Tag: Backspin producer crossword clue

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson & Samuel A. Donaldson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

Happy Birthday, America! It’s a big one!

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

Bill’s time: 14m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A Coastal region along the Santa Lucia Mountains : BIG SUR

Big Sur is a lovely part of the California Coast located south of Monterey and Carmel. The name “Big Sur” comes from the original Spanish description of the area as “el sur grande” meaning “the big south”.

The Santa Lucia Range is a rugged chain of mountains along California’s central coast. The transition between ocean and range is so abrupt that the range forms the steepest coastal slope in the lower 48 states. Spanish explorers named the mountain chain in 1602 after sighting the towering peaks from the ocean on December 14, the Catholic feast day of Saint Lucy.

16A Coffee drink made with a frother : FRAPPE

The modern frappé coffee was invented accidentally in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair in Greece. Apparently, a Nestlé sales representative was unable to find hot water for his instant Nescafé during a break, and so he improvised by mixing the coffee grounds with cold water and ice cubes in a shaker designed for a children’s chocolate beverage. The makeshift cold shake became a sensation across Greece, and then Nestlé marketed it around the world.

17A Coldplay hit co-produced by Avicii : A SKY FULL OF STARS

Coldplay’s 2014 single “A Sky Full Of Stars” was the band’s first ever dance track. It’s perhaps not surprising then that the band co-wrote and co-produced the song with Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii, one of the most successful electronic dance music (EDM) artists of all time.

20A Brand whose logo adorns Argentine soccer jerseys : ADIDAS

The Adidas brand dates back to when Adolf “Adi” Dassler started making his own sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room in Bavaria after returning from WWI. With his brother, Adi founded Dassler shoes. The company’s big break came in 1936 at the Berlin Olympics, when Adi persuaded American sprinter Jesse Owens to use his shoes, and with the success of Jesse Owens came success for the fledgling shoe company. After WWII the brothers split, acrimoniously. Adi’s brother, Ru-dolf Da-ssler, formed “Ruda” shoes (later to become Puma), and Adi Das-sler formed “Adidas”.

21A Lake just south of London : ERIE

The city of London, Ontario lies about halfway between Detroit and Toronto. Just like the city’s better known namesake in England, Canada’s London is located on the Thames River.

22A Market openings, briefly : IPOS

Initial public offering (IPO)

24A Heroic poetry : EPOS

“Epos” is a Greek word meaning “story poem”. We have absorbed the term into English with the same meaning. We also use “epos” in English to mean “epic”, i.e. a long narrative poetic work featuring heroic deeds and ventures.

26A Like Pluto, once : NINTH

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was welcomed as the ninth planet in our solar system. It is relatively small in size, just one fifth of the mass of our own moon. In the seventies, astronomers began to discover more large objects in the solar system, including Eris, a “scattered disc object” at the outer reaches. Given that Eris is actually bigger than Pluto, and other objects really aren’t that much smaller, Pluto’s status as a planet was drawn into question. In 2006 there was a scientific definition for a “planet” agreed for the first time, resulting in Pluto being relegated to the status of “dwarf planet”, along with Eris. This relegation led to the word “pluto” being used as a verb meaning “give a less important position than before”.

28A Hook’s boatswain : SMEE

Smee is often portrayed as a bumbling, hapless character in adaptations of “Peter Pan”, but in the original play by J.M. Barrie, he is actually a skilled pirate who is second-in-command to Captain Hook.

A boatswain works on the deck of a boat. He or she is unlicensed, and so is not involved in the navigation or handling of the vessel, and instead is in charge of the other unlicensed workers on the deck. “Boatswain” is pronounced “bosun” and this phonetic spelling is often used interchangeably with “boatswain”. The contraction “bo’s’n” is also very popular.

41A Platform for content creators : PATREON

Patreon is a digital membership platform used by content creators wanting or needing a subscription service. It allows creators to generate income beyond the traditional advertising model, giving an opportunity for “patrons” to sponsor a creator’s work.

