Tag: Dish with bubbling broth crossword clue

Advertisement

Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: If You Ask Me

Themed clues are all idioms ending in “QUESTION”. Themed answers are questions that match the idioms in the corresponding clues:

• 22A Trick question? : COULD IT BE MAGIC?
• 27A Open question? : ANY VACANCIES?
• 53A Good question? : IS THAT CORRECT?
• 87A Gotcha question? : AM I BEING CLEAR?
• 112A Leading question? : WHO’S IN CHARGE?
• 119A Quick question? : ARE YOU IN A HURRY?
• 31D Burning question? : IS THE STOVE ON?
• 42D First question? : WHERE TO START?

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

Bill’s time: 13m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

18A Critter who snoozed and lost : HARE

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is perhaps the most famous fable attributed to Aesop. The cocky hare takes a nap during a race against the tortoise, and the tortoise sneaks past the finish line for the win while his speedier friend is sleeping.

21A Impressionist Monet : CLAUDE

French artist Claude Monet was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, and indeed the term “Impressionism” comes from the title of his 1872 painting “Impression, Sunrise”. That work depicts the port of Le Havre, which was Monet’s hometown. Later in his life, Monet purchased a house in Giverny, and famously installed lily ponds and a Japanese bridge in the property’s extensive gardens. He spent two decades painting the water lily ponds, producing his most famous works. I was fortunate enough to visit Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny a few years ago. A beautiful place …

29A Cheese in some bagels : ASIAGO

Asiago is a cheese that is named for the region in northeastern Italy from where it originates. It comes in varying textures depending on its age. Fresh Asiago is very smooth, while aged Asiago can be very crumbly.

40A Biggest holiday in Vietnam : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

60A Group with Mind Games competitions : MENSA

If you ever learned Latin, “mensa” was probably taught to you in lesson one as it’s the word commonly used as an example of a first declension noun. Mensa means “table”. The Mensa organization, for folks with high IQs, was set up in Oxford, England back in 1946. To become a member, you have to have an IQ that is in the top 2% of the population.

70A Feline with a striped coat : TABBY CAT

Tabbies aren’t a breed of cat, but rather are cats with particular markings regardless of breed. They have coats with stripes, dots and swirling patterns, and usually an “M” mark on the forehead.

72A Watch a friend’s monstera, say : PLANT-SIT

The Monstera genus of plants takes its name from the Latin “monstrum” meaning “monstrous, abnormal”. This a nod to the abnormal appearance of the plant’s unusual leaves that are replete with large holes and slits.

<

78A Lady Justice’s garb : TOGA

Lady Justice is a personification of the judicial system, and is based on Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice and law. When depicted in art, she usually carries a set of scales and a sword, is blindfolded and wears a toga-like robe. The scales represent the impartiality of a court’s decision, and the sword symbolizes the power of justice. Today, the blindfold is seen as a reminder that justice is applied without regard to wealth or power.

81A Flood barrier : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

92A Rummage sale label : TAG

The verb “to rummage”, meaning “to search thoroughly”, has an interesting history. Back in the 16th century, a “rummage” was the act of arranging cargo in a ship. In the early 17th century, the verb “to rummage” was introduced, originally meaning to search thoroughly (the hold of a ship). It should be noted that rummaging usually involves moving things around. The first “rummage sales” were used to sell off unclaimed goods at docks. Over time, rummage sales became opportunities to dispose of unwanted items, usually in aid of a charity.

93A Picturesque caves : GROTTOS

A grotto is a cave or cavern. “Grotto” is a word that we have imported from Italian, in which language it has the same meaning, and can also describe a vault.

95A Julius Erving, to fans : DR J

Julius Erving is a retired professional basketball player who is known as “Dr. J”, a nickname he picked up in high school. Dr. J was a trailblazer in many ways, being the first player associated with slam dunking and other moves above the rim.

100A West of old Hollywood : MAE

Mae West was always pushing the envelope when it came to the “sexy” side of show business, even in her early days in Vaudeville. One of the first plays in which West starred on Broadway was called “Sex”, a work that she penned herself. The show was a sell-out, but city officials had it raided and West found herself spending ten days in jail after being convicted of “corrupting the morals of youth”. She started in movies in 1932, already 38 years old. West used her experience writing plays to rewrite much of the material she was given, and so really she was totally responsible for her own success and on-screen appeal.

102A Museum guides : DOCENTS

“Docent” is a term used for a university lecturer. There are also museum docents, people who serve as guides for visitors to their institutions and who usually provide their services for free. The term comes from the Latin “docere” meaning “to teach”.

