Category: Billy Ouska

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Constructed by: Billy Ouska
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Rough Start

Themed answers each START with a synonym of “ROUGH”:

• 57A Inauspicious beginning, or a feature of 17-, 24, and 47-Across : ROUGH START

• 17A Artistic gymnastics event : UNEVEN BARS
• 24A Campy musical comedy starring Tim Curry, to fans : ROCKY HORROR
• 47A Cocktails with peach schnapps and orange juice : FUZZY NAVELS

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

Bill’s time: 6m 01s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Rights org. with a Smart Justice campaign : ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched its Smart Justice Campaign in 2018. It has the goal of reducing the numbers incarcerated in US prisons by 50%, while addressing the obvious disparities in the racial makeup of the prison population.

15 Former Chinese premier Zhou __ : ENLAI

Zhou Enlai (also “Chou En-lai”) was the first government leader of the People’s Republic of China and held the office of Premier from 1949 until he died in 1976. Zhou Enlai ran the government for Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong, often striking a more conciliatory tone with the West than that of his boss. He was instrumental, for example, in setting up President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Zhou Enlai died just a few months before Mao Zedong, with both deaths leading to unrest and a dramatic change in political direction for the country.

20 Miatas and CX-5s : MAZDAS

The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan. The name “Miata” comes from an Old High German word meaning “reward”.

The CX-5 is a very successful compact crossover SUV that Mazda started producing in 2012. It was destined to become the company’s best-selling vehicle worldwide, starting in 2014.

24 Campy musical comedy starring Tim Curry, to fans : ROCKY HORROR

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has to have the most devout cult-following of any movie ever made. Famously, fans attending a midnight show of the film will dress up in outrageous costumes used in the film, and bring props with them. The props bear little relation to the storyline, but a tradition of using certain props in a particular way has been established. For example, at one point a character proposes a toast, and the audience throws toast around the theater. Go figure …

Tim Curry is a marvelous actor from England who is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Curry also played the title role in the original Broadway play “Amadeus”.

30 “Garfield” dog : ODIE

Odie is Garfield’s best friend, and is a slobbery beagle. Both are characters in Jim Davis’ comic strip named “Garfield”.

40 First picture in a baby book, perhaps : SONOGRAM

A sonogram is an image made using ultrasound. “Ultrasound” is the name given to sound energy that has frequencies above the audible range.

44 Voice range of many a 4-Down : SOPRANO
[4D Opera star : DIVA]

The soprano (plural “sopranos” or “soprani”) is the highest singing voice. The term “soprano “ comes from the Italian “sopra” meaning “above”. A male countertenor who is able to sing in the soprano voice range is known as a sopranist. A castrated male who can sing in the same range is known as a “castrato”, and a boy soprano is referred to as a treble.

47 Cocktails with peach schnapps and orange juice : FUZZY NAVELS

The cocktail known as a fuzzy navel was invented in the eighties by bartender Ray Foley, the founder of “Bartender Magazine”. The basic drink is made with equal parts of peach schnapps and orange juice, with the “fuzzy” referring to the texture of the skin of a peach, and the “navel” referring to the navel in a navel orange. A variant of the drink is made by adding a splash of vodka, giving a hairy navel. The more vodka, the hairier the cocktail.

53 Ram of horoscopes : ARIES

Aries the Ram is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, and is named after the constellation. Your birth sign is Aries if you were born between March 21 and April 20, but if you are an Aries you would know that! “Aries” is the Latin word for “ram”.

56 Mario Kart units : LAPS

“Mario Kart” is a go-kart racing video game series from Nintendo.

62 Like agts. who no longer work for “the company” : EX-CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during WWII. The CIA was chartered by the National Security Act of 1947. The organization is often referred to familiarly as “the Company”.

64 “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is the more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

Down

1 AC meas. : BTU

In the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the power of a heating or cooling unit can be measured using the British Thermal Unit (BTU). This dated unit is the amount of energy required to heat a pound of water so that the water’s temperature increases by one degree Fahrenheit.

