Tag: Devices at a counter-service restaurant crossword clue

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Constructed by: Rebecca Goldstein

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Chex Mix

Themed answers each include the letter string “CHEX” hidden within, but with the order MIXED:

• 41D Savory party snack, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues? : CHEX MIX

• 18A *”What did you just say?” : OH, EXCUSE ME?
• 36A *Folks who may be at the point of no return? : TAX CHEATS
• 56A *Raspberry : BRONX CHEER
• 3D *Beef cut that may be braised : OX CHEEK

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

Bill’s time: 7m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16A Sorbet berry : ACAI

“Sorbet” can mean different things around the world. Here in the US, sorbet is a non-fat frozen dessert that is made without any dairy content.

17A Toy company acquired by Mattel in 1997 : TYCO

The Tyco brand of toys was founded in 1926 as Mantua Metal Products by John Tyler. The first products made were scale model trains using die-cast metal. The company introduced the Tyco brand in the fifties, with “Tyco” standing for “Tyler Company”.

24A Put through an X-ray : SCAN

X-rays were first studied comprehensively by the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also “Roentgen”), and it was he who gave the name “X-rays” to this particular type of radiation. Paradoxically, in Röntgen’s native language of German, X-rays are routinely referred to as “Röntgen rays”. In 1901, Röntgen’s work on X-rays won him the first Nobel Prize in Physics that was ever awarded.

26A “Succession” surname : ROY

“Succession” is a very popular dark comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. It’s about a family-owned, global media company. The “succession” in question is who will get to run the empire after the passing of the ailing family patriarch. The marvelous Scottish actor Brian Cox plays the head of the company Logan Roy. Great stuff, albeit quite depressing and terrifying …

27A Juvenile retort : ARE SO!

In contemporary usage, the word “juvenile” describes a young individual, often someone who is under a legal age (such as 18). The term comes from the Latin “juvenis”, which originally described a man in the prime of his life (roughly ages 20 to 40) rather than a child.

29A Katherine Moennig’s “The L Word” role : SHANE

Actress Katherine Moennig is best known for playing the heartbreaker Shane McCutcheon on the TV drama “The L Word”. Moennig comes from a serious acting dynasty; her half-aunt is Blythe Danner, which makes Gwyneth Paltrow her half-cousin.

32A Renaissance faire competitions : JOUSTS

“Jousting” and “tilting” are synonyms describing the medieval competition in which two horsemen yielding blunted lances attempt to unseat each other. Such an event has been referred to as “jousting” since the 1300s. At some point, the path of the two charging horsemen was separated by a cloth barrier known as a tilt (“tilt” meant “cloth covering”). The term “tilting” was applied to the sport in the 1500s, although by then the cloth barrier had been upgraded to a wooden fence.

A Renaissance faire (Ren faire) is an outdoor public event in which many participants recreate historical settings by dressing in costume. Usually held in North America, many such fairs are set during the English Renaissance, and more particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The definition of “Renaissance” is often stretched quite a bit, with fairs also set during the reign of Henry VIII, and maybe even during medieval times.

36A *Folks who may be at the point of no return? : TAX CHEATS

Tax evasion is illegal, and tax avoidance is legal. Evading taxes involves dishonest tax reporting, whereas avoiding taxes uses the tax laws as written to reduce the amount of tax owed. Both evasion and avoidance might be regarded as noncompliance, because tax avoidance often involves legal manipulation of the system (using “loopholes”) in a manner that subverts the intent of the tax code.

41A “The Price Is Right” network : CBS

“The Price is Right” game show started airing in its current format in 1972, with Bob Barker hosting. Drew Carey took over as host in 2007. There was an earlier version of the show that had a somewhat different format, and it aired from 1956 to 1965. Apparently, “The Price is Right” is the longest running TV game show in the world.

44A Top medals : GOLDS

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.

46A Soap ingredient : LYE

Soap is basically made by adding a strong alkali (like lye) to a fat (like olive oil or palm oil). The fats break down in the basic solution in a process called saponification. The crude soap is extracted from the mixture, washed, purified and finished in molds.

47A Wuhan welcome : NI HAO

One might say “ni hao” in Chinese to mean “hello”, although a more literal translation is “you good”.

Wuhan is the capital of the inland province of Hubei in Central China. The city is a major transportation hub, and so is sometimes referred to as “the Chicago of China”. Famously, in December 2019, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic was first discovered in Wuhan. The city was the first to lockdown during the pandemic, in January 2020.

49A Tally : ADD

Back in the mid-1600s, a tally was a stick marked with notches that tracked how much one owed or paid. The term “tally” came from the Latin “talea” meaning “stick, rod”. The act of “scoring” the stick with notches gave rise to our word “score” for the number in a tally.

50A Golfer’s pocketful : TEES

A tee is a small device on which, say, a golf ball is placed before striking it. The term “tee” comes from the Scottish “teaz”, which described little heaps of sand used to elevate a golf ball for the purpose of getting a clean hit with a club.

56A *Raspberry : BRONX CHEER

What is known as a Bronx cheer in the US is called “blowing a raspberry” in other parts of the world. The term “Bronx cheer” is a reference to the sound made by some spectators in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, in New York City.

59A Reddit Q&As : AMAS

Ask me anything (AMA)

61A Brontë sister : ANNE

Anne was the youngest of the three sisters in the literary Brontë family. Her older sisters wrote novels that are more recognized, but Anne’s two novels do have a following. “Agnes Grey” is based on her own experiences working as a governess. Her other novel, “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” is written as a long letter from a young man describing the events leading up to his first meeting with his wife-to-be. Anne Brontë’s writing career was cut short in 1849, when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis, at only 29 years of age.

