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Constructed by: Wendy L. Brandes
Edited by: Patti Varol
Today’s Reveal Answer: Dismissal
Themed answers are common phrases with the suffix “-AL” DISMISSED from the first word:
- 59A Favorite time of the school day for some teachers and students, or a two-word hint for the answers to the starred clues : DISMISSAL or DISMISS “-AL”
- 17A *Desire to dress in Victorian era garb and sip tea daintily? : PRIM URGES (from “primal urges”)
- 23A *One who helps fix a banged-up car? : DENT ASSISTANT (from “dental assistant”)
- 49A *Fine print about a knee replacement? : LEG DISCLAIMER (from “legal disclaimer”)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
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Bill’s time: 6m 11s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1 The “sheet” in “three sheets to the wind” : ROPE
A sheet is the rope that is used to control a sail on a sailing vessel. The expression “three sheets to the wind” meaning “drunk” dates back to the early 1800s. It likely derives from the notion that a sailboat with three sails, and with all three sheets slipped out of control, would behave like someone who was drunk, and vice versa.
5 European wine region : ASTI
Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.
9 Daily crossword review sites, e.g. : BLOGS
Never heard of such a thing …
14 “Downton Abbey” title : EARL
In the incredibly successful period drama “Downton Abbey”, the patriarch of the family living at Downton is Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham or Lord Grantham. The character is played by Hugh Bonneville. Lord Grantham married American Cora Levinson (played by Elizabeth McGovern). Lord and Lady Grantham had three daughters, and no sons. The lack of a male heir implied that the Grantham estate would pass to a male cousin, and out of the immediate family. The Grantham daughters are Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) and Lady Sybil (played by Jessica Brown Findlay). Lady Sybil had the audacity to marry the family chauffeur, who was an Irish nationalist. The shame of it all …
16 Sirius business : RADIO
XM Satellite Radio used to be in competition with Sirius Satellite Radio but the FCC allowed the two companies to merge in 2008 forming SiriusXM Radio.
19 “Inside the NBA” analyst : O’NEAL
“Inside the NBA” is a postgame show that airs on TNT. The list of regulars on the show includes ex-players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.
26 Anorak part : HOOD
Anoraks really aren’t very popular over here in America. Everyone has one in Ireland! An anorak is a heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur (or fake fur), and is an invention of the Inuit people.
32 Hummus and baba ghanouj : DIPS
The lovely dip/spread called hummus usually contains mashed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. The name “hummus” is an Arabic word for “chickpeas”.
Baba ganoush (also “baba ghanouj”) is an Arab dish with the main ingredient of mashed eggplant. It is sometimes served as a (delicious) dip.
36 Whiskey barrel wood : OAK
We use the spelling “whiskey” for American and Irish versions of the drink, and “whisky” for scotch, the Scottish version.
44 Winter X Games host city : 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.
The X Games are annual events, with a Summer X Games held every year as well as a Winter X Games. It’s very much a commercial venture, with all aspects controlled by the TV station ESPN. The games focus on extreme action sports, like skateboarding and freestyle motocross in the summer and various extreme snowboarding events in the winter.
48 Barbecue crust : CHAR
It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.
54 Fish that spawns in fresh water : SALMON
When young salmon (born in freshwater) are at the smolt stage, they become adapted to saltwater and head for the sea. They return to freshwater to reproduce, often traveling long distances upstream.
56 Bishopric : SEE
In some Christian traditions, a district under the control of a bishop is a diocese, bishopric or see. Dioceses are in turn divided into parishes that are under the control of priests. A particularly significant diocese might be called an archdiocese, and falls under the control of an archbishop.
58 Furry swimmer : OTTER
The fur of the sea otter is exceptionally thick. It is the densest fur in the whole animal kingdom.
62 Pt. of IMF : INTL
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established at the end of 1945 with 29 major economies supporting and funding an effort to stabilize economies across the globe after WWII. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., today the IMF has 187 member countries.
63 Muscles near delts : PECS
“Pecs” is the familiar name for the chest muscle, which is more correctly known as the pectoralis major muscle. “Pectus” is the Latin word for “breast, chest”.
66 US Open stadium : ASHE
Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997, and is the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium was often criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather. Well, that changed in 2016 when the stadium debuted its new retractable roof, a $150 million investment in the facility.
Down
2 Worked in a galley : OARED
Galleys were large medieval ships found mainly in the Mediterranean. They were propelled by a combination of sails and oars.
