Tag: Dweeb crossword clue

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Constructed by: Catherine Cetta
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: On a Side Note

Themed answers each hide a sol-fa NOTE, right at the SIDE of the grid. Also, we get the solf-fa notes in order as we ascend the grid:

• 56A “By the way…,” and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters: ON A SIDE NOTE …

• 65A Mosque toppers: DOMES
• 67A Cornflower kin: AZURE
• 46A Fog: MIST
• 51A Couch: SOFA
• 29A Footprint makers: SOLES
• 31A Birthing coach: DOULA
• 17A Attachments: TIES
• 19A Classic pet name: FIDO

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

Bill’s time: 8m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Casablanca” heroine: ILSA

Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund were played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “She paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

10 Mavens: PROS

I’ve always loved the term “maven”, which is another word for “expert”. Maven comes into English from the Yiddish “meyvn” describing someone who appreciates and is a connoisseur.

14 Subject with lots of problems: MATH

Here’s another term that catches me out all the time, having done my schooling on the other side of the Atlantic. The term “mathematics” is shortened to “math” in the US, but to “maths” in Britain and Ireland.

18 Old thing: RELIC

A relic is something that has survived from the past, reminding us of that past. In the world of religion, a relic is an object revered due to its association with a saint or martyr.

19 Classic pet name: FIDO

“Fido”, the name for many a dog, is Latin for “I trust”.

20 Amanda Gorman’s “__ to Our Ocean”: ODE

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman wrote the poem “Ode to our Ocean” in 2021. She performed it as part of that year’s World Ocean Day celebrations.

21 Civil rights leader __ Scott King: CORETTA

Coretta Scott King was the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. Coretta was a civil rights leader herself, and maintained a prominent role in the movement following her husband’s 1968 assassination. She is sometimes referred to as the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.

24 A as in Aristotle: ALPHA

Aristotle was a student of Plato in ancient Greece (and in turn, Plato was a student of Socrates). Aristotle’s most famous student was Alexander the Great.

26 Hasty getaway: LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, scram”.

30 Fútbol cheer: OLE!

In Spanish, a “fútbol” (football, soccer) supporter might shout “olé!” (bravo!).

31 Birthing coach: DOULA

A doula is a person who provides non-medical support for women and their families during childbirth as well as in the period immediately following the arrival. The term “doula” comes from the Ancient Greek word “doule” which means “female slave”. Given such a negative association, “doula” is often dropped in favor of “labor companion” or “birthworker”.

32 Dweeb: TWERP

“Twerp” and “pip-squeak” are both terms used for someone who is insignificant and contemptible.

“Dweeb” is relatively recent American slang that came out of college life in the late sixties. Dweeb, squarepants, nerd; they’re all not-nice terms that mean the same thing, i.e. someone excessively studious and socially inept.

33 Kylo who is Darth Vader’s grandson: REN

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

47 Tea region of India: ASSAM

Assam, located in northeastern India, is the largest tea-producing state in the country. It is also famous for its silk production, particularly the golden muga silk.

52 Baseball Hall of Famer nicknamed “Master Melvin”: OTT

I wonder if Mel Ott had any idea that he would turn in crosswords so very often?

61 Fashion’s Diane __ Furstenberg: VON

Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF) is a fashion designer from Brussels, now based in the US. Born Diane Halfin, she was Princess Diane of Fürstenberg from 1969 until 1972 while married to Prince Egon of Fürstenberg.

62 __-toothed tiger: SABER

The extinct creature that we often refer to as a saber-toothed tiger wasn’t a tiger at all, and is more properly known as a saber-toothed cat.

65 Mosque toppers: DOMES

The largest mosque in the world is Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, sometimes referred to in English as the Sacred Mosque or the Grand Mosque. Al-Masjid Al-Haram is home to the Kaaba, the most sacred location in Islam. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba when performing formal worship known as Salat.

66 Terminus: END

We absorbed our word “terminus” (plural “termini”) from Latin, and in both languages it means “end, final goal”. The Roman god Terminus presided over landmarks and boundaries, and was the focus of the festival of Terminalia at the end of the Roman year.

67 Cornflower kin: AZURE

Cornflower blue is a light blue shade, named for the vibrant blue of cornflower petals. Cornflowers were so named as they often grew as weeks in cornfields.

The term “azure” came into English from Persian via Old French. The French word “l’azur” was taken from the Persian name for a place in northeastern Afghanistan called “Lazhward” which was the main source of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The stone has a vivid blue color, and “azure” has been describing this color since the 14th century.

