Category: Agnes Davidson

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Constructed by: Agnes Davidson & Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Pass the Time

Themed answers each start with a word that often is seen following “PASS THE”:

• 57A Kill a few hours, and an apt title for this puzzle? : PASS THE TIME

17A Vocalist who expresses unrequited love : TORCH SINGER (giving “pass the torch”)

28A Early sci-fi adventure hero : BUCK ROGERS (giving “pass the buck”)

35A Hockey feats : HAT TRICKS (giving “pass the hat”)

46A Cocktail makers : BARKEEPERS (giving “pass the bar”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Vehicle not allowed in Venice : CAR

Anyone wanting to get around the historic center of the Italian city of Venice has to walk or travel on water. Cars are not allowed. In fact, Venice is the largest urban car-free area in the whole of Europe.

4 Museum piece : RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

14 __ acid : AMINO

There are 20 different types of amino acids that make up proteins. However, only 11 of them can be synthesized by the human body, while the remaining nine essential amino acids must be obtained from food sources.

17 Vocalist who expresses unrequited love : TORCH SINGER (giving “pass the torch”)

A sentimental love song can be referred to as a “torch song”. The term derives from the expression “to carry a torch for someone” meaning to keep aflame the light of love, despite the feeling not being returned by the other party.

19 Skin bump : WART

A wart is a small eruption on the skin caused by a localized viral infection. Apparently, the most successful treatment is topical use of salicylic acid, with a cure rate of 75%.

22 Letters on tubes of toothpaste : ADA

American Dental Association (ADA)

28 Early sci-fi adventure hero : BUCK ROGERS (giving “pass the buck”)

Before Buck Rogers made it into the big time in the comic strip “Buck Roger in the 25th Century”, he was a character in a pair of short stories written by Philip Francis Nowlan, the first of which was “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” In the stories, he was known as Anthony Rogers, and was given a name change when he went into the comics.

The phrase “passing the buck” supposedly comes from poker. The marker that indicates whose turn it is to deal is called the buck, and it is passed from player to player. Over time, the phrase came to mean the passing of responsibility (or usually blame). President Harry S. Truman popularized the derivative phrase “the buck stops here” by placing a sign bearing those words on his desk in the Oval Office. President Truman had received the sign as a gift from a prison warden who was also an enthusiastic poker player.

35 Hockey feats : HAT TRICKS (giving “pass the hat”)

A hat trick is the scoring of three goals by the same player in a game of perhaps soccer or hockey.

39 Madrid Mrs. : SRA

Madrid is the most populous city in Spain, and is the nation’s capital. It is located very close to the geographical center of the country. Madrid is the second-largest city in the European Union by population, after Berlin. People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.

42 Franchise that includes “Iron Man” and “WandaVision,” for short : MCU

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 as Timely Comics, before becoming Atlas Comics in 1951 and eventually Marvel Comics in 1961. The “Marvel” brand had existed from day one, and Timely Comics’ first publication was “Marvel Comics #1” in October 1939. That first comic featured the superhero the Human Torch.

46 Cocktail makers : BARKEEPERS (giving “pass the bar”)

The legal profession is referred to as “the bar”. The term arose in medieval times when European courtrooms were divided into two with “barring” furniture, basically a wooden rail that separated the public from the participants in the trial.

51 Workplace for a forensic scientist : DNA LAB

Something described as forensic is connected with a court of law, or with public discussion or debate. The term comes from the Latin “forensis” meaning “of a forum, of a place of assembly”. We mainly use the word today to mean “pertaining to legal trials” as in “forensic medicine” and “forensic science”.

52 Uno e due : TRE

In Italian, “uno e due” (one and two) is “tre” (three).

53 Vision-correcting surgery : LASIK

LASIK surgery uses a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye to improve vision. The LASIK acronym stands for “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis”.

61 “Couples Therapy” network, for short : SHO

I haven’t seen the show “Couples Therapy”, but it sounds pretty voyeuristic to me. First airing in 2021, it features couples therapist Orna Guralnik in sessions with real clients. The couples agree to be filmed, with the cameras hidden behind one-way mirrors that surround the consulting room.

62 Grammy winner 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.

63 BBC airer, familiarly : TELLY

“Telly” is a term commonly used in Britain and Ireland that is short for “television”.