105A “Songversation” singer India.__ : ARIE

“Songversation” is a 2013 studio album released by singer/songwriter India Arie. She also released an EP in 2017 titled “SongVersation: Medicine”.

106A Accordion features : PLEATS

The accordion (“squeeze-box”, colloquially) is a musical instrument related to the concertina. It is box-shaped and driven by a bellows that is compressed and expanded manually. The bellows force air across metal strips (called “reeds”) that vibrate to produce sounds. Notes are selected by using a piano-style keyboard (in a piano accordion) or by pressing down buttons (in a button accordion).

110A Repeats verbatim : QUOTES

To repeat verbatim is to quote word for word. The term “verbatim” is Medieval Latin, stemming from the Latin “verbum” meaning “word”. The related term “literatim” is used in English to mean “letter for letter”.

125A Vidalia bulbs : ONIONS

Vidalia onions are sweet onions that are grown, most famously, in and around Vidalia, Georgia, where they’ve been growing since the 1930s. That area has soil which is relatively low in sulfur, which leads to the unusually sweet taste. The Vidalia onion has been the official state vegetable of Georgia since 1990.

127A X-rated material : SMUT

“Smut” means “dirt, smudge” and more recently “pornographic material”. The term comes from the Yiddish “schmutz”, which is a slang word used in English for dirt, as in “dirt on one’s face”.

130A Cap’n Jazz genre : EMO

Cap’n Jazz is an emo band from the Chicago area that was founded in 1989 as “Toe Jam”. The group eventually changed the name to “Cap’n Jazz”. Wise choice, I’d say …

131A Pointillism marks : DOTS

Pointillism is a style of painting that grew out of Impressionism. The pointillist technique calls for the artist to use small, distinct dots of bold color to build up the image. Pointillism was developed in the late 1800s by the great French painter, Georges Seurat. You can go see his magnificent work “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” at The Art Institute of Chicago the next time you’re in town.

132A Corkboard pin : TACK

What we know as a thumb tack or pushpin here in North America is called a drawing pin in British English. Thumb tacks made from brass might be referred to as “brass tacks”, giving us the expression “getting down to brass tacks” meaning “getting down to the finer details”.

Down

1D Campaign funding org. : PAC

A political action committee (PAC) is a private group that works to influence the outcome of a particular election or group of elections. Any group becomes a PAC by law when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that PACS that did not make direct contributions to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions. These “independent, expenditure-only committees” are commonly referred to as “super PACs”.

3D Ostrich’s shorter cousin : 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 …

5D Casual slacks : CHINOS

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.

7D Texter’s “Gimme a sec” : BRB

Be right back (brb)

13D Stickers in glucose monitoring kits : LANCETS

“Lancet” is another name for a scalpel. There’s a publication called “The Lancet”, which is possibly the world’s most respected medical journal. It is certainly the oldest, first published in 1823.

14D Automaker headquartered in Ingolstadt : AUDI

The Audi name has an interesting history. The Horch company was founded by August Horch in 1909. Early in the life of the new company, Horch was forced out of his own business. He set up a new enterprise and continued to use his own name as a brand. The old company sued him for using the Horch name so a meeting was held to choose something new. Horch’s young son was studying Latin in the room where the meeting was taking place. He pointed out that “horch” was German for “hear” and he suggested “Audi” as a replacement, the Latin for “listen”.

Ingolstadt is a Bavarian city on the Danube with an economy dominated by the presence of the Audi headquarters. It is also the literary home of Victor Frankenstein, who created his “monster” while working at the University of Ingolstadt in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.

28D French kin of a dosa : CREPE

“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.

29D “Mamma Mia!” star Seyfried : AMANDA

Actress Amanda Seyfried’s first film role was in the 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls”, supporting Lindsay Lohan. Seyfried has quite the voice too, using it to good effect in her leading roles in 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” and 2012’s “Les Misérables”. Seyfried married fellow actor Thomas Sadoski (from “Life in Pieces”) in 2017.

The hit musical “Mamma Mia!” was written to showcase the songs of ABBA. I’m a big fan of ABBA’s music, so I’ve seen this show several times and just love it. “Mamma Mia!” is such a big hit on the stage that on any given day there are at least seven performances going on somewhere in the world. There is a really interesting film version of the show that was released in 2008. I think the female lead Meryl Streep is wonderful in the movie, but the male leads … not so much! By the way, one can tell the difference between “Mamma Mia” the ABBA song and “Mamma Mia!” the musical, by noting the difference in the punctuation in the titles.

