Category: Dan Caprera

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Constructed by: Dan Caprera
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Cut the Cards

Themed answers each include a “CUT” playing CARD divided between the start and finish of the word, and given in circled letters in the grid:

• 59A Prepare a deck before dealing, and what the answers to the starred clues literally do : CUT THE CARDS

• 16A *LGBT+ organization founded in 1990 : QUEER NATION (cut the “queen”)
• 24A *”Chin up!” : KEEP SMILING (cut the “king”)
• 36A *Musical film about a convict who learns to play the guitar in prison : JAILHOUSE ROCK (cut the “jack”)
• 49A *Completely unapproachable : AS COLD AS ICE (cut the “ace”)

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

Bill’s time: 4m 53s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cheese __: Wisconsin snack : CURDS

When milk curdles it separates into two parts, the solid curds and the liquid whey.

6 October birthstone : OPAL

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

• January: Garnet
• February: Amethyst
• March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
• April: Diamond
• May: Emerald
• June: Pearl or Moonstone
• July: Ruby
• August: Sardonyx or Peridot
• September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
• October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
• November: Topaz or Citrine
• December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

13 Turner of “Game of Thrones” : SOPHIE

Sophie Turner is an English best known for her first TV role, portraying Sansa Stark on the show “Game of Thrones”. She was only 14 years old when she first appeared in the show in 2010. In 2016, she married American singer Joe Jones, one of the three Jonas Brothers.

14 Lymph __: immune system part : NODE

Lymph is a fluid that exists alongside blood in the body that is transported through lymph vessels. One of the functions of the system is to pick up bacteria in the body, transporting them to lymph nodes where they are destroyed by lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Lymph can also carry metastatic cancer cells that can lodge in lymph nodes, making lymph nodes a common site where tumors may be found growing.

16 *LGBT+ organization founded in 1990 : QUEER NATION (cut the “queen”)

Queer Nation is an activist organization that operated from 1990 until the middle of the decade. It was viewed as a relatively radical group in that it was formed in response to perceived complacency in the mainstream gay rights movement. Examples of some notable slogans used by Queer Nation are:

• “Two, Four, Six, Eight! How Do You Know Your Kids Are Straight?”
• “Out of the Closets and Into the Streets”
• “We’re Here! We’re Queer! Get used to it!”

19 Bone parallel to the radius : ULNA

The radius and ulna are bones in the forearm. If you hold the palm of your hand up in front of you, the radius is the bone on the “thumb-side” of the arm, and the ulna is the bone on the “pinky-side”.

23 Use an abacus, perhaps : ADD

The abacus (plural “abaci”) was used as a counting frame long before man had invented a numbering system. It is a remarkable invention, particularly when one notes that abaci are still widely used today across Africa and Asia.

31 The North Star : POLARIS

Because the orientation of the Earth’s axis shifts, albeit very slowly, the position of north relative to the stars changes over time. The bright star that is closest to true north is Polaris, and so we call Polaris the “North Star” or “Pole Star”. Because of the relatively stable position of Polaris in the Northern Sky, it is a useful navigational tool. 14,000 years ago, the nearest bright star to true north was Vega, and it will be so again in about 12,000 year’s time.

34 Doja Cat genre : RAP

Doja Cat is a singer and rapper who first gained popularity with her hit song “Mooo!” in 2018. Her real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini.

35 Mineral that adds shimmer to cosmetics : MICA

Mica is a silicate mineral. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes” in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

36 *Musical film about a convict who learns to play the guitar in prison : JAILHOUSE ROCK (cut the “jack”)

“Jailhouse Rock” is a 1957 Elvis Presley film that was originally titled “The Hard Way”. The movie was renamed in order to cash in on the anticipated success of the title song. The opening dance sequence, in which he performs “Jailhouse Rock”, is perhaps Presley’s most memorable moment on the big screen.

41 Name on a 1950s campaign button : IKE

“I Like Ike” was a political slogan that originated with the grassroots movement to get Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) to run for president in the 1952 presidential election.

42 In a funk : SAD

The phrase “in a blue funk” has two different meanings, depending on what side of the Atlantic you are. Here in North America, to be in a blue funk is to be in a state of gloom. Over in Britain and Ireland, it is to be in a state of anxiety.

43 Part of a bedroom set : DRESSER

The item of bedroom furniture usually known as a dresser (or sometimes “bureau”) here in North America, is generally called a chest of drawers in Britain and Ireland. Whatever the name, the piece consists of a set of parallel drawers, mainly stacked one over the other.

45 Kidney-related : RENAL

Something described as renal is related to the kidneys. “Ren” is the Latin word for “kidney”.

54 MyHeritage sample : DNA

MyHeritage is an Israeli-based genealogy company that offers products and services that are similar to Ancestry.com, e.g. access to historical records, online creation of family trees, and DNA testing.