65 Award for “Hadestown” : TONY

“Hadestown” is a 2006 musical based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Anaïs Mitchell wrote the music and lyrics, and in 2010 adapted the stage musical into a concept album, for which Mitchell herself took on the role of Eurydice. After a 9-year hiatus, Mitchell reworked the piece, and a new version of “Hadestown” opened off-Broadway in 2016. A few years later, the show made it to Broadway, and won eight Tony Awards.

Down

1 Spider traps : COBWEBS

The silk that makes up a web is a protein fiber that is “spun” by a spider. Spider silk is about one sixth of the density of steel, yet has a comparable tensile strength.

4 Rodent in the Vietnamese zodiac : RAT

The Vietnamese zodiac is derived from the Chinese zodiac. Both schemes feature a 12-year cycle that assigns animals to each year, with the Vietnamese version substituting the ox with the water buffalo and the rabbit with the cat.

6 Turkish currency : LIRA

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

9 Cain, to Adam : SON

As Cain was the first murderer according to the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

10 Common label at Whole Foods : ORGANIC

The first Whole Foods Market was opened in 1980 by John Mackey and partners in Austin, Texas. For the two years prior to the Whole Foods launch, Mackay was operating his natural foods store that he called “Saferway”, as opposed to “Safeway”. Clever name …

11 Humbly accepted blame : ATE DIRT

“To eat dirt” is a slang term meaning to accept insults without complaint.

12 Martial art developed in Okinawa : KARATE

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands, a long chain that arcs over 1,000 miles south of Japan in the direction of Taiwan. The island is home to over 30 US military facilities, including Kadena Air Base and the Marine Corps’ Camp Foster.

24 Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

Erma Bombeck wrote for newspapers for about 35 years. She produced more than 4,000 witty and humorous columns under the title “At Wit’s End”, with all describing her home life in suburbia.

25 Daikon or beet : ROOT

The daikon is a Japanese winter radish with a mild flavor. The name “daikon” translates as “big root”.

30 Misspelling, e.g. : ERROR

Speaking as someone who misspells all the time, I find it somewhat amusing that one of the more common words to misspell is “misspell” (written incorrectly as “mispell”).

36 Tattoo artist’s supply : INK

According to a 2019 survey, about 30% of Americans have at least one tattoo, and the tattoo industry is estimated to be worth over $1 billion in the United States alone. Me? Not into pain, so one of the 70% …

39 Opera diva, usually : SOPRANO

The term “diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. It is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

42 “Bridesmaids” actress McCarthy : MELISSA

Melissa McCarthy is an actress and comedian who is perhaps best known on the small screen for playing Molly on the sitcom “Mike & Molly”, and on the big screen for playing the wild and wacky Megan Price in the 2011 comedy “Bridesmaids”. According to “Forbes”, McCarthy was the third-highest paid actress in 2014/2015, after Jennifer Lawrence and Scarlett Johansson.

“Bridesmaids” is a 2011 comedy movie co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig. I wasn’t crazy about this film until Chris O’Dowd turned up as a traffic cop. Wiig and O’Dowd were great together, I thought. Pity about the rest of the movie …

44 Spot for a flash drive : USB PORT

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and dealing with electrical power through those connections.

48 “__ Patrol”: animated series with dogs in uniform : PAW

“PAW Patrol” is an animated children’s show that started airing in 2013. It’s all about Ryder, a young lad who leads the PAW Patrol, a pack of search-and-rescue dogs.

50 Ski resort near Snowbird : ALTA

Alta ski resort actually lies within the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area. The first ski lift in the resort was opened way back in 1939. Today, Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the country that prohibits snowboarding (along with Deer Valley, Utah and Mad River Glen, Vermont). The ski resort of Snowbird, located next to Alta, has been in operation since 1971.

55 Metric weight : KILO

Today, the gram is defined as one thousandth of a kilogram, with the kilogram being equal to the mass of a physical sample preserved by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (well, up until 2019, when it became more hi-tech than I can explain!). Prior to 1960, the gram was defined as the weight of a cubic centimeter of pure water (at the temperature of melting ice).

59 “I have a dream” monogram : MLK

Martin Luther King, Jr’s father was born Michael King. On a trip to Germany in 1934, Michael came to admire Protestant leader Martin Luther and changed his name to Martin Luther King on his return to the United States. Famously, he passed on his new name to his son, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr (MLK).

60 Place for winged liner : EYE

In the winged eyeliner technique the eyeliner is added mainly to the top lash line only, and extends past the outer corner of the eye creating a wing shape. Or, so I’m told …