Tag: Defeated in a hot dog contest say crossword clue

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: To Build a Fire

The ends of themed answers BUILD up to the word “FIRE”, as we descend the grid:

• 57A Jack London short story about survival in the Yukon Territory, and the goal of this puzzle? : TO BUILD A FIRE

• 19A Not making the grade : GETTING AN F
• 36A Mobile virtual network offered by a tech giant : GOOGLE FI
• 44A Evergreen native to the rocky elevations of Big Sur : BRISTLECONE FIR
• 57A Jack London short story about survival in the Yukon Territory, and the goal of this puzzle? : TO BUILD A FIRE

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

Bill’s time: 5m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Calc prerequisite : TRIG

Trigonometry (trig) is a branch of mathematics dealing with triangles, and calculations based on the relationship between a triangle’s angles and the lengths of its sides.

The Latin word “calculus” was originally used for a reckoning or an account, and originally applied to a pebble that was used to maintain a count. The Latin word came from the Greek for a pebble, “khalix”.

9 Secretly keeps in the email loop : BCCS

A blind carbon copy (bcc) is a copy of a document or message that is sent to someone without other recipients of the message knowing about that extra copy.

13 Pride month : JUNE

The police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on June 29th, 1969. That raid triggered a spate of violent demonstrations led by the LGBT community. Now known as the Stonewall riots, those demonstrations are viewed by many as a significant event leading to the modern-day fight for LGBT rights in the US. Since then, June has been chosen as LGBT Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall riots.

14 1980s tennis star Mandlíková : HANA

Hana Mandlikova is a former professional tennis star from Czechoslovakia. Mandlikova won four Grand Slam titles and then retired in 1990, at the ripe old age of 28.

27 Physician’s gp. : AMA

The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest professional organization of physicians in the United States.The AMA has been involved in several landmark legal cases that have had a significant impact on American healthcare. For example, in the 1950s, the AMA was involved in a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the implementation of Medicare, arguing that it would lead to socialized medicine and harm the quality of medical care. The lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, and Medicare has since become a cornerstone of American healthcare.

32 Arizona county : YUMA

The city and county of Yuma, Arizona take their name from the Quechan (aka “Yuma”) Native American tribe that inhabited the area.

34 Pickling herb : DILL

Often, a dill pickle is actually a pickled gherkin, as the gherkin and cucumber are different cultivars within the same species. Here in the US, dill is commonly added to the pickling vinegar or brine, but this wasn’t the case when I used to eat them back in Ireland (I can’t stand dill!). You might see jars labeled as “cornichons”, but they’re gherkins. “Cornichon” is the French word for “gherkin”.

35 Time for cake and prezzies : B-DAY

Birthday (b-day)

36 Mobile virtual network offered by a tech giant : GOOGLE FI

Google Fi is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) owned and operated by Google. It was launched in 2015, and is the network that I’ve been using for years now. One of the key features of Google Fi is its flexibility in terms of network coverage. It uses a combination of networks from various carriers, including T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular, to provide service to its customers. This means that users can switch between different networks depending on which one has the best coverage in a particular area, resulting in better overall coverage.

44 Evergreen native to the rocky elevations of Big Sur : BRISTLECONE FIR

The bristlecone fir (also “Santa Lucia fir”) is a very rare tree species only found in the Big Sur region of California. More specifically, it is found in the rocky canyons of the Santa Lucia Mountains, hence the alternate name.

50 Dada pioneer Jean : ARP

Jean Arp was a prominent artist and sculptor who played a crucial role in the development of the Dada and Surrealist movements at the beginning of the 20th century. In the early years of his career, Arp experimented with a range of styles, including Expressionism, Cubism, and Futurism. In 1916, he co-founded the Zurich Dada movement with artists such as Tristan Tzara and Hugo Ball. After the Dada movement began to decline in the 1920s, Arp became associated with the Surrealist movement and continued to explore the possibilities of abstraction in his art.

51 Defeated in a hot dog contest, say : OUTATE

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

53 Bamako’s country : MALI

Bamako is the capital of the African country of Mali. It is the fastest growing city on the whole continent. Located on the Niger River, the name “Bamako” translates from the local language as “crocodile river”.

56 “Smooth Operator” singer : SADE

“Smooth Operator” is a 1984 song written and performed by English band Sade. The song’s lyrics tell the story of a smooth-talking, charming man who is able to charm women effortlessly.

57 Jack London short story about survival in the Yukon Territory, and the goal of this puzzle? : TO BUILD A FIRE

“To Build a Fire” is a 1908 Jack London short story. It is about a man and husky dog hiking through forests in the Yukon Territory in very low temperatures. The man accidentally breaks through ice and soaks himself, forcing him to stop to build a fire to dry off. His attempts to dry off are thwarted by snow falling from the trees above. Eventually, he tries unsuccessfully to kill his canine companion, in order to avail of its body heat. He is unable to do so, and succumbs to hypothermia.

60 Maghrib prayer leaders : IMAMS

Maghrib prayer is one of the five mandatory prayers (salah”) in Islam, performed after the sun has set and the sky has turned dark. It is the fourth prayer of the day, if counted from midnight. As the Islamic day starts at sunset, it can also be considered the first prayer of the day.

62 Gem weight : CARAT

The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 grams). It is used in sizing gemstones.