30D Submarine trackers : SONARS

The British developed the first underwater detection system that used sound waves. Research was driven by defense demands during WWI, leading to production of working units in 1922. This new sound detection system was described as using “supersonics”, but for the purpose of secrecy the term was dropped in favor of an acronym. The work was done under the auspices of the Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Division, so ASD was combined with the “IC” from “superson-ic-s” to create the name ASDIC. The navy even went as far as renaming the quartz material at the heart of the technology “ASDivite”. By the time WWII came along, the Americans were producing their own systems and coined the term SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging), playing off the related application, RADAR. And so, the name ASDIC was deep-sixed …

37D “Gnarly” and “Gabriela” girl group : KATSEYE

“The Debut: Dream Academy” is a TV reality competition that ran in 2023. More than 120,000 female singers submitted applications to appear on the talent show, with only 20 selected as participants in the recordings. Over eight episodes, the 20 was whittled down to 6, who then formed a girl group known as Katseye. Katseye is sometimes referred to as a global girl group, as the band members have diverse backgrounds from the US, Switzerland, the Philippines, and South Korea.

39D “__: Ares” : TRON

Released in 1982, Disney’s “Tron” was one of the first mainstream films to make extensive use of computer graphics. The main role in the movie is played by Jeff Bridges. The original spawned a 2010 sequel called “Tron: Legacy”, as well as a 2012 TV show called “Tron: Uprising”. More recently, a 2025 movie “Tron: Ares” starred Jared Leto, with Bridges reprising his iconic role.

49D Mrs. Pepper’s partner on “Blue’s Clues” : MR SALT

“Blue’s Clues” is a Nickelodeon children’s show that ran for ten years from 1996. The title character is a blue-spotted dog who leaves clues in a treasure hunt for the host and the viewers.

54D Tesla, for one : SERB

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in a village located in modern-day Croatia, and later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

55D Leonardo’s group, for short : TMNT

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) started out as a parody of comic book superheroes, first appearing in a self-published comic book in 1984. A couple of years later the characters were picked up by someone who built a whole line of toys around the characters, and then television and movies followed. Do you remember the names of all four of the Turtles? Their names were all taken from Renaissance artists:

• Leonardo
• Raphael
• Michelangelo
• Donatello

56D Storm tracker : RADAR

Doppler radar is mainly used to track weather patterns. Standard radar bounces radio waves off precipitation to see where it is. Doppler radar sees where the rain or snow is, and also measures the pitch-like change in the returning radio waves due to movement. This allows forecasters to see the speed and direction of the wind inside a storm.

59D Like week-old mantou : STALE

Mantou is a soft steamed bun from Northern China.

68D Genealogy research aid : DNA TEST

The first commercial DNA tests for ancestry were launched in 2000 by FamilyTreeDNA. At-home DNA testing can lead to life-altering discoveries by uncovering hidden family secrets, such as previously unknown affairs or the existence of half-siblings. Even for those who choose not to test, the growing use of public genetic databases by law enforcement means a distant relative’s results can be used to track down family members or solve cold cases through genetic genealogy.

72D Simon of “Hot Fuzz” : PEGG

Simon Pegg is an English actor and comedian who has hit the big time in Hollywood in the past few years. He played “Scotty” in several “Star Trek” movies and tech wizard Benji Dunn in some of the “Mission: Impossible” films.

“Hot Fuzz” is a very entertaining police-themed, action-comedy film released in 2007. It is the second movie in the “Three Flavours Cornetto” series written by Simon Pegg and directed by Edgar Wright. The other two titles are “Shaun of the Dead” (2004) and “The World’s End” (2013). I recommend “Hot Fuzz”, but the other two? Not so much …

73D Banks on many covers : TYRA

Tyra Banks is a tremendously successful model and businesswoman. Banks created and hosted the hit show “America’s Next Top Model “, and also had her own talk show. She was also the first African-American woman to make the cover of the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.

75D __ cotta : TERRA

In the history of ceramics, earthenware (also “terra cotta”) is a relatively old material. It is porous, and needs a ceramic glaze to make it impervious to liquids. Stoneware was developed later, and is impervious to liquids in its own right due to the higher firing temperature. Porcelain came later still, and is fired at even higher temperatures to produce a stronger, harder and finer material.

77D Bluegrass strings : BANJO

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

Bluegrass is a subgenre of country music, and has its roots in the traditional music brought over from Britain and Ireland. The style of music really evolved quite recently, just before WWII. Musician Bill Monroe is referred to as its “founding father”, and indeed bluegrass takes its name from Monroe’s band, the Blue Grass Boys.

