Day: August 15, 2024

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Constructed by: Dan Margolis
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Pods Cast for Jobs

Themed answers are common phrases reinterpreted as categories of podcasts aimed at audiences cited in the corresponding clues:

• 20A Podcast category for electricians? : CURRENT EVENTS
• 28A Podcast category for demolition experts? : BREAKING NEWS
• 49A Podcast category for sanitation workers? : TALKING TRASH
• 58A Podcast category for beekeepers? : THE LATEST BUZZ

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

Bill’s time: 6m 34s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Glasgow topper : TAM

A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap worn traditionally by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’ Shanter”. A pom-pom adorning a tam is known as a toorie.

Glasgow sits on the River Clyde, and is the largest city in Scotland and. Back in the Victorian Era, Glasgow earned a reputation for excellence in shipbuilding and was known as “Second City of the British Empire”. Glasgow shipyards were the birthplaces of such famous vessels as the Lusitania, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. People from Glasgow are known as Glaswegians.

4 Milky white gem : OPAL

An opal is often described as having a milky iridescence known as opalescence.

15 Nutmeg spice : MACE

The fruit of the nutmeg tree yields two very different spices. What we call “nutmeg” comes from the seed of the tree. “Mace” is the dried covering of the seed.

17 Firth kin : LOCH

“Loch” is the Scottish-Gaelic word for “lake”. The Irish-Gaelic word is “lough”, and the Welsh word is “llyn”.

“Firth” is a word used in England and Scotland for an inlet. It tends to be used in the same way as “fjord” is in Scandinavia.

23 Bart Simpson, e.g. : TOON

Bart Simpson is the main character in television’s “The Simpsons”. His name was chosen by the writers as it is an anagram of “brat”. Bart is voiced by actress and comedian Nancy Cartwright.

24 Nest egg initials : IRA

A nest egg is an amount of money laid down as a reserve. This is the figurative use of “nest egg” that originally described an artificial egg left in a nest to encourage a hen to lay real eggs in that spot. So our financial nest egg is set aside in anticipation of continued growth, more eggs being laid.

25 Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe : STU

Stu Sutcliffe was one of the original four members of The Silver Beatles (as The Beatles were known in their early days), along with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Sutcliffe apparently came up with the name “Beatles” along with John Lennon, as a homage to their hero Buddy Holly who was backed by the “Crickets”. By all reports, Sutcliffe wasn’t a very talented musician and was more interested in painting. He went with the group to Hamburg, more than once, but he eventually left the Beatles and went back to art school, actually studying for a while at the Hamburg College of Art. In 1962 in Hamburg, Sutcliffe collapsed with blinding headaches. He died in the ambulance on the way to hospital, his death attributed to cerebral paralysis.

33 Funny duo? : ENS

There is a duo of letters N (ens) in the word “funny”.

37 “__ Meenie”: Kingston/Bieber song : EENIE

“Eenie Meenie” is a 2010 dance-pop song co-written and recorded by Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston. Apparently, Canadian Bieber brings R7B vocals to the song, and American-Jamaican gives it a reggae vibe.

38 One of the Three Bears : MAMA

The story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” was first recorded in 1837 in England, although the narrative was around before it was actually written down. The original fairy tale was rather gruesome, but successive versions became more family-oriented. The character that eventually became Goldilocks was originally an elderly woman, and the three “nameless” bears became Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.

40 Boating hazards : REEFS

A reef is a ridge of stable material lying beneath the surface of a body of water. They can be made up of sand or rock, and also of coral. The largest coral reef on the planet is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which stretches over 1,400 miles.

48 Keebler mascot : ELF

The famous Keebler Elves have been appearing in ads for Keebler since 1968. The original head of the elves was J. J. Keebler, but he was toppled from power by Ernest J. Keebler in 1970. The Keebler Elves bake their cookies in the Hollow Tree Factory.

54 “Hamilton” creator __-Manuel Miranda : LIN

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer and playwright from New York City, and the creator and star of the hit Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights”. Miranda also co-wrote the songs for the 2016 Disney animated feature “Moana”. He started composing early, and wrote jingles as a child. One of those jingles was later used by Eliot Spitzer in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

71 Lenya of “The Threepenny Opera” : LOTTE

Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer and actress. She was married to composer Kurt Weill, and was noted for her performances of his works. Late in her career she played Rosa Klebb, one of the main villains in the 1963 Bond movie “From Russia With Love”. Klebb was the character who had the knife that popped out from the toe of her shoe.

“The Threepenny Opera” (“Die Dreigroschenoper”) is a musical written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill first performed in Berlin in 1928, an adaptation of “The Beggar’s Opera” written by Englishman John Gay in the 18th century. One of the most famous songs to come from the musical is “The Ballad of Mack the Knife” (“Die Moritat von Mackie Messer”). “Mack the Knife” was introduced into the popular music repertoire by Louis Armstrong. He had a hit with it in 1956, but it was the Bobby Darin recording of 1959 that came to be known as the definitive, English-language version of the song. I love it …

72 “The Hidden Staircase” sleuth Nancy : DREW

“The Hidden Staircase” is a 1930 “Nancy Drew” mystery written by Mildred Benson using the pen name Carolyn Keene. The novel was adapted into a 1939 film “Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” starring Bonita Granville as the title character. Actress Sophia Lillis played Drew in a 2018 film adaptation using the same title.