50A Football coach Pederson : DOUG

Doug Pederson is an NFL coach and former quarterback. He spent most of his 14-year NFL playing career as a backup quarterback for legends like Dan Marino and Brett Favre. After he retired as a player, Pederson went into coaching, eventually leading the Philadelphia Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl title, in 2018.

52A Gouda alternative : EDAM

Edam cheese takes its name from the Dutch town of Edam in North Holland. The cheese is famous for its coating of red paraffin wax, a layer of protection that helps Edam travel well and prevents spoiling. You might occasionally come across an Edam cheese that is coated in black wax. The black color indicates that the underlying cheese has been aged for a minimum of 17 weeks.

Gouda is a cheese that originated in the Dutch city of the same name, although today Gouda is produced all over the world and very little of it comes from the Netherlands. Gouda is often smoke-cured, which gives it a yellowish-brown outer skin and that characteristic smoky taste.

53A Alexa device : ECHO

Echo is a voice-controlled hardware device that can be used to provide several services including playing radio programs and music, recording of shopping lists, and managing a calendar. The device just sits in the home listening, until it hears a “wake up” command.

Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with Amazon Echo smart speakers. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.

57A Purple yam used in desserts : UBE

Ube is a species of yam that is purple in color. I’m a big fan of ube ice cream. Yam-flavored ice cream; what’s not to like?!

58A “Seven Nation Army” band : THE WHITE STRIPES

“Seven Nation Army” is a 2003 song released by American rock duo the White Stripes, comprising Jack White and Meg White. When Jack was a young lad in Detroit, he misheard “Salvation Army” as “Seven Nation Army”, which phrase was used for the single’s title.

61A “Vacancy” singer Ari : LENNOX

“Vacancy” is a 2026 album released by R&B singer-songwriter Ari Lennox. Apparently, the title represents two aspects of her life at the time: newfound independence in the music industry, and the emotional void of modern dating. Regarding the latter, Lennox once stated that prospective romantic partners were “in and out like a gosh darn hotel”.

62A Trattoria tubes : RIGATONI

Rigatoni is a tubular pasta that is relatively short, and with ridges along its length. The name “rigatoni” comes from the Italian “rigato” meaning “ridged, lined”.

A trattoria is an Italian restaurant. In Italian, a “trattore” is the keeper of said eating house.

64A Fourth of July treats : SNO-CONES

A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

Down

2D Using coded language : AESOPIAN

Aesopian language is a form of coded communication designed to conceal subversive political messages behind seemingly innocent text. The term “Aesopian” is a reference to the Greek fabulist Aesop, whose fables used talking animals to critique tyrannical rulers without him running the risk of execution. These days, the all too prevalent dog-whistle politics is perhaps analogous to Aesopian language. Both use coded language, allowing the speaker to shield themselves from repercussions by claiming misinterpretation.

3D 1980s hit whose video drew a lot of attention? : TAKE ON ME

1985’s “Take on Me” was a smash hit for Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The song’s accompanying music video was also a smash hit. It used live action combined with pencil-sketch animation, a technique called rotoscoping. Artists had to rotoscope around 3,000 individual frames of footage by hand, taking about 16 weeks of work. It’s a cool video, and a great song …

5D Rival of The Djoker and Fed Express : RAFA

Rafael “Rafa” Nadal is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he has some superstitions that help him focus on winning. For example, he has a unique pre-match ritual in which he arranges his water bottles in a very specific way. He always places them in a straight line with the labels facing the court, and he adjusts them so that they are perfectly aligned.

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player and former world No. 1 ranked player. Djokovic is quite the character on and off the court, earning him the nickname “Djoker”. He is also very popular on the talk-show circuit, all around the world. It helps that Djokovic is fluent in several languages.

Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer is married to former tennis pro Mirka Vavrinec. The couple are parents to two sets of twins. Federer has earned a few nicknames over the years, e.g. the Federer Express and the Swiss Maestro.