79D Water polo shot stopper : GOALIE

The sport of water polo is thought to have originated in Scotland, where it was a feature of fairs and festivals. Men’s water polo was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1900, making it one of the oldest team sports in the Games.

80D Right features of every square : ANGLES

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

• Acute (< 90 degrees) 
• Right (= 90 degrees) 
• Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
• Straight (180 degrees) 
• Reflex (> 180 degrees)

89D Calculus pioneer Newton : ISAAC

English polymath Sir Isaac Newton was responsible for so many discoveries in science and philosophy, and is regarded as key to the scientific revolution that led to the birth of what we now call “modern science”. While most of Newton’s discoveries were undisputed, his introduction of the mathematical discipline of calculus was challenged by German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz. It seems that Newton and Leibniz discovered calculus simultaneously, but each claimed that the other stole his work. That dispute persisted well past the death of both parties.

90D First Nations people of Canada : CREE

“First Nations” is a term used in Canada describing the ethnicity of Native Americans who are neither Inuit nor Métis people.

91D Season that begins on Ash Wednesday : LENT

In the Christian tradition, the first day in the season of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On that day, Palm Crosses from the prior year’s Palm Sunday are burned. The resulting ashes are mixed with sacred oil and then used to anoint worshipers on the forehead with the shape of a cross.

98D Outfit sometimes worn by Xi Jinping : MAO SUIT

What we call the Mao suit in the west is known as the Zhongshan suit in China. The style was introduced by Sun Yat-sen (also known as Sun Zhongshan) as the form of national dress after the founding of the Republic of China in 1912.

Of the many titles held by Xi Jinping, the most powerful is General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. He assumed this office in 2012, succeeding Hu Jintao.

101D Slater of “Wicked” : ETHAN

Actor Ethan Slater is perhaps best known to theater goers for originating the title role in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical”. Movie-goers know him as Boq Woodsman (the Tin Man) in the musical films “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good”. In his private life, Slater is known for his romantic relationship with singer Ariana Grande, whom he met while filming “Wicked”.

103D “Pinocchio” goldfish : CLEO

In the 1940 Disney animated feature “Pinocchio”, the woodcarver Geppetto has two pets. He has a tuxedo cat named Figaro and a goldfish named Cleo.

107D Penn State’s Nittany __ : LIONS

The athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University (PSU) are called the Nittany Lions, or in the case of the female teams, the Lady Lions. The Nittany Lion was introduced as a mascot way back in 1904 and is modeled after mountain lions that used to roam Mount Nittany located near the school’s campus.

108D Bridal wear in Bangladesh : SAREE

The independent nation of Bangladesh was established after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, when the province of East Pakistan seceded from the State of Pakistan. The struggle for independence really started when the British exited the region, dividing British India into the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947. The Union of India became today’s Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan eventually split into today’s Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

114D Soul icon Redding : OTIS

Otis Redding is often referred to as the “King of Soul”, and what a voice he had. Like so many of the greats in the world of popular music it seems, Redding was killed in a plane crash, in 1967 when he was just 26 years old. Just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

115D Stack of paper : REAM

A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”. We also use the term “reams” to mean a great amount, evolving from the idea of a lot of printed material.

116D Greek dish similar to shawarma : GYRO

A gyro is a traditional Greek dish of meat roasted on a tall vertical spit that is sliced from the spit as required. Gyros are usually served inside a lightly grilled piece of pita bread, along with tomato, onion and tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber sauce).

Shawarma is a popular street food in the Middle East. It is made from thin slices of seasoned and marinated meat, stacked into a cone-shaped column, and then roasted on a vertical spit. Servings are prepared by slicing the outside roasted meat.

120D Capital of Amer. : USD

The dollar sign ($) was first used for the Spanish-American peso, in the late 18th century. The peso was also called the “Spanish dollar” (and “piece of eight”). The Spanish dollar was to become a model for the US dollar that was adopted in 1785, along with the dollar sign.

121D Texter’s qualifier : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

122D Nutrition fig. : RDA

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII, The primary goal wasn’t public health in general, but specifically to ensure that American soldiers and the general population supporting the war effort were getting enough nutrients to be effective.

123D Suggestion, casually : REC

Recommendation (rec.)

124D Tibetan source of butter : YAK

The English word “yak” is an Anglicized version of the Tibetan name for the male of the species. Yak milk is much prized in Tibetan culture. It is made into cheese and butter, and the butter is used to make a tea that is consumed in great volume by Tibetans. The butter is also used as a fuel in lamps, and during festivals the butter is even sculpted into religious icons.