Category: John Guzzetta

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Constructed by: John Guzzetta
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: À la Mode

Themed answers each end with a kind of MODE:

• 38A Fashionable, or an apt description of the ends of the answers to the starred clues : A LA MODE

• 17A *Ray Winstone/Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST (giving “beast mode”)
• 22A *Period of anxiety that may be brought on by facing one’s mortality : MIDLIFE CRISIS (giving “crisis mode”)
• 49A *Folded missile in a classroom : PAPER AIRPLANE (giving “airplane mode”)
• 58A *Spot to store valuables when traveling : HOTEL SAFE (giving “safe mode”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Flowerbox place : SILL

“Sill plate”, or simply “sill”, is an architectural term describing a bottom horizontal member to which vertical members are attached. Window sills and door sills are specific sill plates found at the bottoms of windows and door openings.

14 Nabisco cookie : OREO

If you take a close look at the embossed design on the front and back of an Oreo cookie, you’ll spot the main elements of the Nabisco logo. Those elements are an oval with a cross on top, a cross with two bars. Usually the company name “Nabisco” is inside the oval, but for the cookie it’s the brand name “Oreo”. The current embossed design was introduced in 1952.

16 Wonder Woman’s rope : LASSO

Superhero Wonder Woman first appeared in print in 1941, in a publication from DC Comics. As she was created during WWII, Wonder Woman’s first foes were the axis powers. In the less realistic world her biggest foe was and still is Ares, a “baddie” named after the Greek mythological figure. Wonder Woman had several signature expressions, including “Merciful Minerva!”, “Suffering Sappho!” and “Great Hera!”. She also has several devices that she uses in her quest for justice, e.g. the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets and a tiara that can be used as a deadly projectile. Wonder Woman uses the name “Diana Prince” when “out of uniform”.

17 *Ray Winstone/Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST (giving “beast mode”)

“Sexy Beast” is a 2000 crime movie starring a great lineup of English actors: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian MacShane, Amanda Redman and James Fox. Winstone plays a retired criminal living the good life in Spain. Kingsley plays a criminal associate who forces the Windtone character out of retirement to rob a London bank.

English actor Ray Winstone is best known for playing the stereotypical tough guy, and always with that distinctive London accent. I like the line used by a critic in “The Guardian” newspaper, describing Winsotone as “the East End’s answer to George Clooney” …

English actor Ben Kingsley won his Best Actor Oscar for playing the title role in the 1982 epic biographical film “Gandhi”. Kingsley was knighted in 2002, so if you meet him you should address him as “Sir Ben” …

19 “Touch of Evil” director Welles : ORSON

“Touch of Evil” is a 1958 film noir that is very much an Orson Welles project. Welles wrote the screenplay, directed the film and co-starred. Other stars are Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh, with Marlene Dietrich supporting. Apparently Welles got the directing job at the behest of Heston (Be-hest … Heston … laugh, everyone!).

21 Bacon pieces : STRIPS

“Bacon” is an Old French word that we imported into English. The term ultimately comes from the Proto-Germanic “bakkon” meaning “back meat”.

32 Some DVD players : SONYS

Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The two partners met in the Japanese Navy during WWII.

36 Actor Vigoda : ABE

Abe Vigoda played Detective Sergeant Phil Fish in television’s “Barney Miller” in the seventies, and even got his own spin-off show called “Fish”. On the big screen, Vigoda played Sal Tessio in “The Godfather” and Grandpa Ubriacco in “Look Who’s Talking”. When Vigoda was 60 years old, he was mistakenly reported as dead by “People” magazine. In response, Vigoda had a photo published in “Variety” showing him sitting up in a coffin, holding a copy of the offending issue of “People”.

37 Vampire vaporizer : SUN

Legends about vampires were particularly common in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans in particular. The superstition was that vampires could be killed using a wooden stake, with the preferred type of wood varying from place to place. Superstition also defines where the body should be pierced. Most often, the stake was driven through the heart, but Russians and northern Germans went for the mouth, and northeastern Serbs for the stomach.

38 Fashionable, or an apt description of the ends of the answers to the starred clues : 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.

45 Feudal laborer : SERF

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. “Serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”.

48 Japanese noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

63 Pertaining to birth : NATAL

Our word “natal” comes from the Latin “natalis” meaning “pertaining to birth”.