63 “The Ant and the Grasshopper” writer : AESOP

In Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, the grasshopper spends the warm months singing and having a good time while the ant toils away storing food. When winter arrives, the grasshopper starts to die from hunger and begs the ant for food. The ant tells the grasshopper that he should have been more sensible instead of singing away all summer, and maybe he should dance through the winter!

Down

1 Bedtime attire, for short : PJS

Our word “pajamas” (sometimes “PJs” or “jammies”) comes to us from the Indian subcontinent, where “pai jamahs” were loose fitting pants tied at the waist and worn at night by locals and ultimately by the Europeans living there. And “pajamas” is another of those words that I had to learn to spell differently when I came to America. On the other side of the Atlantic, the spelling is “pyjamas”.

3 Grand Am for grandma, e.g. : ANAGRAM

Here are some of my favorite anagrams:

• “Dormitory” and “dirty room”
• “Elvis” and “lives”
• “The eyes” and “they see”
• “Eleven plus two” and “twelve plus one”
• “William Shakespeare” and “I’ll make a wise phrase”
• “Schoolmaster” and “the classroom”

4 Country south of Saudi Arabia : YEMEN

Yemen is a country located in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Red Sea to the west, and the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to the south. Yemen has a population of over 30 million people and its capital and largest city is Sana’a.

6 Malek of “Mr. Robot” : RAMI

Actor Rami Malek’s big break came with the leading role in the television series “Mr. Robot”. In 2018, Malik gave an Oscar-winning performance playing Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That marked the first time that an actor of Egyptian descent won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

“Mr. Robot” is an engaging drama series about an anxious and clinically depressed computer hacker. Said hacker joins an anarchic group of hackers known as “Mr. Robot” who are intent on taking down the largest conglomerate in the world. I binge-watched the first two series, and really enjoyed the experience …

8 Carved figure on Notre Dame cathedral : GARGOYLE

Notre-Dame de Paris is the spectacular Gothic cathedral that sits on the Île de la Cité, one of the islands in the middle of the River Seine in Paris. Notre-Dame is home to many beautiful and significant artifacts, the most famous of which is the Crown of Thorns supposedly worn by Jesus Christ at his execution, placed in the cathedral in 1239. It’s also home to some magnificent gargoyles on the roof, and you can climb up to the roof and take a very close look at them. Well, you used to be able to, until the tragic fire of 2019.

10 Quite pleased, in British slang : CHUFFED

“Chuffed” is British slang meaning “quite pleased”. “Chuffed” is a derivative of the 16th-century word “chuff” meaning “swollen with fat”. Go figure …

11 Fish and chips fish, often : COD

In Britain and Ireland, the most common fish that is used in traditional “fish and chips” is Atlantic cod. Cod has been overfished all over the world, and is now considered to be an endangered species by many international bodies. Confrontations over fishing rights in the North Atlantic led to conflicts called “the Cod Wars” between Iceland and the UK in the 1950s and the 1970s, with fishing fleets being protected by naval vessels and even shots being fired.

21 High-level HS exams : APS

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers college-level courses to kids who are still in high school (HS). After being tested at the end of an AP course, successful students receive credits that count towards a college degree.

22 “Every kiss begins with __”: jeweler’s slogan : KAY

Kay Jewelers is perhaps the most famous store brand owned by Sterling Jewelers. Sterling is the largest fine jewelry chain in the country, with the company’s main competitor being Zale Corporation.

23 Down Under bird : EMU

The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

25 “Let You Love Me” singer Rita : ORA

Rita Ora is a British singer who was born Rita Sahatçiu in Pristina, Yugoslavia to Albanian parents. The family name “Sahatçiu” comes from a Turkish word meaning “watchmaker”. Rita’s parents changed their name to make it easier to pronounce. So, the family name morphed from “watchmaker” to “time”, which is “ora” in Albanian.

35 Commuter’s two-wheeler : BIKE

Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …

40 Graduate’s document : DIPLOMA

Our word “diploma” comes from Greek via Latin, with an original meaning of “state or official document”. The Greek word “diploma” described a license or a chart, and originally meant “paper doubled over” from “diploos”, the word for “double”.

45 Stringed-instrument player at Renaissance fairs : LUTIST

The lute is a stringed instrument with a long neck and usually a pear-shaped body. It is held and played like a guitar, and was popular from the Middle Ages right through to the late Baroque era. A person who plays the lute can be referred to as a “lutenist”.

46 And others, briefly : ET AL

“Et alii” (et al.) is the equivalent of “et cetera” (etc.), with “et cetera” being used in place of a list of objects, and “et alii” used for a list of names.

48 Canada’s capital : OTTAWA

Ottawa is the second-largest city in the Province of Ontario (after Toronto) and is the capital city of Canada. The name “Ottawa” comes from an Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.

49 Lobster eggs : ROE

A male lobster is called a cock, and a female a hen. A lobster weighing less than a pound is called a chicken.

58 Thurman of “Super Pumped” : UMA

Robert Thurman was the first westerner to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert raised his children in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and called his daughter “Uma” as it is a phonetic spelling of the Buddhist name “Dbuma”. Uma’s big break in the movies came with her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit “Pulp Fiction”. My favorite Uma Thurman film is the wonderful 1996 romantic comedy “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”.

59 Nemesis : FOE

Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make pay those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant. 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.