Category: Kelly Richardson

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Constructed by: Kelly Richardson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Shower Thoughts

Themed answers each end with a kind of SHOWER:

• 51A Mundane musings, or what the last words of 20-, 32-, and 39-Across have in common? : SHOWER THOUGHTS

• 20A Winter weather caused by cold air moving over warm water : LAKE-EFFECT SNOW (snow shower)
• 32A Hopping African primate : BUSH BABY (baby shower)
• 39A Malady that causes the sniffles : HEAD COLD (cold shower)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Automotive historian Jay : LENO

Jay Leno was born James Leno in New Rochelle, New York. Jay’s father was the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother was from Scotland. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and actually dropped out of school on the advice of a high school guidance counselor. However, years later he went to Emerson College and earned a Bachelor’s degree in speech therapy. Leno also started a comedy club at Emerson in 1973. Today Jay Leno is a car nut and owns over 300 vehicles of various types. You can check them out on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com.

16 Bryce Canyon state : UTAH

Bryce Canyon National Park is a beautiful part of America. The strange thing is that Bryce isn’t a canyon at all, but rather is a natural amphitheater created by erosion of sedimentary rocks that are part of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

18 “O patria mia” opera : AIDA

“O patria mia” is an aria from Verdi’s “Aida”. The aria is sung by the title character, with “O patria mia” translating as “O, my homeland”.

19 Old Roman garb : TOGA

In ancient Rome, the color of a man’s toga could indicate the wearer’s social status. For example, a plain white toga (known as a “toga candida”) was worn by candidates for political office, while a “toga praetexta” with a purple border was worn by magistrates and certain priests. A “toga picta”, which was decorated with elaborate embroidery and gold trim, was reserved for victorious generals and triumphal processions.

20 Winter weather caused by cold air moving over warm water : LAKE-EFFECT SNOW (snow shower)

Lake-effect snow is produced when cold air moves across a relatively warm lake picking up moisture from the water below. The warm moisture rises through the cold mass of air, freezes and then falls as snow on the downwind side of the lake.

23 “Downton __”: PBS historical drama : ABBEY

One of my favorite scenes from the period drama “Downton Abbey” takes place around the dinner table. Matthew Crawley, a practicing lawyer being introduced to the aristocratic Grantham family says, “I will have plenty of time to do that over the weekend”. To which the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played brilliantly by Maggie Smith) remarks, “but what is a weekend?” Ah, the joys of the easy way of life …

24 Ancient strings : LUTES

The lute is a stringed instrument with a long neck and usually a pear-shaped body. It is held and played like a guitar, and was popular from the Middle Ages right through to the late Baroque era. A person who plays the lute can be referred to as a “lutenist”.

29 Philippine money : PESO

The writing on bank notes in the Philippines used to be in English, so the national currency was recorded as the “peso”. Since 1967 the language on the notes has been Filipino, and now the name of the currency is written as “piso”.

32 Hopping African primate : BUSH BABY (baby shower)

Bush babies, more properly “galagos”, are very cute-looking nocturnal primates found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are well adapted to their lifestyle. They have very large ears, so that their hearing is excellent, perfect for tracking insects on the ground and in the air. Bush babies also have very large eyes, giving them exceptional night vision. And, they have a baby-like cry, hence the name “bush baby”.

36 “__-Hero”: Taylor Swift hit : ANTI

“Anti-Hero” is a 2022 song co-written and recorded by Taylor Swift as the lead single from her album “Midnights”. The lyrics have been described as autobiographical, and explore the singer’s flaws as she perceives them.

38 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.

39 Malady that causes the sniffles : HEAD COLD (cold shower)

The common cold (also known as a “head cold”) is caused by a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. There are over 200 strains of virus that are known to cause the disease.

49 Principle : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

51 Mundane musings, or what the last words of 20-, 32-, and 39-Across have in common? : SHOWER THOUGHTS

Something mundane is of the world, something ordinary. The term “mundane” comes from the Latin “mundus” meaning “universe, world”.

