Category: Kathy Lowden

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Constructed by: Kathy Lowden
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Prime Rhyme Time

Themed answers each comprise three words that rhyme:

• 20A Rhyming term for a dead letter? : SNAIL MAIL FAIL
• 27A Rhyming description of “Moby-Dick”? : PALE WHALE TALE
• 45A Rhyming discount for week-old leafy greens? : STALE KALE SALE
• 54A Rhyming hazard for cyclists on shared-use track? : RAIL TRAIL NAIL

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

Bill’s time: 6m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 “The Sopranos” chef Bucco : ARTIE

In the celebrated crime-drama TV show “The Sopranos”, The character Artie Bucco is an old school friend of Tony Soprano who became a chef and restaurant owner. Bucco is played by actor John Ventimiglia.

10 Pen tips : NIBS

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning “beak of a bird”. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” describing the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

14 Eric of “Munich” : BANA

Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

“Munich” is a 2005 Steven Spielberg film that deals with the Munich massacre that took place at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games, and its aftermath. Much of the movie follows the Mossad operation to track down and kill the terrorists responsible for murdering the Israeli athletes.

15 Florida city with a Little Havana neighborhood : MIAMI

The Miami neighborhood known as Little Havana is home to many immigrants from Cuba, hence the name. It is located immediately west of Downtown Miami. The main drag in Little Havana is “Calle Ocho” (Eighth Street).

16 “The Simpsons” bus driver : OTTO

Otto Mann drives the school bus on the TV show “The Simpsons”. He is a Germanic character voiced by Harry Shearer, and his name is a play on “Ottoman Empire”. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets Otto with the words “Otto, man!”

17 Glamping shelter, maybe : YURT

A yurt is a wood-framed dwelling that is used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Although a yurt is a substantial structure, it is also extremely portable.

“Glamping” is “glamorous camping”, camping with comforts and amenities.

18 Bass staff symbol : F-CLEF

“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

20 Rhyming term for a dead letter? : SNAIL MAIL FAIL

Dead letter mail is undeliverable, cannot be delivered to the addressee nor returned to the sender. Here in the US, once a letter has been deemed undeliverable, postal workers are permitted to violate the principle of secrecy of correspondence in an attempt to track down the letter’s origin or destination.

23 Rat Pack member __ Davis Jr. : SAMMY

Singer, actor and comedian Sammy Davis Jr. started his show business career in vaudeville as a child as a part of a song and dance trio that included his father. After WWII, Davis became friends with Frank Sinatra, and soon found himself a member of the famed Rat Pack. Along with his fellow Rat Packers, he made movies like “Ocean’s 11” (1960) and “Robin and the 7 Hoods” (1964).

The original Rat Pack from the fifties was a group of actors that centered on Humphrey Bogart, and included a young Frank Sinatra. Supposedly, Bogart’s wife, Lauren Bacall, christened them the Rat Pack after seeing them all return from one of their nights on the town in Las Vegas. The sixties Rat Pack was a reincarnation of the fifties version, with the core group of actors being Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin (Dino), Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.

24 Canine checker : DENTIST

The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eyeteeth or cuspids. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The prefix “eye-” is used because in humans the eyeteeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.

27 Rhyming description of “Moby-Dick”? : PALE WHALE TALE

In Herman Melville’s 1851 novel “Moby-Dick”, the animal named in the title is an albino sperm whale.

31 Director Kazan : ELIA

Elia Kazan won Oscars for best director in 1948 for “Gentleman’s Agreement” and in 1955 for “On The Waterfront”. He was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when he was given the 1998 Academy Honorary Award citing his lifetime achievement in the industry. Kazan also directed “East of Eden”, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences, and “Splendor in the Grass” that included Warren Beatty in his debut role.

32 Salami choice : GENOA

Genoa salami is made using preservation techniques that originated in ancient Rome.

33 Storyteller __ Christian Andersen : HANS

The wonderful storyteller Hans Christian Andersen became very successful in his own lifetime. In 1847 he visited England for the summer and made a triumphal tour of English society’s most fashionable drawing rooms. There Andersen met with the equally successful Charles Dickens, and the two seemed to hit it off. Ten years later Andersen returned to England and stayed for five weeks in Dickens’ home as his guest. Dickens published “David Copperfield” soon after, and supposedly the less than lovable character Uriah Heep was based on Dickens’ house guest Hans Christian Andersen. That wasn’t very nice!

37 Metric weights : KILOS

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).

40 Spreadsheet lines : ROWS

In the world of technology marketing, a “killer app” is one that is such a big hit that users are willing to purchase other items, such as a particular piece of hardware, just to gain access to the app. One example is Lotus 1-2-3, one of the first spreadsheets to hit the market. I remember a company that I was working for bought a lot of IBM computers, largely because access to a spreadsheet was viewed as being so advantageous.

