Category: Emet Ozar

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Constructed by: Emet Ozar
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Same-Sex Couples

Themed answers each include a COUPLE of SAME-SEX COUPLES (F-F & M-M) hidden within:

• 35A Some partners, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues? : SAME-SEX COUPLES

• 15A *Device sold with some sheets of hard candy : TOFFEE HAMMER
• 22A *Took from the top : SKIMMED OFF
• 47A *”The Irishman” role for Al Pacino : JIMMY HOFFA
• 58A *Teenage vampire slayer of film and TV : BUFFY SUMMERS

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

Bill’s time: 6m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Yogurt-based drink : LASSI

Lassi is a yogurt-based drink from India. Popular variants are namkeen lassi (which is salty), sweet lassi and mango lassi. There is even a bhang lassi, which is infused with a liquid derivative of cannabis.

9 “The Equalizer” network : CBS

“The Equalizer” is a crime-drama TV show that debuted in 2021 starring Queen Latifah as a mysterious and skilful woman who defends and helps those with nowhere else to turn. The show is a reboot of a very successful series from the 1980s of the same name starring English actor Edward Woodward in the lead role. In the original show, the main character is named Robert McCall. The reboot used the name “Robyn McCall”.

12 Pins included in many Ikea furniture kits : DOWELS

A dowel is a rod made from plastic, wood or metal. In its complete form, it is referred to as a “dowel rod”. We are perhaps more used to the rod cut into short lengths known as “dowel pins”.

13 Oberlin College’s state : OHIO

Oberlin College was established way back in 1833 as Oberlin Collegiate Institute. It was named for J. F. Oberlin, a pastor from Alsace in France who also loaned his name to the Ohio city of Oberlin that grew up around the college. Oberlin was the first school in the US to permanently open its doors to women, doing so in 1837.

14 Horde member in Tolkien : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

17 “The Marvels” director DaCosta : NIA

Nia DaCosta was the first woman to direct a superhero movie, doing so for 2023’s “The Marvels”.

18 Zaftig : ROTUND

A woman who is described as “zaftig” has a full and shapely figure. “Zaftig” comes from the Yiddish word “zaftik” meaning “juicy”. I am not going to touch this one …

20 Happily __ after : EVER

The stock phrase “Once upon a time …” has been used in various forms as the start of a narrative at least since 1380. The stock phrase at the end of stories such as folktales is often “and they all lived happily ever after”. The earlier version of this ending was “happily until their deaths”.

21 Pastoral poem : IDYL

An idyll (also “idyl”) is a short poem with a pastoral theme, usually depicting the scene in romantic and idealized terms. The word “idyl” comes from the Greek “eidyllion”, which literally translates to “little picture” but was a word describing a short poem with a rustic theme.

26 “Nova” subj. : SCI

“Nova” is an excellent science television series on PBS. It was created back in 1974, and was inspired by a very similar BBC show called “Horizon”, a show that I grew up with. Many “Nova” episodes are actually co-productions with the BBC, with an American narrator used for the PBS broadcasts and a British narrator for the BBC broadcasts.

29 Tokyo, long ago : EDO

“Edo” is the former name of the Japanese city of Tokyo. Edo was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ruled from 1603 until 1868. The shogun lived in the magnificent Edo Castle. Some parts of the original castle remain and today’s Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan, was built on its grounds.

33 Yuletide : NOEL

Yule celebrations coincide with Christmas, and the words “Christmas” and “Yule” (often “Yuletide”) have become synonymous in much of the world. However, Yule was originally a pagan festival celebrated by Germanic peoples. The name “Yule” comes from the Old Norse word “jol” that was used to describe the festival.

41 Amber, for one : GEM

Amber’s technical name is “resinite”, reflecting its composition and formation. Amber starts out life as soft sticky tree resin but then under high temperature and pressure from overlying layers of soil, it fossilizes. The sticky resin can trap organisms or other plant matter, and this material can sometimes remain virtually intact inside the amber fossil giving us a unique gift from the past.

43 Brand of kitchen bags : GLAD

Glad is a company making plastic products, especially food containers and trash bags. Glad was launched in 1963 to make Glad Wrap, a polyethylene wrap used to preserve food.

45 Dudes : HES

Our term “dude” arose as slang in New York City in the 1880s, when it was used to describe a fastidious man. In the early 1900s, the term was extended to mean “city slickers”, easterners who vacationed in the West. The first use of the term “dude ranch” was recorded in 1921.

47 *”The Irishman” role for Al Pacino : JIMMY HOFFA

Jimmy Hoffa headed off to meet with two Mafia leaders at a restaurant in a suburb of Detroit on July 30, 1975. The two men he was supposed to meet denied any appointment was made, and they were seen in public in other locations far from the restaurant. Hoffa was spotted by passers-by in the restaurant parking lot, the last time he was ever seen. His wife reported him missing later that night, and the resulting police investigation failed to find Hoffa or his body. Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982, seven years after he disappeared.

