Tag: Botanical swelling crossword clue

Bill’s time: 6m 56s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Factory work period : SHIFT

In a three-shift working system, the shifts are known by various names:

1. First shift, day shift
2. Second shift, swing shift
3. Third shift, night shift, graveyard shift

6 Choral part : ALTO

In choral music, an alto (plural “alti”) is the second-highest voice in a four-part chorus made up of soprano, contr(alto), tenor and bass. The word “alto” describes the vocal range, that of the deepest female singing-voice, whereas the term “contralto” describes more than just the alto range, but also its quality and timbre. An adult male’s voice (not a boy’s) with the same range as an alto is called a “countertenor”.

16 Nabisco nibble : OREO

If you take a close look at the embossed design on the front and back of an Oreo cookie, you’ll spot the main elements of the Nabisco logo. Those elements are an oval with a cross on top, a cross with two bars. Usually the company name “Nabisco” is inside the oval, but for the cookie it’s the brand name “Oreo”. The current embossed design was introduced 1952.

19 Screenwriter Ephron : NORA

Nora Ephron had many talents, including writing film scripts and novels. Many of the movies that she wrote, she also directed. These would include some of my favorite movies of all time like “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail” and most recently, the wonderful “Julie & Julia”. And, did you know that Nora Ephron’s second marriage was to journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame? She wrote an autobiographical novel based on her life with Bernstein, which deals in particular with Bernstein’s affair with the daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan.

20 __ Ark : NOAH’S

The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

22 Timber shaper : ADZE

An adze (also “adz”) is similar to an axe, but is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft. An axe blade is set in line with the shaft.

28 Stars and Stripes squad : TEAM USA

Legend has it that Betsy Ross made the first American flag for General George Washington. However, this story only surfaced during the centennial celebrations of 1876, and although Betsy Ross was indeed one of several flag makers in Philadelphia in the days of George Washington, sadly there’s no definitive evidence that Ross provided that first Stars and Stripes.

31 Delivery doc : OB/GYN

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)

32 Movie lab assistant : IGOR

In the world of movies, Igor has been the assistant to Dracula, Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein among others. Igor is almost invariably portrayed as a hunchback.

36 Gp. that isn’t gun-shy : NRA

National Rifle Association (NRA)

37 Apple tablet from 2013 to 2016 : IPAD AIR (giving “air show”)

The iPad Air is Apple’s 5th-generation table computer. The Air is just 7.5 mm thick, and is 22% lighter than the iPad 2.

40 Real estate buy : LOT

In the world of law, there are two main classes of property: personal property and real property. Personal property is basically movable property. Real property is immovable, such as land or buildings and related assets.

41 Have some grub : EAT

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

43 Botanical swelling : EDEMA

Both animals and plants can suffer from edema, which is a swelling caused by excessive accumulation of fluid.

45 Yellow Brick Road dog : TOTO

Toto is Dorothy’s dog in the film “The Wizard of Oz”, and in the original book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Toto was played in the movie by a dog called Terry, but Terry’s name was soon changed to Toto in real life due to the success of the film.

According to L. Frank Baum’s series of “Oz” novels, there are two Yellow Brick Roads that lead to the Emerald City from Munchkin Country, and it turns out that Dorothy chose the harder of the two. In addition to the yellow roads, there is also a Red Brick Road, which leads from Munchkin County to the Country of the Quadlings.

48 Summit Plummet at Disney World, for one : WATER SLIDE (giving “slide show”)

Disney’s Blizzard Beach is a water park in Walt Disney World in Florida. One of the park’s most famous attractions is the Summit Plummet, which is one of the tallest and fastest free-fall water slides in the world.

52 Bit of pageant attire : SASH

The oldest beauty pageant still operating in the US is the Miss America contest. The Miss America beauty pageant started out as a marketing ploy in the early twenties to attract tourists to the Atlantic City boardwalk after Labor Day. Today, contestants must be between 17 and 24 years of age. Before those limits were introduced, Marian Bergeron won the 1933 title at only 15 years of age.

53 Fashionista Mary-Kate : OLSEN

I know very little about the Olsen twins, but I am told that many folks believe Mary-Kate and Ashley to be identical twins. They look very much alike, but are in fact fraternal twins. The sisters were cast as Michelle Tanner on the eighties sitcom “Full House”, taking turns playing the role.

The Spanish suffix “-ista” indicates a supporter or follower. Examples would be “fashionista” (a follower of fashion) and “Sandinista” (member of a Nicaraguan political party named for revolutionary Augusto César Sandino).

54 Flowers, in Florence : FIORI

Florence is the capital city of the Tuscany region in Italy. Something from or related to Florence is described as “Florentine”. The city is known as “Firenze” in Italian.

63 Chicago mayor Emanuel : RAHM

Rahm Emanuel was an Illinois representative in the US House before resigning in 2009 to take up President Obama’s offer to become the White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel moved on from the White House the following year in order to run as a candidate in Chicago’s mayoral election in 2011. He won the 2011 race, and was re-elected in 2015.

64 Scrabble 10-pointer : Z-TILE

The game of Scrabble has been produced in many international versions, and each of these editions has its own tile distribution to suit the local language. For example, in English we have two tiles worth ten points: one “Q” and one “Z”. If you play the game in French then there are five tiles worth ten points: one “K”, one “W”, one “X”, one “Y” and one “Z”.