41 Kept __: held off : AT BAY

Our use of the phrase “at bay”, to mean “in check”, derives from the older expression “at abai” used to describe a hunted animal “unable to escape”.

58 Mosque prayer leader : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque and/or perhaps a Muslim community.

61 Baby-voiced red Muppet : ELMO

The “Sesame Street” character named Elmo has a birthday every February 3rd, and on that birthday he always turns 3½ years old. The man behind/under Elmo on “Sesame Street” for many years was Kevin Clash. If you want to learn more about Elmo and Clash, you can watch the 2011 documentary “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”.

63 Supreme Court justice Kagan : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

64 Detroit NFL player : LION

The Detroit Lions are the NFL team that play home games at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was founded way back in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans from Portsmouth, Ohio. The Spartans joined the NFL during the Great Depression as other franchises collapsed. However, the Spartans couldn’t command a large enough gate in Portsmouth so the team was sold and relocated to Detroit in 1934.

65 Founded, as a co. : ESTD

Established (“est.” or “estd.”)

67 Yin and __ : YANG

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

Down

4 Shrine site in Portugal : FATIMA

Fátima is a town in central Portugal that is home to the Sanctuary of Fátima, a Catholic pilgrimage site. The Sanctuary of Fátima was founded in 1917, after three shepherd children reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary is said to have told the children to pray the Rosary and to build a chapel at the place of the apparitions. The chapel was built, and the Sanctuary has since grown into a major pilgrimage site.

5 Radio band toggle : AM/FM

Amplitude modulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM)

6 Costa __: Nicaragua neighbor : RICA

Costa Rica is a country in Central America that is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the South. Costa Rica is remarkable in my opinion, a leader on the world stage in many areas. It has been referred to as the “greenest” country in the world, the “happiest” country in the world, and has a highly educated populace. In 1949, the country unilaterally abolished its own army … permanently!

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It lies between Honduras to the north, and Costa Rica to the south. The etymology of the name “Nicaragua” is not very certain. One suggestion is that it is a melding of the name “Nicarao” and “agua”, the Spanish for “water”. Nicarao was the name of the largest city in the area when the Spanish arrived, and it is thought that “agua” refers to the two large lakes: Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua.

7 Anklebones : TALI

The collection of seven bones in the foot just below the ankle are known collectively as the tarsus. One of those bones is the talus (plural “tali”), more commonly called “ankle bone”. The talus is the lower part of the ankle joint and articulates with the lower ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower leg.

8 “Vera Drake” Oscar nominee Staunton : IMELDA

Imelda Staunton is a favorite actress of mine. Nowadays, Staunton is known for playing Prof. Dolores Jane Umbridge in the “Harry Potter” series of films. I’ve seen/heard her many times on radio shows, TV shows and movies that haven’t had much exposure in North America. One of Staunton’s more powerful performances was the title role in the 2004 film “Vera Drake”.

“Vera Drake” is a 2004 period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton in the title role. Vera Drake is a kind and hardworking woman who lives in a working-class neighborhood in London in the 1950s. Unbeknownst to her family and friends, Vera performs illegal abortions for women who cannot afford to go to a doctor. She does this out of a sense of compassion, but eventually is arrested and imprisoned.

9 Paris tower engineer : EIFFEL

Gustave Eiffel was the French civil engineer who famously designed the Eiffel Tower.

10 Pitcher’s dream game : NO-HITTER

In baseball, a no-hitter (colloquially “no-no”) is a game in which one team fails to record even a single hit (and no runs). No-hitters are pretty rare, and only occur about twice a year in Major League Baseball. The related one-hitter is a game when one team records just one hit.

11 Lingua di Roma : ITALIANO

In Italian, the “lingua di Roma” (language of Rome) is “Italiano” (Italian).

12 HVAC meas. : BTU

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)

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.

A therm is a unit of heat energy. One therm is equivalent to 100,000 British thermal units (BTUs).

13 Pine-__: cleaning brand : SOL

Pine-Sol first came on the market in 1929, and is a cleaner based on pine oil.

21 Country singer Lovett : LYLE

As well as being famous in his own right, country singer Lyle Lovett is known for his 1993 marriage to actress Julia Roberts. The pair had a whirlwind romance lasting just three weeks before they eloped and were wed. The marriage itself was also relatively whirlwind, lasting less than two years.

