Tag: Ballpoint alternative crossword clue

Advertisement

Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: It’s a Start

Themed answers all might be clued with “IT’S A START”:

• 35A “We’ve made some progress,” and what one might say about the answer to each starred clue : IT’S A START

• 1A *With 65-Across, faceoff in a hockey game : PUCK …
• 65A See 1-Across : … DROP
• 18A *Ceremonial toss made memorable by Simone Biles at the 2019 World Series : FIRST PITCH
• 23A *TV show pilot, typically : EPISODE I
• 49A *Musical introduction : OVERTURE
• 54A *Auction action : OPENING BID

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

Bill’s time: 6m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 *With 65-Across, faceoff in a hockey game : PUCK …
65A See 1-Across : … DROP

Before wooden and rubber pucks were introduced in the late 1800s, ice hockey was played with balls. The first rubber pucks were made by cutting down rubber balls into the shape of discs.

5 “I give up!” : UNCLE!

To say uncle is to submit or yield. This peculiarly American use of “uncle” dates back to the early 1900s, but nobody seems to know how “uncle!” came to mean “stop!”

10 “Eternals” star Gemma : CHAN

Gemma Chan is a British actress who gained widespread recognition for her role as Astrid Leong-Teo in the critically acclaimed film “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). She has been in relationships with some household names in the UK. Her partner was standup comedian Jack Whitehall from 2011 to 2017, and fellow actor Dominic Cooper starting in 2018.

“Eternals” is a 2021 superhero film in Marvel Cinematic Universe. The title characters are an offshoot of humanity created to defend Earth with their superpowers. In the film, they are sent to Earth to exterminate the Deviants, who have invaded the planet.

15 Gaming rookies : NOOBS

The term “rookie”, used for a raw recruit, first appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s collection of songs and poems called the “Barrack-Room Ballads”, which was originally published in 1892.

18 *Ceremonial toss made memorable by Simone Biles at the 2019 World Series : FIRST PITCH

Artistic gymnast Simone Biles holds many, many world and US records. In 2022, President Joe Biden presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, making her the youngest person ever to receive the award.

20 Alpine event : SUPER G

Super Giant Slalom (Super G) is an alpine skiing event introduced in 1982. The Super G isn’t as fast as its sister event the Downhill, but is faster than the more technical Giant Slalom.

22 __ A Sketch : ETCH

Etch A Sketch was introduced in 1960. The toy was developed in France by inventor André Cassagnes, who initially named it “L’Écran Magique” (The Magic Screen).

25 Dried poblano peppers : ANCHOS

An ancho is a dried poblano pepper used in Mexican cuisine. The poblano is a mild chili.

29 Square root of cuatro : DOS

In Spanish, “dos” (two) is the square root of “cuatro” (four)

30 2001 film with a Seussian title : I AM SAM

“I Am Sam” is a 2001 drama movie starring Sean Penn. He plays a man with a developmental disability who is raising a young daughter alone after her mother abandoned the family.

37 “Hunny” bear : POOH

Winnie-the-Pooh’s favorite food is “hunny”, i.e. “honey”.

40 “Abracadabra!” : PRESTO!

The incantation “abracadabra” has a long history. It was used as far back as the 2nd century AD in ancient Rome when the word was prescribed by a physician to be worn on an amulet to help his emperor recover from disease. “Abracadabra” is Aramaic, and roughly translates as “I will create as I speak”.

44 Baltimore baseballers : ORIOLES

The Baltimore Orioles (also the O’s, the Birds) are one of the eight charter teams of MLB’s American League, so the franchise dates back to 1901. Prior to 1901, the team had roots in the Minor League Milwaukee Brewers, and indeed entered the American League as the Brewers. In 1902 the Brewers moved to St. Louis and became the Browns. The team didn’t fare well in St. Louis, so when it finally relocated to Baltimore in the early fifties the team changed its name completely, to the Baltimore Orioles. The owners so badly wanted a fresh start that they traded 17 old Browns players with the New York Yankees. The trade didn’t help the team’s performance on the field in those early days, but it did help distance the new team from its past.

46 Houston baseballer : ASTRO

The Houston baseball team changed its name to the Astros (sometimes “’Stros”) from the Colt .45s in 1965 when they started playing in the Astrodome. The Astrodome was so called in recognition of the city’s long association with the US space program. The Astros moved from the National League to the American League starting in the 2013 season.

48 Ballpoint alternative : GEL PEN

Gel pens use a water-based gel ink that is thicker than traditional ballpoint ink, resulting in bolder lines and a more fluid feel. They were first produced by the Japanese company Sakura Color Products in the 1980s. The first model sold by Sakura in the US was called the Gelly Roll. Cute …

52 “Zoolander” actor Wilson : OWEN

Actor Owen Wilson was nominated for an Oscar, but not for his acting. He was nominated for co-writing the screenplay for “The Royal Tenenbaums” along with Wes Anderson. My favorite of Wilson’s performances, by far, is in the excellent movie “Midnight in Paris”.

“Zoolander” is a 2001 movie starring Ben Stiller, with Ben’s father, Jerry Stiller in a supporting role. Derek Zoolander is a male model, with the name coming from a melding of two real-life male models, Mark Vanderloo and Johnny Zander.

53 __ Coors : MOLSON

The Molson Brewery in Montreal is the oldest brewery in North America, having been established in 1786. In fact, Molson (now owned by Coors) is the second oldest company in Canada, after the Hudson’s Bay Company.

