrama has evolved over time, originating in the 18th century as a drama for which there was a musical accompaniment. The term is derived from the Greek “melos” meaning “music” and the French “drame” meaning “drama”.

13 Unkempt dos : MOPS

The word “unkempt” means “disheveled, not well-combed”. It derives from the Old English word “cemban” meaning “to comb”. The opposite to the more common “unkempt” is … “kempt”.

18 Number of innings in most baseball games : NINE

In the early days of baseball, there was not a set number of innings. Rather, teams played until one side reached 21 runs (called “aces” back then). As a result a typical game lasted about six innings. Runs were a lot more commonplace back then …

23 Chevy muscle car : CAMARO

The Chevrolet Camaro is a car produced by General Motors from 1966 to 2002, and reintroduced in 2009. The Camaro shared much of its design with the Pontiac Firebird, and was introduced as a potential competitor to the Ford Mustang.

25 Iowa city north of Des Moines : AMES

The Iowa city of Ames was founded as a stop on the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad in 1864. It was named for US Congressman Oakes Ames from the state of Massachusetts in honor of the role that Ames played in the building of the transcontinental railroad.

The city of Des Moines is the capital of Iowa, and takes its name from the Des Moines River. The river in turn takes its name from the French “Riviere des Moines” meaning “River of the Monks”. It looks like there isn’t any “monkish” connection to the city’s name per se. “Des Moines” was just the name given by French traders who corrupted “Moingona”, the name of a group of Illinois Native Americans who lived by the river. However, others contend that French Trappist monks, who lived a full 200 miles from the river, somehow influenced the name.

28 Definite no-no : TABOO

The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

30 “Love & Basketball” actor Omar : EPPS

Actor Omar Epps was originally a rapper and was a member of a group called “Wolfpack” before he pursued acting full-time. Epps’ really big break came in the form of a recurring role on the popular medical drama series “ER”, followed by a recurring role in the TV series “House” as Dr. Eric Foreman.

“Love & Basketball” is a romantic sports film released in 2000 starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan as two basketball players who eventually fall in love. The film, written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, has been described as semi-autobiographical. Critics praised the on-screen chemistry between the leads. Well, Epps and Lathan actually started dating just before the start of filming, so that might have helped …

34 Days of the week, e.g. : SEPTET

We have seven days in a week because there are seven classical planets in the Solar System. The days were named for these “planets” during the Roman era:

• Sun (Sunday)
• Moon (Monday)
• Mars (Tuesday)
• Mercury (Wednesday)
• Jupiter (Thursday)
• Venus (Friday)
• Saturn (Saturday)

45 Fluctuated wildly : YO-YOED

Would you believe that the first yo-yos date back to 500 BC? There is even an ancient Greek vase painting that shows a young man playing with a yo-yo. Centuries later Filipinos were using yo-yos as hunting tools in the 1500s. “Yo-yo” is a Tagalog (Filipino) word meaning “come-come” or simply “return”.

46 Elsa and Anna’s snowman pal : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

53 Glitzy genre : GLAM

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

54 Gymnast Korbut : OLGA

Olga Korbut is from modern-day Belarus, but was born during the days of the Soviet Union. Korbut competed for the USSR team in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. She was 17 when she appeared in the 1972 Munich Games, and had been training in a sports school since she was 8-years-old. The world fell in love with her as she was a very emotional young lady, readily expressing joy and disappointment, something that we weren’t used to seeing in athletes from behind the Iron Curtain. Korbut immigrated to the US in 1991 and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

56 Bygone Russian ruler : TSAR

The first Russian tsar was Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible. He ruled from 1547 to 1584. The last Russian tsar was Nicholas II. He ruled from 1894 to 1917. Nicholas II and his family were executed in 1918.

59 GI entertainers : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

60 Honey-making pollinator : BEE

There are over 16,000 species of bees, with the best-known probably being the western honey bee, the most common of the honey bees worldwide. Bees feed on nectar and pollen, and in so doing play a crucial role in the pollination of many plants. That’s one of the main reasons there is great concern about diminishing populations of wild bees.