22 Rare blood type, informally : A-NEG

Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:

• O-positive: 38 percent
• O-negative: 7 percent
• A-positive: 34 percent
• A-negative: 6 percent
• B-positive: 9 percent
• B-negative: 2 percent
• AB-positive: 3 percent
• AB-negative: 1 percent

26 Assam, Darjeeling, etc. : TEAS

Assam, located in northeastern India, is the largest tea-producing state in the country. It is also famous for its silk production, particularly the golden muga silk.

Darjeeling is a town in West Bengal in the east of India in the Lesser HImalayas. Today, Darjeeling is perhaps best known outside India for the black tea that bears its name. In the days of the British Raj, the cooler climate of Darjeeling made it a popular destination for British residents seeking respite from the summer heat at the lower elevations.

28 Large deer : ELK

Male elks are called bulls, and females are known as cows. Bull elks are known for their very loud screaming, which is called bugling. Cow elks are attracted to bulls that bugle more often and most loudly.

29 Nintendo game console : WII

Introduced in 2006, Nintendo’s Wii quickly became the biggest-selling game console in the world.

30 Islamic equivalent of kosher : HALAL

“Halal” is a term describing an action or object that is permissible under Islamic Law. In particular “halal” is used to describe food that can be consumed. Anything that is not allowed is described as “haram”.

33 Corned beef concoction : HASH

Hash, beef and vegetables mashed together, is a very American dish and one that really surprised me when I first came across it. “Hash” just seems like such an unappetizing item, but I soon found out how delicious it was. The name “hash” in this context comes from the French “hacher” meaning “to chop”. Back in the early 1900s the dish called “hashed browned potatoes” was developed, which quickly morphed into “hash browns”. From there the likes of corned beef hash was introduced.

Corned beef is beef that has been cured with salt. “Corn” is a term describing a grain of salt, giving the dish its name. Corned beef is also known as “salt beef”, and “bully beef” if stored in cans (from the French “bouilli” meaning “boiled”).

35 Selection process for Bucks and Bulls : NBA DRAFT

The Bucks are the NBA team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who joined the league as an expansion team in 1968. There was a fan contest held to choose the team’s name, and the winning entry was “Robins”, in honor of Wisconsin’s state bird. However, the judges opted for “Bucks”, the second-most popular choice and a reference to the state’s official wild animal, the white-tailed deer.

The Chicago Bulls have won six NBA championships in the life of the franchise, all of them in the nineties. They won in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons (a so-called “three-peat”), and then again in 1996, 1997 and 1998 (a second “three-peat”).

36 Greeted with a respectful bow : SALAAMED

The word “salaam” is an Anglicized spelling of the Arabic word for “peace”. The term can describe an act of deference, and in particular a very low bow.

42 Cooler brand named for a mythical creature : YETI

YETI is a manufacturer of coolers and related products that is based in Austin, Texas. There was a kerfuffle between YETI and the National Rifle Association in 2018, when YETI removed the NRA from its membership discount program. That kerfuffle got quite public when some NRA members published videos of themselves destroying their own YETI products in protest.

46 Off-__: askew : KILTER

To be “off-kilter” is to be off-balance, not aligned. To be “out of kilter” is to be out of order, not in good condition.

47 Leader of the Huns : ATTILA

In his day, Attila the Hun was the most feared enemy of the Roman Empire, until he died in 453 AD. Attila was the leader of the Hunnic Empire of central Europe and was famous for invading much of the continent. However, he never directly attacked Rome.

49 List-shortening Latin term : ET ALIA

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names. In fact, “et al.” can stand for “et alii” (a group of males, or males and females), “et aliae” (a group of women) and “et alia” (a group of neuter nouns, or a group of people where the intent is to retain gender-neutrality).

52 Reality TV judge Cowell : SIMON

Simon Cowell was invited to be a judge on “Pop Idol”, a British show that spawned “American Idol”. Cowell was then asked to take part in the US spin-off, and we haven’t stopped seeing him since …

55 Coral habitat : REEF

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.

57 High-ABV beers, typically : IPAS

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

Alcoholic proof is a measure of the alcoholic strength of a beverage. In the US, alcoholic proof is twice the alcohol by volume (ABV), and ABV is simply the volume of alcohol in a the beverage compared to its total volume, and expressed as a percentage. Therefore a liquor that is 50% ABV, is 100 proof. The concept of “proof” dates back to the days of British sailors being paid partly with rations of rum. A “proof spirit” was the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder. Simply stated, if the rum that a sailor was given was so dilute that it doused burning gunpowder, then it was unacceptable to the sailor. The person providing the rum had to give “proof” that the rum would catch light, proving it was strong enough to be used as payment. It was found experimentally that rum of 57.15% ABV was the lowest concentration that could sustain a flame, so this was named as 100 degrees proof. But nowadays we round down to 50% ABV.

59 Some graduate degrees, for short : MAS

Master of Arts (MA)