4 With 7-Down, blight victims : ELM …
7 See 4-Down : … TREES
Elms are a genus of tree comprising 30-40 different species. Sadly, most elm trees in the world have died in recent decades due to the spread of Dutch elm disease.
8 Some badges : IDS
Identity document (ID)
9 Heathcliff creator : BRONTE
In terms of age, Emily Brontë was the middle of the three Brontë sisters, younger than Charlotte and older than Anne. Emily was a poet and a novelist, and is best remembered for her only novel, “Wuthering Heights”. Emily died very young, at 30 years old. She never recovered from a severe cold that she caught at the funeral service of Branwell Brontë, her only brother. The cold developed into tuberculosis, for which she eschewed medical attention. She passed away after three months of illness.
“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë is essentially the story of a love triangle between the main characters: Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff and Edgar Linton.
10 Summer camp project : LANYARD
The term “lanyard” describes a rope or line used for securing items aboard a ship. More generally, a lanyard can hold an item like a whistle or knife, and often takes the form of a loop worn around the neck.
11 “__ Melancholy” : ODE ON
“Ode on Melancholy” is one of the so-called “1819 Odes” written by the poet John Keats. The collection includes famous poems such as “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to Psyche”.
12 Oracle Park player : GIANT
Oracle Park has been home to the San Francisco Giants baseball team since 2000, although the “Oracle” moniker has only been in place since 2019. The park sits right on San Francisco Bay, on a cove named China Basin. Since the stadium has been in use, that cove is known unofficially as McCovery Cove, after Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. When a Giants player hits a home run that lands directly in the water of McCovey Cove, it is known as a “splash hit”.
24 Scand. land : NOR
Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as “the Nordic countries”.
30 Copies, briefly : DUPES
Duplicate (dupe)
31 CPR expert : EMT
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. I hear that nowadays, emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.
34 “Tamerlane” poet : POE
Edgar Allan Poe enlisted in the US Army when he was 18 years old, although he claimed to be 22 at the time and used the false name “Edgar A. Perry”. While serving at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor, Poe released his first book “Tamerlane and Other Poems”, of which there are purported to be only 12 copies left in existence. Poe negotiated his way out of a 5-year obligation to the army by arranging entry to West Point. He managed to cut short his time at West Point by purposely getting court-martialed for gross neglect of duty and disobeying orders. Soon after returning to civilian life, Poe published his third volume of poems, with financing provided by several of his West Point classmates. Simply titled “Poems”, the work includes the line “To the U.S. Corps of Cadets this volume is respectfully dedicated”.
35 Break a commandment : SIN
In the Christian and Jewish traditions, the Ten Commandments are a set of principles relating to worship and ethics that the faithful should observe. Also known as the Decalogue, the Book of Exodus describes the revelation of the principles by God to Moses on Mount Sanai. Also according to Exodus, the Ten Commandments were inscribed by the finger of God onto a pair of stone tablets that were kept in a chest known as the Ark of the Covenant.
38 Ballet shoe application : ROSIN
Rosin is a solid form of resin derived from plant sources. Rosin is formed into cakes that players of stringed instruments use to rub along the hairs of their bows to help improve sound quality. The rosin increases the degree of friction between the strings and the bow. That same friction-increasing property comes into play when baseball pitchers use rosin to get a better grip on the ball, or when dancers apply rosin to the soles of their shoes.
39 South Seas island : TAHITI
Tahiti is the most populous island in French Polynesia, which is located in the central Southern Pacific. Although Captain Cook landed in Tahiti in 1769, he wasn’t the first European to do so. However, Cook’s visit was the most significant in that it heralded a whole spate of European visitors, who brought with them prostitution, venereal disease and alcohol. Included among the subsequent visitors was the famous HMS Bounty under the charge of Captain Bligh.
The term “South Sea” was coined in Spanish (“Mar del Sur”) by Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa when describing what we know today as the Pacific Ocean. We tend to use the term “South Seas” in modern times to refer to that part of the Pacific that lies below the equator.
45 Heughan of “Outlander” : SAM
Scottish actor Sam Heughan is best known for playing Jamie Fraser, one of the two lead characters on the fantasy drama “Outlander”. If you like a drop of whisky now and then, you might want to try “The Sassenach”, a brand that Heughan launched in 2020.
The “Outlander” period drama TV show is based on a series of novels of the same name by Diana Gabaldon. Stars of the show are Irish actress Caitríona Balfe and Scottish actor Sam Heugan. Balfe plays a military nurse who is transported back in time to mid-17th century Scotland, where she falls in love with a Highland warrior played by Heugan. Because of the success of the TV show, there’s a prequel in the works titled “Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
48 Without panicking : CALMLY
In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god who was part-man and part-goat, and one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.