55 Caitlin Clark’s college team : IOWA

Basketball great Caitlin Clark was the first selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, and signed up with the Indian Fever. Her quality of play and success on the court has helped popularize women’s basketball. That boost in popularity has been dubbed “the Caitlin Clark effect”.

56 Like Big Bend National Park : ARID

Big Bend National Park is located within the Chihuahuan Desert, and lies on the US side of the border with Mexico in West Texas. It is named for a “big bend” in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo river that defines that part of the border. The park was founded as the Texas Canyons State Park in 1933, and renamed Big Bend State Park a few months later. Texas gave the land to the federal government in 1944, creating Big Bend National Park.

59 Summer top : TANK

“Tank top” is another one of those terms that always catches me out, as it has a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic. In the US, a tank top is a sleeveless shirt, something we would call a “vest” back in Ireland (and the US “vest” is what we call a “waistcoat”). A tank top in Ireland is a sleeveless sweater, which further adds to the confusion. The name “tank top” is derived from “tank suit”, an old name for a woman’s one-piece bathing suit. The use of “tank” for the bathing suit came from “swimming tank”, an obsolete term used in the 1920s for a swimming pool.

60 Preserve with salt : CURE

Salt is used to “cure” meats, which is a preservation process. The salt kills and inhibits the growth of microorganisms by sucking the water out of the microbe’s cells in the process of osmosis. Smoking is also cited as a curing process, although smoking alone is insufficient for preserving food as the antimicrobial smoke compounds only adhere to the outside of the meat or fish. Smoking is usually combined with salt-curing or drying.

63 Canvas shoe with a Monster High collaboration : KEDS

Keds is a brand of athletic shoe first introduced in 1916 by US Rubber. The shoe was originally marketed as a rubber-soled, canvas-topped sneaker. The company first opted for the brand name “Peds”, from the Latin “ped” meaning “foot”. That name was already taken by another product, and so a quick rebranding took place resulting in “Keds”. The brand celebrated its centennial with a “Ladies First Since 1916” campaign that focuses on female empowerment.

Monster High is a line of fashion dolls from Mattel that are inspired by monster movies. I’m just scared of monsters …

64 Coarse fabric : TWEED

Tweed is a rough woolen fabric that is very much associated with Scotland in the UK, and with County Donegal in Ireland. The cloth was originally called “tweel”, the Scots word for “twill”. Apparently a London merchant misinterpreted some handwriting in the early 1800s and assumed the fabric was called “tweed”, a reference to the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck …

Down

1 TikTok post, briefly : VID

TikTok is a video-sharing service based in China that is very popular with the younger set (I am told). The original and equivalent service in China is known as Douyin, which went live in 2016. TikTok was launched the following year as the global version of Douyin.

3 Heroine from Alderaan : LEIA

The full name of the character played by Carrie Fisher in the “Star Wars” series of films is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and later Leia Organa Solo. Leia is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker (aka “Darth Vader”) and Padmé Amidala. Leia is raised by her adoptive parents Bail and Breha Organa. She eventually marries Han Solo.

4 “Sri __ Matha”: South Asian national anthem : LANKA

“Sri Lanka Matha” (“Mother Sri Lanka” in English) was first performed in 1949, and fully adopted as the national anthem of Sri Lanka in 1978. The song’s original title was “Namo Namo Matha”, meaning “Salute! Salute! Motherland”.

5 Subject with an “x” factor? : ALGEBRA

Algebra (alg.) is a branch of mathematics in which arithmetical operations are performed on variables rather than specific numbers (x,y etc). The term “algebra” comes from the Arabic “al jebr” meaning “reunion of broken parts”.

7 Enlighten : EDIFY

To edify is to provide instruction in order to improve spiritually, morally or intellectually. The intent is to “build up” someone’s faith or morality, and so “edify” comes from the Latin “aedificare” meaning “to build, construct”. This Latin root also gives us our word “edifice”, meaning “massive building”.