7D Shape with minor and major axes : ELLIPSE

One way to envision the two foci of an ellipse is to imagine two nails sticking up out of a board, placed a small distance apart. A loop of string is placed on the board, with the nails in the middle. A pen is placed inside the loop, and moved as far away from the nails as possible, confined by the string. The pen is then run around the nails, stretching out the string so that it is taut. The pen will draw an ellipse, and the point where the nails are, they are the ellipse’s two foci.

9D Ride-or-dies, for short : BFFS

Best friend forever (BFF)

“Ride or die” is a slang term describing someone incredibly loyal and committed to another person, willing to face any challenge or hardship with them.The term’s etymology can be traced back to 1950s biker culture, where it literally meant that if a biker couldn’t ride their motorcycle, they’d rather die.

10D Org. whose first commissioner was former treasury secretary George S. Boutwell : IRS

Statesman and politician George S. Boutwell took on many pivotal roles in his career, perhaps most notably serving as the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue, appointed by President Lincoln. Essentially, Boutwell set up from scratch the government’s tax bureau, which became the Internal Revenue Service.

18D Palm springs? : OASES

An isolated area of vegetation in a desert is called an oasis (plural “oases”). As water is needed for plant growth, an oasis might also include a spring, pond or small lake. We often use the term “oasis” more generally to describe a haven, a place of rest.

29D Queen who appears at Epcot’s Royal Sommerhus : ELSA

The Royal Sommerhus is an attraction located in the Norway Pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot in Florida. It is modeled after the historic Detli House, a 19th-century traditional log home preserved at the Sverresborg Folk Museum in Trondheim. The Royal Sommerhus is where Queen Elsa, from “Frozen”, greets her guests.

34D 2022 title role for Tom Hanks : OTTO

“A Man Called Otto” is a marvelous 2022 comedy-drama movie starring Tom Hanks as a grumpy old man who gets dragged, reluctantly, into the lives of his neighbors. It is a remake of the 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove”, which in turn is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Fredrik Backman. In flashbacks, young Otto is played by Truman Hanks, one of Tom Hanks’ sons.

38D Latin attention-getter : NOTA BENE

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

40D Anwar who wrote “Revolt on the Nile” : SADAT

“Revolt on the Nile” is a 1957 memoir by Colonel Anwar El-Sadat, written long before he became President of Egypt. Sadat was a close confidant of then-president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who personally wrote the book’s foreword.

42D Itchy, to Scratchy : NEMESIS

Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant pay a price for their attitudes. In modern parlance, one’s nemesis (plural “nemeses”) is one’s sworn enemy, often someone who is the exact opposite in character but someone who still shares some important characteristics. A nemesis is often someone one cannot seem to beat in competition.

“The Itchy & Scratchy Show” is a fictional program that pops up on “The Simpsons”, i.e. a show within a show. Itchy is a blue mouse, and Scratchy is a black cat.

43D Grown-up grub : BEETLE

The larvae of stag beetles are commonly known as grubs. “Grub” is also slang for “food”. The word “grub” has been used in this sense since way back in the 1600s, and is possibly derived from birds eating grubs.

44D Refrain from : ESCHEW

“To eschew”, meaning “to avoid, shun”, comes from the Old French word “eschiver” that means the same thing.

45D Zeus’s brain child? : ATHENA

The Greek goddess Athena (sometimes “Athene”) is often associated with wisdom, among other attributes. In many representations, Athena is depicted with an owl sitting on her head. It is this linkage of the owl with the goddess of wisdom that led to today’s perception of the owl as being “wise”. Athena’s Roman counterpart was Minerva.

55D Prix __ : FIXE

On a restaurant menu, items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately. A menu marked “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) is a fixed-price menu with limited choice. “Table d’hôte” translates from French as “table of the host”.

56D “Hotel Transylvania” protagonist : DRAC

“Hotel Transylvania” is an animated film released in 2012. Hotel Transylvania of the title, is owned by Count Dracula and is used by the world’s monsters to get some time away from human civilization. Count Dracula is played by comedy actor Adam Sandler.

60D Olympian Midori : ITO

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. She was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact, Ito landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old. Ito won Olympic silver in 1992, and was chosen as the person to light the Olympic cauldron at the commencement of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.