Tag: Adjust to as a radio dial crossword clue

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Constructed by: Alan Siegel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Start Swapping

Themed answers sound like common phrases in the format “x AND y”, but with the opening letters of x and y swapped:

• 20A Au pair with a sinister sidekick : CROOK AND NANNY (from “nook and cranny”)
• 27A Purchases for an organized gardener : SHED AND HOLDERS (from “head and shoulders”)
• 43A Common sights in the Caribbean : KEYS AND PARROTS (from “peas and carrots”)
• 51A Some pieces in an avian-themed chess set : CROWS AND PAWNS (from “pros and cons”)

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

Bill’s time: 10m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Bunches of bucks : WADS

“Buck” is a slang word meaning “dollar”. The term has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days.

14 Hodgepodge : OLIO

“Hochepot” is an Old French word for stew or soup, and this gave rise to an Anglo-French legal term for a collection of property that was gathered prior to being divided up. This became our “hodgepodge” in the early 1400s.

16 Grand Canyon carrier : MULE

The wild donkey that we know as a burro was introduced into the Grand Canyon in the late 1800s, where they used the animal to help pack out mined copper, asbestos and lead. When the miners moved on, they left the burros to roam free. Feral burros essentially overran the Grand Canyon in subsequent years, leading to the forced removal of 500 of them in the early eighties by the National Park Service. Burros wreak havoc on the canyon’s ecosystem, and in particular compete with native bighorn sheep. The bighorn sheep population has rebounded since the number of wild donkeys has dropped.

17 Org. that works with SpaceX : NASA

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is a space transportation company that was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, veteran of PayPal and Tesla Motors. In 2012, SpaceX became the first private concern to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), and in 2020, the first to send humans to the ISS. Apparently, SpaceX is the lowest-price player in the game.

18 “Bridgerton” rank : BARON

“Bridgerton” is a fascinating period drama TV series based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Most of the action takes place in London’s high society during the Regency Era. An intriguing element is the show’s approach to race. There is a common, albeit unfounded, assertion that King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte was of African descent. “Bridgerton” runs with this assertion, portraying the era’s society as quite diverse.

20 Au pair with a sinister sidekick : CROOK AND NANNY (from “nook and cranny”)

An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working and living as part of a host family. The term “au pair” is French, and means “on a par”, indicating that an au pair is treated as an equal in the host family.

25 Briny delicacy : ROE

The briny is the sea, with “brine” meaning “salty water”. The term “briny” was originally used for “tears”.

26 Official timekeeper of the Olympic Games : OMEGA

Omega is a manufacturer of high-end watches based in Switzerland. An Omega watch was the first portable timepiece to make it to the moon, Perhaps even more (!) impressive is the fact that James Bond has been wearing an Omega watch in the movies since 1995.

35 Italian fashion brand : PRADA

Prada started out in 1913 as a leather-goods shop in Milan, one established by the two Prada brothers. One of the brothers, Mario Prada, prevented the female members of his family from participating in the running of the company as he didn’t believe women should be involved in business (!). When the sexist brother died, his son had no interest in the business so it was his daughter who took over and ran the company for about twenty years, handing it over to her own daughter. I’d say the devil loved that …

49 Flamenco shout : OLE!

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music and dance. The origin of the word “flamenco” isn’t clearly understood, but the explanation that seems most credible to me is that it comes from Flanders in Northern Europe. Given that “flamenco” is the Spanish word for “Flemish” and Flanders is home to the Flemish people it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

61 TV component? : TELE-

Scottish inventor John Logie Baird is credited as the inventor of the television. Baird’s invention is classified as a “mechanical” television because it used a mechanical device to scan the scene and generate the video signal. Modern televisions use “electronic” scanning technology. A mechanical scanning device might be a rotating disc or mirror, whereas an electronic scanning device might be a cathode ray tube.

62 Gas meter unit : THERM

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

64 Luge, for one : SLED

“Luge” is a French word meaning “sled”. It describes a small sled used by one or two people, on which one lies face up and feet first. The luge can be compared to the skeleton, a sled for only one person and on which the rider lies face down and goes down the hill head-first. Yikes!

66 School visible from Windsor Castle : ETON

Windsor Castle is located on the River Thames in Berkshire, just 20 miles outside London. It was built in the early 11th century by William the Conqueror after the Norman invasion of England. Queen Elizabeth II used to spend many of her weekends at Windsor. She had lots of room to move around there, as it’s the largest inhabited castle in the world.

Down

3 Summer’s “Hot Stuff” time : DISCO ERA

Donna Summer is known as “The Queen of Disco”, with great hits like “Love to Love You, Baby”, “I Feel Love” and “Hot Stuff”. In the late sixties and early seventies, LaDonna Gaines (her real name) lived and worked in Germany. There she met and married an Austrian actor called Helmuth Sommer. They divorced not long after the marriage, but Donna kept his family name, just changing the “o” to “u” to give her the stage name of “Donna Summer”.