5 Hamstring, for one : TENDON

The hamstrings are four tendons connected to three posterior thigh muscles, although the term “hamstring” is sometimes used for the thigh muscles themselves.

12 Rodeo rope : LASSO

Our English word “lasso” comes from the Spanish “lazo”, and ultimately from the Latin “laqueum” meaning “noose, snare”.

18 Old Testament book before Nehemiah : EZRA

In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Ezra was originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah, with the two being separated in the early days of the Christian Era.

25 App with reviews : YELP

A yellow pages phone directory is a listing of business and telephone numbers. The first yellow pages directory was introduced here in the US, back in 1886. The phrase “yellow pages” has become almost ubiquitous, although some countries (like my native Ireland) use “golden pages” instead. The term lives on in the modern era, as the name of the business review website Yelp.com is a contraction of “YEL-low P-ages”.

31 Actor Rockwell : SAM

Sam Rockwell is an actor who is known for his appearances in independent films. He is an Oscar winner, receiving the Best Supporting Actor award for playing racist police officer Jason Dixon in the marvelous 20017 film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

32 Pioneering late-night host Jack : PAAR

Jack Paar was most famous as the host of “The Tonight Show”, from 1957 to 1962. When he died in 2004, “Time” magazine wrote that Paar was “the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: “Before Paar and Below Paar”. Very complimentary …

33 Passport info : LEGAL NAME

As a result of a League of Nations conference in 1920, passports are usually written in French and one other language. French was specified back then as it was deemed the language of diplomacy. US passports use French and English, given that English is the nation’s de facto national language. Spanish was added as a language for US passports in the late nineties, in recognition of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico.

35 Fenway Park team, casually : BOSOX

The left field wall in Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, is the tallest encountered in Major League ballparks. The wall was built that high to prevent viewing of games from outside of the park for free. The height also prevents home runs that would be possible in other ballparks, and so, given its color and reputation, it is called the Green Monster.

37 Small, chirpy bird : WREN

The wren is a small songbird belonging to the family troglodytidae and the genus troglodytes. Wrens are known for making dome-shaped nests. Despite their small size, they are known for their loud and complex songs. Male wrens often sing to attract mates and to establish territory, They have been known to attack much larger birds that get too close to their nests.

38 Disney’s “__ and the Last Dragon” : RAYA

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is a 2021 Disney animated feature film. Actress Kelly Marie Tran voices Raya, a fierce warrior princess who is on a search for the last dragon. Actress and rapper Awkwafina voices Sisu, the last dragon.

41 “__ Grocery Games”: Food Network series also called “Triple G” : GUY’S

Guy’s Grocery Games (“Triple G”) is a cooking game show hosted by chef Guy Fieri. It airs on the Food Network. The first season was filmed inside a real grocery store. From the second season onwards, the “grocery store” was a creation inside a warehouse. During the pandemic, the producers came up with “Guy’s Grocery Games: Delivery”, in which food items were delivered to the contestants’ homes in boxes.

44 Spanish golfer García who won the 2017 Masters Tournament : SERGIO

Sergio García is a professional golfer from Spain, and a very colorful character. Garcia also likes his football (soccer). He is the chairman of his hometown team CF Borriol.

45 No longer in style : OLD HAT

The use of “old hat” to mean something “out of date, stale” started about 1911. Before that, the term “old hat” meant something very different, and very vulgar. “Old hat” was the name given to a very private part of the female anatomy, the idea being that it was “often felt” (as in a “felt hat”). I just don’t know what to say …

46 Educational TV ads : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

48 Range between Europe and Asia : URALS

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

50 Brand of saltine crackers : ZESTA

Zesta is a line of saltine crackers made by Keebler.

58 Good Grips brand : OXO

The OXO line of kitchen utensils and housewares is designed to be ergonomically superior to the average household tools. The intended user of OXO products is someone who doesn’t have the normal range of motion or strength in the hands e.g. someone suffering from arthritis.