Down

1 Mineral softer than gypsum : TALC

Gypsum is a common and versatile mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate. It is known for its softness, ranking only 2 on the Mohs hardness scale, and can be easily scratched with a fingernail. Its uses are widespread, notably in the construction industry as the main component of drywall and plaster.

4 Harbinger : OMEN

A harbinger is a person or a thing that indicates what is to come. The word comes from the Middle English “herbenger” describing a person sent ahead to arrange lodgings.

6 Blue-Emu target : ACHE

Blu-Emu is a line of topical pain relievers that was introduced in 2002. As suggested by the name, Blue-Emu products include emu oil as an ingredient. Emu oil is extracted from the fat of emu carcases that are processed for meat.

7 Pope after John XI : LEO VII

Leo VII was a reluctant Pope, and someone effectively placed into the job by the monarch of Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, so that Alberic could retain control over the papacy. Legend has it that Leo VII died of a heart attack while making love to his mistress.

8 Early metalworking period : IRON AGE

Ancient societies can be classified by the “three-age system”, which depends on the prevalence of materials used to make tools. The three ages are:

• The Stone Age
• The Bronze Age
• The Iron Age

The actual dates defined by each age depend on the society, as the timing of the transition from the use of one material to another varied around the globe.

9 Links rental : CART

The oldest type of golf course is a links course. The name “links” comes from the Old English word “hlinc” meaning “rising ground”. “Hlinc” was used to describe areas with coastal sand dunes or open parkland. As a result, we use the term “links course” to mean a golf course that is located at or on the coast, often amid sand dunes. The British Open is always played on a links course.

11 I, to Claudius : EGO

I find Claudius to be the most fascinating of all the Roman Emperors. He had a lot going against him, as he walked with a limp and was slightly deaf. Claudius was put in office by the Praetorian Guard (the emperor’s bodyguards) after Caligula was assassinated. Claudius had very little political experience and yet proved to be very forward-thinking and capable.

12 In medias __ : RES

“In medias res” is a Latin phrase that translates as “into the middle of things”. We use “in medias res” to describe a literary technique in which a story starts at some point other than the beginning of the plot.

21 Professor Higgins, to Eliza : ‘ENRY

Eliza Doolittle is Professor Henry Higgins’ speech student in George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. “Pygmalion” was adapted by Lerner and Loewe to become the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady”. The musical spun off the wonderful 1964 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. To cockney Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins was “‘Enry ‘Iggins”.

30 “The Boys __ Back in Town” : ARE

“The Boys Are Back in Town” is a hit song released in 1976 by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It’s played a lot at Irish rugby matches. Great song …

31 Genuflected : KNELT

Our verb “to genuflect” means “to bend the knee, in worship”. The term comes to us via French from the Latin “genu” meaning “knee” and “flectere” meaning “to bend”.

32 Grant-giving gp. : NEA

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an agency funded by the federal government that offers support and financing for artistic projects. The NEA was created by an Act of Congress in 1965. Between 1965 and 2008, the NEA awarded over $4 billion to the arts, with Congress authorizing around $170 million annually through the eighties and much of the nineties. That funding was cut to less than $100 million in the late nineties due to pressure from conservatives concerned about the use of funds, but it is now back over the $150 million mark.

34 Part of USNA : NAVAL

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It was founded in 1845 and educates officers for both the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. The motto of the USNA is “Ex Scientia Tridens”, which translates as “From Knowledge, Sea Power”.

39 Deluge refuge : ARK

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, rain fell for forty days and forty nights, resulting in the Great Flood. All creatures on the land perished, except Noah, his family, and the animals that he brought into the ark.

42 Like a wee bairn : SMA

“Bairn” is a Scots word meaning “child”.

45 Nerve ending? : SILENT E

The ending letter of the word “nerve” is a silent letter E.

51 Chewed like a beaver : GNAWED

Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. Beavers are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.

56 Blooming bulb : TULIP

We usually associate the cultivation of tulips with the Netherlands, but they were first grown commercially in the Ottoman Empire. The name “tulip” ultimately derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “tulbend” that means “muslin, gauze”.

63 Gusto : ZEST

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in English in the phrase “with gusto” meaning “with great enjoyment”.

64 Org. whose champion wins the Calder Cup : AHL

The American Hockey League (AHL) is the so-called development circuit for the National Hockey League (NHL), the equivalent of the minors in professional baseball. The AHL’s playoff trophy is called the Calder Cup, which is named for Frank Calder who was the first president of the NHL.