“The Irishman” is a 2019 Martin Scorsese crime movie starring the usual Scorsese suspects, namely Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Interestingly, comic actor Ray Romano has a significant supporting role in this film. “The Irishman” follows the life of a truck driver (De Niro) and his interaction with a mobster (Pesci) and Teamster kingpin Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).

Al Pacino seems to be best known for playing characters on both sides of the law. Pacino’s big break in the movies came when he played Michael Corleone in “The Godfather”, a role that grew for him as the series of films progressed. But, his Oscar-winning role was that of a blind ex-military officer in “Scent of a Woman”.

53 Neck of the woods : AREA

In the phrase “this neck of the woods”, the term “neck” is used in the sense “strip of land”.

58 *Teenage vampire slayer of film and TV : BUFFY SUMMERS

Before the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” launched in 1997, there was a 1992 “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie. The film starred Kristy Swanson as Buffy Summers. Joss Whedon wrote the movie’s screenplay, before creating the TV show.

62 Lago contents : AGUA

In Spanish, a “lago” (lake) is full of “agua” (water).

64 Marina __ Rey, California : DEL

Marina del Rey is a coastal community in California located within the borders of the City of Los Angeles. Marina del Rey is home to the world’s largest harbor for small craft, with a capacity for 5,300 boats.

Down

8 The Blue Jays, on sports crawls : TOR

The Toronto Blue Jays baseball franchise was founded in 1977. The Blue Jays are the only team based outside the US to have won a World Series, doing so in 1992 and 1993. And since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, the Blue Jays are the only Major League Baseball team now headquartered outside of the US.

9 Chat sesh : CONVO

Convo (conversation)

12 Tchotchkes : DOODADS

“Tchotchke” is a slang term meaning “cheap, showy trinket”. It came into English from a Slavic source via Yiddish.

15 Hackneyed : TRITE

Hackney is a location in London, and it probably gave its name to a “hackney”, an ordinary type of horse around 1300. By 1700 a “hackney” was a person hired to do routine work, and “hackneyed” meant “kept for hire”, and then “stale, uninteresting”. This morphed into a hackney carriage, a carriage or car for hire, and into “hack”, a slang term for a taxi driver or cab.

16 Genesis boat : ARK

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Noah was instructed to build his ark 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. That’s about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.

20 Unsuccessful Ford : EDSEL

Edsel Ford was the only child of automobile manufacturing pioneer Henry Ford. Edsel became president of Ford Motors, as Henry’s sole heir, and served in that capacity from 1919 until his death in 1943. Henry’s name is very much associated with the Model T, the Tin Lizzie. Edsel was the man behind the subsequent development of the more fashionable Model A. However, despite Edsel’s many successes, his name is inextricably linked with the highly unsuccessful Edsel line of cars.

27 World Heritage Site in Algiers : CASBAH

“Casbah” is the Arabic word for a “citadel”. “Casbah” (also “Kasbah”) usually refers to the citadel in the city of Algiers and the area surrounding it.

32 Kelly Clarkson’s first record label : RCA

Kelly Clarkson was the first winner of “American Idol”. She has done pretty well since then, I hear …

36 Molten rock : MAGMA

Magma is the molten material below the Earth’s surface. When magma cools, it forms igneous rock. “Magma” is a Greek term that describes a thick ointment.

37 Federal org. that inspects workplaces : OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

44 Foolish one : DOOFUS

“Doofus” (also “dufus”) is student slang that has been around since the sixties. Apparently the word is a variant of the equally unattractive term “doo-doo”.

47 Over it all : JADED

Our term “jaded”, meaning tired and feeling a little “ho-hum”, comes from the noun “jade” which in the 14th century was an old, worn-out horse.

49 Purple Heart, e.g. : MEDAL

The Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded by the President to members of the US military forces who have been wounded or killed while serving. Today’s Purple Heart was originally called the Badge of Military Merit, an award that was established by George Washington 1782 while he was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal with a gold border bearing a profile of President Washington, and a purple ribbon.

50 Sports org. based in Zurich : FIFA

The International Federation of Association Football (“Fédération Internationale de Football Association” in French) is usually referred to by the acronym “FIFA”. FIFA is the governing body of the game of soccer (association football), and the organizer of the FIFA World Cup held every four years.

Zurich is located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. It is the largest city in the country.

55 Public transit system in San Francisco, familiarly : MUNI

SF Muni is the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the name of the public transportation system in the city and surrounding area. SF Muni includes buses, light rail and, most famously, the city’s cable cars.

60 Dim __: cuisine often served in steamer baskets : SUM

Dim sum is a Chinese cuisine made up of small portions of various dishes. The tradition of serving dim sum is associated with the serving of tea, when small delicacies were offered to travelers and guests along with tea as a refreshment. The name “dim sum” translates as “touch the heart” implying that dim sum is not a main meal, just a snack “that touches the heart”.