Tag: Crustacean eaten by sea turtles crossword clue

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Boxes of Chocolate

Themed answers each start with kinds of CHOCOLATE:

• 36A Sweet treats for a valentine, or what the starts of 16-, 24-, 47-, and 59-Across are : BOXES OF CHOCOLATE

• 16A Arbitrary allowance for error : FUDGE FACTOR (giving “chocolate fudge”)
• 24A Poker player with the tallest stacks : CHIP LEADER (giving “chocolate chip”)
• 47A Rite of passage for a Jewish boy : BAR MITZVAH (giving “chocolate bar”)
• 59A Words on a novelty apron : KISS THE CHEF (giving “chocolate Kiss”)

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

Bill’s time: 6m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Jurassic Park” resin : AMBER

Amber’s technical name is “resinite”, reflecting its composition and formation. Amber starts out life as soft sticky tree resin but then under high temperature and pressure from overlying layers of soil, it fossilizes. The sticky resin can trap organisms or other plant matter, and this material can sometimes remain virtually intact inside the amber fossil giving us a unique gift from the past.

“Jurassic Park” is a 1990 novel by Michael Crichton that was adapted into a hugely successful movie by Steven Spielberg in 1993. One of the main premises of the novel is that dinosaur DNA could be harvested from mosquitoes trapped in amber (fossilized tree resin), the DNA coming from the dinosaur blood consumed by the mosquitoes. The dinosaur DNA is then sequenced and used to create clones of the original beasts. Apparently, that’s a clever idea, but not very practical …

6 Big name in champagne : MOET

Moët & Chandon is a French winery, and one of the world’s largest producers of champagne. The company was founded by wine trader Claude Moët in 1743. The name was changed to Moët & Chandon in the 1830s when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, an in-law to the Moët family, was given co-ownership. Moët & Chandon owns the famous Dom Pérignon brand name, honoring the Benedictine monk who did so much to improve the quality of champagne.

13 Glacier-climbing tool : ICE AXE

A glacier is a body of ice that persists throughout the seasons, and which moves under its own weight. The term “glacier” ultimately derives from the Latin “glacies” meaning “ice”.

14 First word of a fairy tale : ONCE …

The stock phrase “Once upon a time …” has been used in various forms as the start of a narrative at least since 1380. The stock phrase at the end of stories such as folktales is often “and they all lived happily ever after”. The earlier version of this ending was “happily until their deaths”.

15 __ vez: again, in Spanish : OTRA

“Otra vez” is Spanish for “again”, translating literally as “other time”.

20 Margaret of “Fire Island” : CHO

Margaret Cho is a very successful stand-up comedian, and also a fashion designer with her own line of clothing. Cho acts as well, and you might have seen her in the John Travolta/Nicolas Cage movie “Face/Off” in which she played John Travolta’s FBI colleague.

“Fire Island” is a 2022 romantic comedy about a group of gay friends taking a vacation on Fire Island on the South Shore of Long Island. The film’s storyline was inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice”. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear good things …

23 Ivy in New Haven : YALE

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University’s nickname is “Old Eli”, in a nod to the benefactor.

28 Not online, online : IRL

In real life (IRL)

35 Talk a big game : CROW

The verb “to crow” meaning “to exult in triumph” is imitative of the sound made by a crow, perhaps as it settles over some dead animal that it has found …

36 Sweet treats for a valentine, or what the starts of 16-, 24-, 47-, and 59-Across are : BOXES OF CHOCOLATE

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

41 Tyrannosaurus __ : REX

The Tyrannosaurus rex (usually written “T-rex”) was a spectacular looking dinosaur. “Tyrannosaurus” comes from the Greek words “tyrannos” (tyrant) and “sauros” (lizard) and “rex” the Latin for “king”. They were big beasts, measuring 42 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hips, and weighing 7.5 tons.

44 Barinholtz who won “Celebrity Jeopardy!” in 2023 : IKE

Ike Barinholtz is an actor and comedian who appeared on MADtv from 2002 until 2007. More recently, Barinholtz became a writer on the TV show “The Mindy Project”, and was then cast as Nurse Morgan Tookers. In 2023, he appeared on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and beat out 26 other contestants to win a million dollars for his chosen charity (Pacific Clinics).

46 Community FYIs : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

47 Rite of passage for a Jewish boy : BAR MITZVAH (giving “chocolate bar”)

A Jewish girl becomes a bat mitzvah at 12 years of age, the age at which she becomes responsible for her actions. Boys become bar mitzvahs at 13. The terms translate into English as daughter and son of the commandments.