49 Foamy pick-me-up : LATTE
The term “latte” is an abbreviation of the Italian “caffelatte” meaning “coffee (and) milk”. Note that in the correct spelling of “latte”, the Italian word for milk; there is no accent over the “e”. An accent is often added by mistake when we use the word in English, perhaps meaning to suggest that the word is French.
50 Taron’s “Rocketman” role : ELTON
“Rocketman” is a very entertaining musical biopic about the life of Elton John. The title role is taken by English actor Taron Egerton, who actually did a great job singing the songs in the film himself. The movie’s title comes from Elton John’s 1972 hit record “Rocket Man”.
51 Twill fabric : CHINO
Chino is a twill cloth that is most often used to make hard-wearing pants. The pants themselves have come to be referred to as chinos. Chino cloth was originally developed for use by the military, but quickly became popular with civilians.
53 Part of a boxer’s “tale of the tape” : REACH
In the world of boxing, the phrase “tale of the tape” describes the objective comparison of the pre-fight measurements of the contestants. The use of the term “tape” suggests that the focus is on such measurements as length of reach and height. More comprehensively, the tale of the tape includes the boxers’ weights.
57 “What __ Can I Do?”: “Encanto” song : ELSE
“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 The “sheet” in “three sheets to the wind” : ROPE
5 European wine region : ASTI
9 Daily crossword review sites, e.g. : BLOGS
14 “Downton Abbey” title : EARL
15 One who tweets a lot : BIRD
16 Sirius business : RADIO
17 *Desire to dress in Victorian era garb and sip tea daintily? : PRIM URGES (from “primal urges”)
19 “Inside the NBA” analyst : O’NEAL
20 “Just a __” : SEC
21 Zip : NONE
22 “Volunteers?” : ANYONE?
23 *One who helps fix a banged-up car? : DENT ASSISTANT (from “dental assistant”)
26 Anorak part : HOOD
27 Docking spot : PIER
28 Spin : TWIRL
30 Out of juice : DEAD
32 Hummus and baba ghanouj : DIPS
36 Whiskey barrel wood : OAK
37 Rock equipment : DRUM SET
40 “Surely you don’t mean me?” : MOI?
41 Seeing things : EYES
43 Withdraws, with “out” : OPTS …
44 Winter X Games host city : ASPEN
46 Simplicity : EASE
48 Barbecue crust : CHAR
49 *Fine print about a knee replacement? : LEG DISCLAIMER (from “legal disclaimer”)
54 Fish that spawns in fresh water : SALMON
55 “Don’t move!” : HALT!
56 Bishopric : SEE
58 Furry swimmer : OTTER
59 Favorite time of the school day for some teachers and students, or a two-word hint for the answers to the starred clues : DISMISSAL or DISMISS “-AL”
61 Make amends : ATONE
62 Pt. of IMF : INTL
63 Muscles near delts : PECS
64 Lets : RENTS
65 Prone to prying : NOSY
66 US Open stadium : ASHE
Down
1 Crunch units : REPS
2 Worked in a galley : OARED
3 Consumer concern : PRICE HIKE
4 With 7-Down, blight victims : ELM …
5 Overseas : ABROAD
6 Talks with one’s hands, maybe : SIGNS
7 See 4-Down : … TREES
8 Some badges : IDS
9 Heathcliff creator : BRONTE
10 Summer camp project : LANYARD
11 “__ Melancholy” : ODE ON
12 Oracle Park player : GIANT
13 Lone : SOLE
18 Incalculable : UNTOLD
22 Off-mic comment : ASIDE
24 Scand. land : NOR
25 “Not interested” : I PASS
28 Sock part : TOE
29 Method : WAY
30 Copies, briefly : DUPES
31 CPR expert : EMT
33 Dazzles : IMPRESSES
34 “Tamerlane” poet : POE
35 Break a commandment : SIN
38 Ballet shoe application : ROSIN
39 South Seas island : TAHITI
42 Part : SEGMENT
45 Heughan of “Outlander” : SAM
47 Loves to pieces : ADORES
48 Without panicking : CALMLY
49 Foamy pick-me-up : LATTE
50 Taron’s “Rocketman” role : ELTON
51 Twill fabric : CHINO
52 Has a long shelf life : LASTS
53 Part of a boxer’s “tale of the tape” : REACH
54 Rise above it all : SOAR
57 “What __ Can I Do?”: “Encanto” song : ELSE
59 Racket : DIN
60 Spot for a mud bath : SPA
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