57 Joint protected by a patella : KNEE

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

60 Spanakopita dough : FILO

Filo (also “phyllo”) is an extremely thin unleavened dough used in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. The most famous dish made from filo is baklava, a rich and sweet pastry made from layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and held together with syrup.

Spanakopita is a savory pastry from Greece. The term “spanakopita” translates from Greek as “spinach pie”. The pie’s filling includes feta cheese, onions and egg, along with the spinach.

62 Unagi Day fish : EELS

Unagi Day, or “Doyo-no-Ushi-no-Hi”, is a Japanese tradition celebrated during the hottest part of summer. On this day, people eat unagi (freshwater eel) in a custom that dates back to the Edo period. The custom is believed to have originated from a marketing ploy by an unagi restaurant owner.

Down

1 Knob on a viola : PEG

The viola looks like and is played like a violin, but is slightly larger. It is referred to as the middle voice in the violin family, lying between the violin and the cello.

2 The ACC’s Cavaliers : UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who then sat on the original Board of Visitors alongside former US Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. In fact, the original UVA campus was built on land near Charlottesville that was once a farm belonging to President Monroe.

3 Fahrenheit counterpart : CELSIUS

Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. The temperature scale that Celsius created was the reverse of that used today, with “zero” representing the boiling point of water and “100” representing water’s freezing point. This scale was “upended” (in 1744) just after Celsius died, by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The resulting temperature scale then became known as the “centigrade” scale for over 200 years, until in 1948 it was decided to adopt the degree “celsius”. So, anyone still using “degrees centigrade” is actually way behind the times …

When Gabriel Fahrenheit first defined his temperature scale he set 0 degrees as the temperature of a mixture of ice, water and salt. He defined 100 degrees as the temperature under his wife’s armpit! Using this scale he determined that water boiled at 210 degrees. Later refinements moved the boiling point of water up to 212 degrees, and as a result “body temperature” was shifted downwards to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

4 Bluegrass-country singer Alison : KRAUSS

Alison Krauss is a bluegrass-country singer and musician from Illinois. You can hear some of her music on the soundtracks of movies like “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Cold Mountain”.

6 Bête __ : NOIRE

“Bête noire” translates from French as “black beast”, and is used in English to describe something or someone that is disliked.

7 Short-legged canine : CORGI

The Welsh corgi is a herding dog that originated in Britain, with two recognized breeds: the Pembroke and Cardigan. Corgis aren’t fast enough to do their job by running around livestock like collies, and instead nip at the heels. “Corgi” is Welsh for “dwarf dog”.

8 Dumbbell abbr. : LBS

A dumbbell is a short bar with weights on either end that is used for strength-training. There is a theory that such an apparatus was used to train church bell ringers. As there isn’t any bell, it was referred to as a dumbbell. Um, I’m not sure I believe that explanation …

21 Theorize : POSIT

To “posit” is to assume as fact, to lay down as a “position”.

28 Bowlers and fedoras : HATS

The bowler hat is so called because it was originally designed, in 1849, by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler. The Bowlers created it as an alternative for the top hats then worn by gamekeepers. The gamekeepers needed a tight-fitting hat with a low and rounded crown so that it would stay on their heads as they rode by horseback through woodland with low-hanging branches.

A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …

31 Colorado skiing mecca : ASPEN

Aspen, Colorado used to be known as Ute City, with the name change taking place in 1880. Like many communities in the area, Aspen was a mining town, and in 1891 and 1892 it was at the center of the highest production of silver in the US. Nowadays, it’s all about skiing and movie stars.

32 Snickers producer : MARS

Snickers is a candy bar made by Mars. When I was growing up in Ireland, the same candy bar was sold as a Marathon. The name was changed in Europe to Snickers in 1990. 75% of the world’s Snickers bars are made in the Mars factory in Waco, Texas.

37 1990s collectible disc : POG

The game of pogs was originally played with bottle caps from POG fruit juice. The juice was named for its constituents, passion fruit, orange and guava.

38 Creamy dessert made with cookies : OREO PIE

An oreo pie is a no-bake dessert. One recipe calls for an Oreo cookie crumb pie crust that isn’t baked, and rather set by chilling it in the freezer. The pie crust is filled with a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and crushed Oreo cookies.

39 Derrick setting : OIL WELL

A derrick is a crane-like machine used to hoist heavy objects. Back in the 17th century, a derrick was a gallows, and before that a hangman. The original “Derrick” was a notorious hangman at Tyburn gallows in London.

43 “__ betide our enemies” : WOE

“Betide” is an old word for “happen, happen to”. Most often today we hear it in the phrase “woe betide (someone)”, which means “bad things will happen to (someone)”.

45 Heidi Klum’s model daughter : LENI

American model Leni Klum is the biological daughter of German model Heidi Klum and Italian businessman Flavio Briatore. Leni’s parents split up before she was born. Heidi was in a relationship with her future husband Seal by the time Leni was born. Seal was present at the birth, and is Leni’s adoptive father.

49 Color technique with a blended effect : OMBRE

The adjective “ombré” describes a color or tone that is a blend of one into another. “Ombré” is French for “shaded”. A softer and more gradual shading of one color into the other is referred to as “sombré”.

55 Org. with Cardinals and Saints : NFC

National Football Conference (NFC)

58 “Strange Magic” rock gp. : ELO

“Strange Magic” is a song by English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) that was released as a single in 1976. It had appeared earlier as a track on ELO’s 1975 album “Face the Music”.