57 Desert flora : CACTI

The cactus (plural “cacti”) is a member of a family of plants that are particularly well-adapted to extremely dry environments. Almost all cacti are native to the Americas, although some succulent plants from the old world are similar in appearance and are often mislabeled as “cacti”.

59 Words on a novelty apron : KISS THE CHEF (giving “chocolate Kiss”)

In Old French, a “naperon” was a “small table-cloth”. The term was absorbed into English as “napron”, describing a cloth used to cover the front of a person at work. Over time, “a napron” was heard as “an apron”, giving us our contemporary noun “apron”.

The Hershey Company produces over 80 million chocolate Kisses each day, and has been making them since 1907.

63 Uffizi display : ARTE

The Uffizi Gallery (“Galleria degli Uffizi” in Italian) is one of the oldest art museums in the western world and is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. The Palazzo was built in 1560, intended to house the offices of the Florentine magistrates. This original usage gave the gallery its name, as “uffizi” is Italian for “offices”.

66 Body positive activist Holliday : TESS

Tess Holliday is a plus-size model and body-positive activist. She was born Ryann Hoven and changed her name to Tess Munster when she started modeling. That choice was purely because she was a fan of “The Munsters” TV show. In 2015, she adopted the family name of Nick Holliday, the father of her two children.

Down

1 Honda luxury line : ACURA

Acura is a luxury vehicle brand produced by the Japanese automaker Honda. Acura was the first Japanese luxury car brand to be introduced to the US, in 1986. The Acura Legend and Acura Integra were the first two models released.

2 Olympian’s aspiration : MEDAL

In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

3 French loaves : BAGUETTES

“Baguette” is the French word for “wand, baton” as in “baguette magique” (magic wand). We’ve only been calling long, thin loaves of French bread “baguettes” since the late 1950s.

6 Sweet rice cake : MOCHI

Mochi is a sweet rice cake in Japanese cuisine. Special versions of mochi are produced for certain times of the year or holidays, e.g. New Year, spring time, Children’s Day and Girls’ Day.

15 Opinion piece : OP-ED

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

22 Berkeley, briefly : CAL

The University of California, Berkeley (Cal) is the most difficult public university to get into in the world. It opened in 1869, and is named for Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley.

24 Bologna bye-bye : CIAO

Bologna is a city in northern Italy. It is home to the University of Bologna that was founded way back in 1088. The University of Bologna is the oldest existing university in the world.

25 Long ride, for short : LIMO

The word “limousine” derives from the name of the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

33 Hardware chain that celebrated “100 Years of Helpful” in 2024 : ACE

The Ace Hardware chain of stores was founded in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. The name “Ace” comes from “ace” fighter pilots from World War I.

35 Mensches : CLASS ACTS

“Mensch” is a word that comes to us via Yiddish, and is ultimately derived from the German “mensch” meaning “human being”. We use the term to describe someone of integrity and honor.

36 __ for apples : BOB

Bobbing for apples is a game played on Halloween. Participants must hold their hands behind their backs and grab apples floating in a large basin of water, using only their mouths.

38 Money : CASH

Our word “cash” comes from the Middle French “caisse” meaning “money box”.

39 “Your Song” singer Rita : ORA

“Your Song” is a 2018 song written by Steve Mac and Ed Sheeran for English singer Rita Ora.

44 Online convos : IMS

Convo (conversation)

45 Apt candy for a snack break? : KIT KAT

I grew up eating Kit Kat bars as a kid. The Kit Kat hit the shelves on the other side of the pond in the 1930s, but didn’t make it into US stores until the 1970s. I’ve seen new varieties of Kit Kat bars over in Britain and Ireland, such as an orange-flavored version. I’ve been told that there are even more varieties available in Japan.

48 Like peaches in summer : RIPE

There are two broad categories of peaches: freestones and clingstones. Clingstones (also “cling peaches”) have flesh that clings tightly to the pit. Freestones are easier to consume as the flesh separates easily from the pit.

50 Bouquet bearers : VASES

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

53 Oktoberfest mug : STEIN

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

55 Scone spreads : JAMS

Jelly is made using strained juice from crushed fruit. Jam is similar, but the whole crushed fruit is used, and often includes seeds.

57 John of “Argylle” : CENA

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

“Argylle” is a 2024 comedy spy film with a great cast, including Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, John Cena and Samuel L. Jackson. Spoiler alert: the title character, played by Henry Cavill, is revealed as Agent Argylle of the Kingsman, making this movie a spin-off from the “Kingsman” franchise of films.