55 Bonfire residue : ASH

Back in the mid-1500s, a “bonfire” was a fire used for burning bones, a “bone fire”.

63 Clever remark : MOT

“Bon mot” translates from French as “good word”. We use “bon mot” (and sometimes just “mot”) to mean “quip, witticism”.

64 Reflex hammer’s target : KNEE

The foot naturally kicks forward when the tendon/muscle at the front of the leg is tapped just below the knee. The kick takes place due to a reflex reaction, an impulse sent along nerves from the site of the tap to the spine and back to the leg muscle, without direct involvement of the brain.

65 Literary comparison : SIMILE

A simile is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two things that are unalike. For example, a person might be described as “cute as a kitten” or as “busy as a bee”.

66 Body spray with a Dark Temptation scent : AXE

Axe is a brand of male grooming products. It is sold under the name Lynx in some parts of the world.

Down

3 Actress Perlman : RHEA

Rhea Perlman’s most famous role has to be Carla Tortelli, the irascible waitress in the long-running sitcom “Cheers”. Perlman is also a successful children’s author, and has published a series of six books called “Otto Undercover”. She married Hollywood actor Danny DeVito in 1982.

7 Finger food at luaus : POI

Nowadays, the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of poi, the bulbous underground stems of taro.

8 Much __ About Nothing : ADO

“Much Ado About Nothing” is a play by William Shakespeare, and a favorite of mine. It is a comedic tale of two pairs of lovers with lots of mistaken identities and double meanings. I once saw the play performed in the fabulous Globe Theatre in London … by an all-female cast. Such a performance was somewhat ironic, given that in Shakespeare’s day the practice was to use an all-male cast.

9 Soup legume : LENTIL

Plants called legumes are notable in that they work symbiotically with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, microorganisms found in the root nodules that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium ions. As nitrogen is an essential component of proteins, legumes are exceptionally rich sources of plant protein. Examples of legumes are peas, beans, lentils and peanuts.

10 Like some “What We Do in the Shadows” characters : VAMPIRIC

“What We Do in the Shadows” is a comedy horror TV show that debuted in 2019. The show is based on a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary of the same name. The small-screen version is about four vampires who are roommates on Staten Island. I really don’t do horror, not even comedy horror …

11 Have an open tab, say : OWE

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

22 Très chic : A LA MODE

In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie. Pie served à la mode includes a dollop of cream or ice cream, or as I recall from my time living in Upstate New York, with a wedge of cheddar cheese.

“Très chic” is a French term meaning “very stylish”.

27 The Last of Us actor Offerman : NICK

Actor Nick Offerman really captured the public’s attention playing the deadpan director in the sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. In 2018, he started co-hosting the reality competition show “Making It” with Amy Poehler, the star of “Parks and Recreation”. In 2003, Offerman married actress Megan Mullally, who famously played Karen Walker on the sitcom “Will & Grace”.

28 Agcy. managing federal real estate assets : GSA

The US Government’s General Services Administration (GSA), as the name suggests, provides general services to other federal agencies. So for example, the GSA manages office space for the other agencies, and transportation.

34 Actress McClanahan : RUE

Actress Rue McClanahan was best known for her television sitcom roles, as Vivian Harmon on “Maude” and as Blanche Devereaux on “The Golden Girls”.

37 Often-amusing story : ANECDOTE

An anecdote is a short account of an event, usually something amusing. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “anekdota” meaning “things unpublished”, or more literally “things not given out”.

38 Gumbo thickener : OKRA

The plant known as okra is mainly grown for its edible green pods. The pods are said to resemble “ladies’ fingers”, which is an alternative name for the plant. Okra is known as “ngombo” in Bantu, a name that might give us the word “gumbo”, the name for the name of the southern Louisiana stew that includes okra as a key ingredient.

40 Tech replaced by smartphones : PDA

Personal digital assistant (PDA)

44 Trousers : SLACKS

The term “slacks” was introduced in the early 1800s with the meaning “loose trousers”. Those early slacks were part of a military uniform.

46 Former “All Things Considered” host Michele : NORRIS

Journalist Michele Norris is perhaps best known as co-host of the NPR evening news program “All Things Considered”, a post that she held from 2002 until 2011. Norris stepped away from the show when her husband Broderick D. Johnson was appointed to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential reelection campaign.

52 Game with grandmasters : CHESS

“Grandmaster” (GM) is a title held for life that is awarded by the World Chess Association (FIDE). The only FIDE title higher than Grandmaster is World Champion. Despite the masculine appearance of the title, it is awarded to both men and women.

57 Actress Thurman : UMA

Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s moll Mia in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from acting from 1998 until 2002 following the birth of her first child. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.

62 Spy-fi org. : CIA

Spy-fi is spy fiction that includes elements of science fiction.