5 Primate with a doglike muzzle : BABOON

Baboons are ground-dwelling primates native to Africa that are found in open woodland and hills. A group of baboons is usually referred to as a “troop”.

6 Like Maldon sea salt : FLAKED

Maldon is a producer of sea salt. The company is located on the estuary of the River Blackwater in Essex, England from which Maldon sources its high-salinity water. The brine is evaporated over gas-powered flues, leaving behind the magnesium-rich salt.

7 Turkish currency : LIRA

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

8 Bath flower? : AVON

The River Avon that flows in the southwest of England is sometimes referred to as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon. The extra wording is to distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in the country, including the famous one through William Shakespeare’s Stratford. The Lower Avon passes through the cities of Bristol and Bath.

Bath is a beautiful city in South West England of which I have very fond memories. It is an old Roman spa town, and the city’s name comes from the Roman baths that have been excavated and restored.

11 English Romantic painter : TURNER

J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) was a groundbreaking English Romantic artist, known for his expressive use of color and light. I must admit that most of what I know about Turner’s life and career comes from watching the excellent 2014 biopic “Mr. Turner”, in which Timothy Spall plays the title character.

13 OutKast hit that asks, “What’s cooler than being cool?” : HEY YA!

“Hey Ya!” is a 2003 song by hip hop duo Outkast. I took a look at the song’s official music video, as I read that it was inspired by the 1964 appearance of the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. Fun …

23 Award won by Caitlin Clark : ESPY

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”.

24 Biryani butter : GHEE

Ghee is clarified butter used in South Asian cuisines. “Ghee” comes from Sanskrit, and translates as “sprinkled”.

Biryani is a mixed rice dish found on the menu in many Indian restaurants. It typically features basmati rice layered with marinated meat (like chicken, goat, or lamb), aromatic spices, and often vegetables or eggs.

29 Stockpile : HOARD

The “stockpile” first appeared in the late 19th century, simply combining “stock” (meaning a supply of something ready for use) and “pile” (a heap or mound). It originally referred to literal piles of ore in mining.

35 Org. with moms, dads, and educators : PTA

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

37 Post-dubbing title : SIR

Kneel, and a monarch might “dub thee a knight” if you’re lucky. “Dub” is a specific term derived from Old English that was used to mean “make a knight”. As the knight was also given a knightly name at the same time, “dub” came to mean “give someone a name”.

38 Workout regimen with tire flipping : CROSSFIT

CrossFit is a trademarked fitness, strength and conditioning program that was introduced in 2000.

41 Bygone jets, briefly : SSTS

The most famous supersonic transport (SST) was the Concorde, a plane that’s no longer flying. Concorde had that famous “droop nose”. The nose was moved to the horizontal position during flight to create the optimum aerodynamic shape thereby reducing drag. It was lowered during taxi, takeoff and landing, so that the pilot had better visibility. The need for the droop nose was driven largely by the delta-shaped wings. The delta wing necessitates a higher angle of attack at takeoff and landing than conventional wing designs, so the pilot needed the nose lowered so that he or she could see the ground.

42 __ cut : CREW

The term “crew cut” probably originated in Yale in the 1890s. The Yale football players were noted for wearing their hair relatively long, as it helped protect their heads inside the flimsy leather football helmets of the day. In contrast, the rowing team wore their hair relatively short, in a style that came to be known as the “crew cut”.

43 Essence of an idea : KERNEL

Our contemporary word “kernel” comes from the Old English word “cyrnel,” which meant “seed”, and more literally “little corn”. Today, we still refer to the kernel of a nut or corn. We also refer to the kernel of an idea, the most important part of the idea.

44 Prima ballerina : ETOILE

In the world of ballet, the étoile is the leading dancer in a company (male or female). “Étoile” is the French word for “star”.

The title “prima ballerina” is the second-highest awarded to a female dancer in a company. The more prestigious “prima ballerina assoluta” is only awarded to the most notable dancers.

46 Warhol genre : POP ART

American artist Andy Warhol was a leader in the pop art movement that emerged in the mid-1950s. Many of his works became the most expensive paintings ever sold. A 1963 Warhol canvas titled “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” fetched over 100 million dollars in 2013.

48 Sings jazzy nonsense syllables : SCATS

Scat singing is a vocal improvisation found in the world of jazz. There aren’t any words as such in scat singing, just random nonsense syllables made up on the spot.

52 Farm insects : ANTS

“Formicary” is another name for “ant nest”, and comes from the Latin “formica” meaning “ant”. The phrase “ant colony” describes the ants living in an ant nest. A formicarium is similar to an aquarium, and used to house an ant colony perhaps for study. The phrase “ant farm” is usually reserved for ant nests built by an ant colony in a formicarium.

53 L.A. nabe with an arts district : NOHO

The NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles takes its name from “North Hollywood”, although the abbreviation is a play on the name of the famous SoHo Arts District in New York City.

55 Cathedral area : NAVE

In large Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar, and is where most of the congregation are seated.

59 __ Speedwagon : REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.