8 Lymph __ : 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.

9 Ancient prophets : ORACLES

In ancient Greece and Rome, an oracle was someone believed to be inspired by the gods to give wise counsel. The word “oracle” derives from the Latin “orare” meaning “to speak”, which is the same root for our word “orator”. One of the most important oracles of ancient Greece was Pythia, the high priestess to Apollo at Delphi.

12 Burial place of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti : LAGOS

Lagos is a port and the biggest city in Nigeria. It used to be the country’s capital, until it was replaced in that role in 1991 by Abuja, a city built just for this purpose. Lagos is also the most populous city in the whole of Africa (followed by Cairo in Egypt).

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, a pioneer in the genre known as “Afrobeat”. Fela had an interesting relationship with women, and actually married twenty-seven different women in the same year, in 1978. He then slowed down a little and maintained a rotating roster of only twelve wives at any one time. Fela died from AIDS in 1997.

13 “Killing Eve” actress Fiona : SHAW

One of Irish actress Fiona Shaw’s better known film roles is Petunia Dursley, Harry’s maternal aunt, in the “Harry Potter” series of films. On TV, she plays Carlyn Martens, the head of MI6’s Russia Section, on the spy thriller show “Killing Eve”.

“Killing Eve” is a spy thriller series about an MI5 agent on the trail of a female assassin. The agent is played by Canadian actress Sandra Oh, and the assassin by English actress Jodie Comer. The storyline comes from a series of novellas titled “Codename Villanelle” by British author Luke Jennings.

22 Bottom : TUSH

“Tush”, a word meaning “backside”, is an abbreviation of “tochus” that comes from the Yiddish “tokhes”.

25 “Barbie” co-writer Baumbach : NOAH

Noah Baumbach is a filmmaker from New York. He often collaborates with actress and screenwriter Greata Gerwig, both on and off the screen as they started a romantic relationship after meeting on the set of the 2010 film “Greenberg” (co-written by Baumbach and co-starring Gerwig). Baumbach and Gerwig really hit the big time with the release of the hit 2023 movie “Barbie”, which they wrote together and which Gerwig directed.

26 Green Gables girl : ANNE

“Anne of Green Gables” is a 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery that she set in the fictional Prince Edward Island community of Avonlea. Montgomery wrote several sequels to “Anne”, with them all being set on Prince Edward Island (PEI), from where the author hailed.

27 __ carotene : BETA

Carotene is an orange pigment that plants use in the process of photosynthesis. Carotene gives carrots their orange color, and it is carrots that give the pigment its name. “Carota” is the Latin for “carrot”. Carotene is found in nature in two structural forms: alpha-carotene and the more common beta-carotene.

29 Short-muzzled dog : PUG

The pug is a dog breed of Chinese origin. Our last family pet was a boxer/pug cross, and was a good-looking mutt!

32 __ vase : BUD

A bud vase is a small and narrow vase that is designed to hold just one flower.

37 Chicago Fire org. : MLS

The Chicago Fire is the city’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team. The Fire were founded in 1997, and are named for the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

45 Stardew Valley mine finds : GEODES

A geode is a rock in which there is a cavity that is lined or filled with crystal formations. The crystals inside a geode form when mineral-rich water seeps into a cavity in a rock, leaving behind dissolved minerals that gradually build up over time. Some of the largest geodes ever discovered have been as big as a room and can take millions of years to form.

“Stardew Valley” is a role=playing video game released in 2016. Game play starts with the player inheriting a run-down farm in Stardew Valley. The object is to develop the farm and interact with characters living in a nearby town.

47 Underwater bank : SHOAL

A shoal is an underwater ridge or bank that is covered with a material such as sand or silt.

53 Tucker out : TIRE

The exact etymology of the verb “to tucker”, meaning “to tire”, seems to be uncertain. However, it seems to have originated in New England, and at least dates back to the 1830s.