Down

1 Wall and Bourbon: Abbr. : STS

New York’s famous Wall Street was originally named by the Dutch “de Waalstraat”.

When New Orleans was founded by the French, the House of Bourbon was ruling France. Bourbon Street was named in its honor.

2 Kubrick’s out-of-control computer : HAL

In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer. Even though, Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.

Stanley Kubrick was a film director from New York who worked mainly in the UK. Kubrick directed “Spartacus” in Hollywood in 1960, and then relocated to the UK to shoot “Lolita” in 1962. His next film was “Doctor Strangelove”, which also had to be shot in the UK. At that point, Kubrick decided to make England his home.

3 Dublin’s land: Abbr. : IRE

The city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is known as “Baile Átha Cliath” in Irish (“town of the hurdled ford”). The English name “Dublin” is an anglicized form of the older Irish name for the city “Dubh Linn”, meaning “black pool”.

4 Faux ally : FRENEMY

A frenemy is someone who feigns friendship but who is actually an enemy or competitor.

6 Bronchial woe : ASTHMA

In the human body, the windpipe (trachea) divides into the left and right bronchi, which enter the lungs. Inflammation of the bronchi can cause the airways to contract and narrow, leading to the condition known as asthma.

7 Capital of Tibet : LHASA

Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, with the name “Lhasa” translating as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”. Lhasa was also once called the “Forbidden City” due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The “forbidden” nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa.

9 Ace’s value, at times : ONE

In the card game called Blackjack, an ace has the point value of one or eleven. When one of the two cards dealt to a player is an ace, the hand is called “soft”. This means that the player cannot go bust by taking another card, as the ace can be revalued at “one” if necessary in order to stay under 21.

12 Calligrapher’s swirl : SERIF

Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

Calligraphy is the art of fine handwriting. The term “calligraphy” comes from the Greek “kallos” meaning “beauty” and “graphein” meaning “to write”.

13 Wedding reception highlight : TOAST

The tradition of toasting someone probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

23 Messing of “Will & Grace” : DEBRA

Debra Messing is most famous for playing Grace on the television series “Will & Grace”.

I’ve always thought the real stars of “Will & Grace” were not the title characters, by rather the supporting characters Jack (played by Sean Hayes) and Karen (played by Megan Mullally).

24 Restaurant survey creator : ZAGAT

The Zagat Survey is best known for rating restaurants across the major cities of the US, but it also rates things like hotels, nightlife, shopping, airlines and even zoos. The survey was started by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, and back then the survey was simply a collection of New York City restaurant ratings provided by friends of the couple.

26 Lexi Thompson’s sports org. : LPGA

Lexi Thompson has been a professional golfer since the age of 15, and won her first LPGA tournament at just 16 years of age, which is a record. Thompson had also qualified for the US Women’s Open when she was the ripe old age of 12 years, making her the youngest golfer to play in that tournament.

27 Sainted fifth-century pope : LEO I

The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.

29 Mythical horned equine : UNICORN

A unicorn is a mythical creature that resembles a horse with a horn projecting from its forehead. The term “unicorn” comes from the Latin “uni-” (one) and “cornus” (horn).

32 Cards with pics : IDS

Identity document (ID)

33 Amazon Echo’s assistant : ALEXA

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

39 AFB truant : AWOL

MPs (military police officers) often track down personnel who go AWOL (absent without leave).

Air Force Base (AFB)

47 Hard-to-miss sign : NEON

The basic design of neon lighting was first demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show in 1910. Such lighting is made up of glass tubes containing a vacuum into which has been introduced a small amount of neon gas. When a voltage is applied between two electrodes inside the tube, the neon gas “glows” and gives off the familiar light.

49 Hawaiian hi : ALOHA

The Hawaiian word “aloha” has many meanings in English: affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. More recently, “aloha” has come to mean “hello” and “goodbye”, but only since the mid-1800s.

50 Romanov royals : TSARS

The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, after the Rurik dynasty. The reign of the Romanovs ended when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917. Famously, Nicholas II and his immediate family were murdered soon after he stepped down, and other members of the Romanov Dynasty were sent into exile by the Bolsheviks.

51 “__ shoe fits … ” : IF THE

The phrase “if the shoe fits, wear it” is used on this side of the Atlantic to mean “if the statement applies to you, then admit it”. The adage is a variant of the earlier English phrase “if the cap fits, wear it”. There is a similar phrase from even earlier in the 16th century that refers to the fit of a cloak.

55 Use a wrecking ball on : RAZE

To raze (“rase”, in UK English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “to raise”, a homophone of “to raze”, means “to build up”.

58 Former Mideast org. : UAR

The United Arab Republic (UAR) was a union between Egypt and Syria established in 1958. The UAR dissolved in 1961 when Syria pulled out of the arrangement.

60 World Cup shout : OLE!

The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the sport of soccer. The competition has been held every four years (excluding the WWII years) since the inaugural event held in Uruguay in 1930. The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, even outranking the Olympic Games.

61 Jazzman Montgomery : WES

Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist from Indianapolis.