69 __ race: RAT

We use “rat race” figuratively to describe an endless, pointless pursuit. The term comes from the laboratory, where one might imagine rats racing around a maze in search of some cheese.

Down

3 Church tower topper: STEEPLE

In general terms, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, often a church. More specifically, a steeple can be made up of several distinct parts:

1. Tower: the base of the steeple, which can often house a clock.
2. Belfry: the part that holds bells, often part of church steeples
3. Lantern: a decorative, windowed structure that admits light into the steeple
4. Spire: the tall, slender top

5 Sub: HERO

A hero is a submarine sandwich. It originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

7 Hoppy brew: PALE ALE

Pale ale is a beer made using mainly pale malt, which results in a relatively light color for a malted beer.

10 Many an attachment: PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF)

21 Wyoming’s second-most populous city: CASPER

The Wyoming city of Casper was established just a few miles east of the former site of Fort Caspar, which gave the settlement its name. In turn, Fort Caspar was named for US Army officer Caspar Collins, who was killed in 1865 at the Battle of the Plate Bridge Station. “Platte Bridge Station” was the name of the trading post that had existed at the site of Fort Caspar.

25 Recluse: HERMIT

The Greek word for “uninhabited” is “eremos”, which is the root for “eremia” meaning both “desert” and “solitude”. The Greek word eremites then means “a person of the desert”. This was absorbed into Latin as “ermita”, meaning someone who lived in solitude or in an uninhabited area. We use “eremite” to mean the same thing, although the derivative term “hermit” is more common.

38 Japanese noodle dish: RAMEN

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

39 Panic! at the Disco genre: EMO

Panic! at the Disco was formed as a pop rock band from Las Vegas in 2004. Two of the original four members left the group in 2009, to form their own band, and Panic! at the Disco was reinvented as a duo. One of the two remaining musicians also moved on, in 2015, leaving just the original lead vocalist Brendon Urie. Urie decided to continue performing as Panic! at the Disco, and treats it as a solo project.

41 Threatening NOAA forecasts: T-STORMS

Thunderstorm (t-storm)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a US agency responsible for studying and monitoring the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. Its origins can be traced back to several earlier agencies, the first of which was called the Survey of the Coast, established in 1807. Over time, these various organizations, focused on areas like weather, fisheries, and oceanography, were consolidated, culminating in the creation of the NOAA in 1970.

43 Last on-screen message in a classic film: ROSEBUD

A central plot line in the 1941 movie “Citizen Kane” is a newsreel reporter’s quest to find the meaning of the dying word “Rosebud” spoken by the title character. Spoiler alert … it is revealed at the end of the movie that “Rosebud” is the name of the sled used by Kane in his childhood, which was the only period of his life in which he was really happy.

44 Toward the rudder: AFT

A rudder is usually a flat sheet of wood or metal located at the stern of a boat, and under the waterline. The rudder is attached to a rudder post, which rotates to change the orientation of the rudder hence steering the boat. That rotation of the rudder post can be achieved by pulling or pushing a lever called a tiller, which is located at the top of the post.

49 City in Arizona’s Verde Valley region: SEDONA

The city of Sedona is noted for its location amid an array of red sandstone rock formations, which are particularly beautiful at sunrise and sunset. Sedona was named after the wife of the city’s first postmaster, one Sedona Arabella Miller Schnebly.

50 Political philosopher Hannah: ARENDT

Hannah Arendt was studying and working in the field of philosophy when she had to flee her native Germany in the run up to WWII because of her Jewish heritage. Arendt ended up in the US in 1941, and took posts in various schools here. In 1969 she was appointed full professor at Princeton, becoming the first woman to win such a position, and a decade before women students were admitted to the college.

57 Carolers’ tune: NOEL

“Noël” is the French word for the Christmas season, and ultimately comes from the Latin word for “birth” (natalis). “Noel” has come to be used as an alternative for “Christmas carol”.

58 Maker of Zen K-Cup pods: TAZO

Tazo is an American brand of tea products introduced in 1983. The company’s name is a Romany word meaning “river of life”.

A K-Cup is a single-portion cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in which the beverage is prepared in situ. K-Cup packs are used with brewing machines made by Keurig, a manufacturer of coffee brewers based in Reading, Massachusetts. Personally, I use a Nespresso machine …

63 Bit of energy: ERG

An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. It has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.

64 “The Pioneer Woman” host Drummond: REE

Ree Drummond is a food writer and blogger. Drummond’s blog “The Pioneer Woman” recounts her daily life on her family’s working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.