63A Egyptian river : NILE

Africa’s River Nile has two main tributaries, the Blue Nile and White Nile, with the White Nile deemed to be the headwaters of the Nile itself. The most distant source of the White Nile is unknown, so I suppose one might argue that the “source of the Nile” is a mystery.

Down

1D Tonsillectomy doc : ENT

The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the human throat. The exact role that tonsils play isn’t completely understood, but it is known that they are in the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. They provide some level of protection against pathogens that are ingested and inhaled.

2D Jumbo jets? : GEYSERS

The Great Geysir in Iceland is the first known geyser to have been discovered and documented. The name “Geysir” comes from the Icelandic and Old Norse word “geysa” meaning “to gush”. It is the Great Geysir that gives us our English word “geyser”.

James Anthony Bailey collaborated with P. T. Barnum to establish Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. It was Bailey who negotiated the deal to buy a famous elephant from London Zoo in 1882, the one called “Jumbo”. It was the exposure Jumbo got with the circus that brought into common usage our term “jumbo” meaning “huge”.

3D *Beef cut that may be braised : OX CHEEK

Braising is a cooking technique that starts with dry heat (searing) and finishes with moist heat (simmering in liquid). The term comes from the French word “braiser”, meaning “to cook over live coals”.

5D Adam of “Severance” : SCOTT

Adam Scott is an actor from Santa Cruz, California who is perhaps best known for playing Ben Wyatt on the hit sitcom “Parks and Recreation”. More recently, Scott has been playing the lead in the sci-fi TV show “Severance”.

“Severance” is a fascinating TV show about employees at a company who undergo a surgical procedure that completely separates their memories between their work lives and their personal lives. The show stars Adama Scott, and is executive-produced and mainly directed by Hollywood actor Ben Stiller.

6D Mineral hardness eponym : MOHS

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

9D Stretchy fabric : LYCRA

What we call spandex in the US is known as lycra in Britain and Ireland. “Spandex” was chosen as the name for the elastic fiber as it is an anagram of “expands”.

10D Gordita dough : MASA

“Masa” is the Spanish word for “dough”, with the term often used as an abbreviated form of “masa de maíz”. Masa is used to make tortillas and tamales, for example.

A gordita is a thick tortilla pocket in Mexican cuisine made from masa dough and stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, beans, or chicharrón (fried pork skins). The name “gordita” literally translates to “little fat one” or “chubby”, referring to the pastry’s plump shape (and not me, after eating too many of them).

21D Spanish wine : RIOJA

Rioja wines come from the province of La Rioja in Northern Spain. In my days living back in Europe, Rioja wines were noted for their heavy oaky flavors and it wasn’t uncommon to order a “rough Rioja” when out for dinner of an evening.

23D Actress Dennings : KAT

Kat Dennings is the stage name of actress Katherine Litwack, who is noted today for her co-starring role on CBS’s sitcom “2 Broke Girls”. On the big screen, she plays the somewhat humorous character Dr. Darcy Lewis in the “Thor” series of films. Dennings is an avid blogger, and you can check out her video blog on YouTube.

24D Struts with style : SASHAYS

To sashay is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

25D Vintage sunglasses shape : CAT EYE

Cat eye spectacles have frames that have an upsweep beside the lenses where the arms hinge with the frame front. The lens shapes resemble a cat’s eyes, hence the name. Such a design was very popular in the fifties and sixties, particularly with women.

33D Maker of Stick & Stay plates and bowls for kids : OXO

The OXO line of kitchen utensils and housewares is designed to be ergonomically superior to the average household tools. The intended user of OXO products is someone who doesn’t have the normal range of motion or strength in the hands e.g. someone suffering from arthritis.

36D “More info soon” : TBD

To be determined (TBD)

38D Biotech firm developing cancer vaccines : MODERNA

Moderna is a biotech company founded in 2010, primarily to develop mRNA vaccines. The name “Moderna” is a portmanteau, a blend of the words “modified” and “RNA”. Moderna’s annual revenue was less than a billion dollars in 2019 and 2020, but almost 20 billion dollars in 2021 and 2022. I wonder what was going on around that time …?

41D Savory party snack, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues? : CHEX MIX

Chex Mix is a party mix that includes Chex cereal as a major ingredient. The first recipe appeared on boxes of Chex cereal in 1952.

44D Stonewall Inn, for one : GAY BAR

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.

45D “__: Soulsville U.S.A.”: HBO documentary about a record label : STAX

“Stax: Soulsville USA” is an award-winning, documentary series that chronicles the rise and fall of Stax Records, a Memphis label that was inextricably linked with the rise in popularity of soul music.

Stax Records was founded in 1957 as Satellite Records. The biggest star to record with Stax was the great Otis Redding.

48D Invasive lizard in Florida : IGUANA

An iguana is a lizard, and as such is cold-blooded. There are times when pet iguanas need heat from an IR lamp to maintain body temperature. They can also be very large lizards, sometimes growing to a length of six feet.

51D “Cabaret” role for Alan Cumming : EMCEE

Alan Cumming is a very versatile Scottish actor. Cumming has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Floop in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

The musical “Cabaret” is based on “I Am a Camera”, a 1951 play written by John Van Druten. In turn, the play was adapted from a novel “Goodbye to Berlin” written by Christopher Isherwood. The action in the musical takes place in the 1930s, in a seedy Berlin cabaret called the Kit Kat Klub. “Cabaret” is a great stage musical, although the 1972 film of the musical isn’t one of my favorites.

52D Intrinsically : PER SE

“Per se” is a Latin phrase that translates as “by itself”. We use “per se” pretty literally, meaning “in itself, intrinsically”.

54D French model Rau : INES

Ines Rau is a French model and actress who broke barriers in 2017 by becoming Playboy’s first openly transgender Playmate of the Month.

57D “2001” supercomputer : 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”.