64 Disney snowman : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

65 “__ go bragh!” : ERIN

“Erin go bragh!” is an anglicization of the Irish phrase “Éirinn go brách!”, which translates as “Ireland forever!”

67 Guitar tuners : PEGS

Tuning pegs are used to tighten and loosen strings on many musical instruments in order to change their pitch.

Down

3 Supervillain Luthor who co-founded the Injustice League : LEX

Lex Luthor is the nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.

9 Casino machines : SLOTS

Slot machines earned the nickname “one-armed bandits” simply because they had “one arm”, the handle pulled to operate the machine. Well, they also rob your money!

10 Vice president Kamala : HARRIS

Kamala Harris was a US Senator for California starting in 2017, after serving for six years as the Attorney General of California. In early 2019, Harris announced her run for the Democratic nomination for US president in the 2020 election. Although she dropped out of the race, she was chosen by eventual nominee Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. When the Biden-Harris ticket won the election, Harris became the first female US vice president, and the highest-ranking female politician in the history of the nation.

12 Initials on a brandy bottle : VSOP

Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine. The term “brandy” ultimately comes from the Dutch “gebrande wijn” meaning “burnt wine”. The length of this aging of the spirit defines the various grades of brandy:

• VS: Very Special … at least 2 years storage
• VSOP: Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale … at least 4 years storage
• XO: Extra Old … at least 6 years
• VSO: Very Superior Old … 12-17 years

18 “Wow at first sip” brand : BAI

Bai Brands is a beverage company that specializes in low-cal soft drinks that include antioxidants.

22 Dishevels, as hair : MUSSES

“Muss” means “state of disorder”, and is a term that probably evolved from “mess”. The phrase “no muss, no fuss” means “no bother, no mess made, no excessive hustle and bustle”.

23 Senator for whom Honolulu’s airport is named : INOUYE

Senator Daniel Inouye was a US Senator for the state of Hawaii and was the President pro tem of the Senate (the US Vice President is the President of the Senate). Given this role, he was the highest-ranking Japanese-American in the country’s history as he was third in the line of succession to the office of US President. Senator Inouye passed away in 2012. Honolulu’s airport was renamed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in 2017 in his honor.

24 Occasion to use the good china : DINNER PARTY

The ceramic known as “porcelain” can be referred to as “china” or “fine china”, as porcelain was developed in China.

25 Fire-breathing Greek monster : CHIMERA

In Greek mythology, a chimera was a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lioness, a tail that ended in a snake’s head, and the head of a goat that emanated from the lioness’s spine. The term chimera has entered into our modern language and means a fanciful illusion or fabrication.

30 “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” king : OBERON

Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the Fairies in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

35 “Agnus __” : DEI

“Agnus Dei” is Latin for “Lamb of God”, The expression is used in Christian traditions to describe Jesus Christ, hence symbolizing his role as a sacrificial offering (sacrificial lamb) to atone for the sins of man.

44 Mathematical void symbolized by { } : NULL SET

In mathematics, an empty set of numbers is also called a null set, and is designated “{ }”.

46 Treatment that may involve a peel : FACIAL

A chemical peel is a technique used to improve the look and feel of the skin. It involves using a chemical to deliberately injure the outermost layer of the skin. The damaged skin dies and peels off, revealing regenerated skin below.

50 “Nope” writer/director Jordan : PEELE

Jordan Peele is a former cast member of the sketch comedy show “Mad TV”. Peele created his own sketch comedy show “Key & Peele” with fellow-Mad TV alum Keegan-Michael Key. Peele started hosting and producing the revival of “The Twilight Zone” in 2019.

“Nope” is a 2022 sci-fi, horror film. Nope, I don’t do horror …

51 Luggage label : ID TAG

Identity document (ID)

52 Hangouts for some schools? : 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.

55 Organic fuel : PEAT

When dead plant matter accumulates in marshy areas, it may not fully decay due to a lack of oxygen or acidic conditions. We are familiar with this in Ireland, because this decaying matter can form peat, and we have lots and lots of peat bogs around the country.

59 Copa Mundial cheer : OLE!

In Spanish, supporters might be heard yelling “ole!” (bravo!) at the “Copa Mundial” (World Cup) of soccer.