Tag: End of Oktober? crossword clue

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Constructed by: Roger Miller
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer(s): Sealed with a Kiss

The two letters at the start and the two at the end of each themed answer, when combined, spell out a synonym of “KISS”:

• 63A Love letter message often accompanied by a lipstick mark, and what the answers to the starred clues are, thanks to their circled letters: SEALED WITH A KISS

• 17A *Know what’s going on at all times: NEVER MISS A TRICK (sealed with a “NE-CK”)
• 28A *Trained canine in an airport, say: SNIFFER DOG (sealed with a “SN-OG”)
• 50A *Literature Nobelist who wrote “The Good Earth”: PEARL S BUCK (sealed with a “PE-CK”)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Stops on a suburban commuter train: TOWNS

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 …

16 Lhasa __: small dog: APSO

The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

17 *Know what’s going on at all times: NEVER MISS A TRICK (sealed with a “NE-CK”)

The term “necking” applies to kissing and caressing. I like what Groucho Marx had to say on the subject:

Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.

22 Capital of Taiwan: TAIPEI

Taipei (officially “Taipei City”) is the capital of Taiwan (officially “the Republic of China”). “Taipei” translates from Chinese as “Northern Taiwan City” and indeed, the capital is situated at the northern tip of Taiwan. The city is nicknamed “City of Azaleas” as flowers are said to bloom better in Taipei than in any other city on the island.

28 *Trained canine in an airport, say: SNIFFER DOG (sealed with a “SN-OG”)

“Snogging” is British slang of unknown origin that dates back to the end of WWII. The term is used for “kissing and cuddling”, what we call “making out” over here in the US.

31 Terro trap insects: ANTS

Terro is a borax-based bait used to treat ant infestation. Borax is toxic to ants, and acts very slowly. Because it is slow-acting, worker ants carry it back to the nest and poison the colony.

35 Unit of work: 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.

39 Chain letters?: DNA

Rosalind Franklin was a chemist who specialized in X-ray crystallography. It was work by Franklin and her student that produced the famous “Photo 51” that was key to the determination of the structure of DNA. James Watson and Francis Crick used the photo as they constructed their model of the double-helix structures of DNA. The photo had been shared with Watson and Crick by Maurice Wilkins, who worked with Franklin, without Franklin’s consent. A few years after Franklin died (at the age of 37), Watcon, Crick and Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on DNA. As Franklin received very little recognition for her contribution, she is sometimes referred to as the “dark lady of DNA” and the “wronged heroine”.

40 Victoria’s Secret purchase: BRA

Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, California. The founder wanted to create an environment where men were comfortable buying lingerie for their wives or girlfriends, an alternative to a department store.

43 Crock-Pot concoctions: STEWS

We often use the term “crockpot” as an alternative for “slow cooker”. The generic term comes from the trademark “Crock-Pot”, which is now owned by Sunbeam products.

45 Lawn-wrecking diggers: MOLES

One of the more commonly known facts about my native Ireland is that there are no snakes in the country (outside of politics, that is). A lesser known fact is that there are no moles either. There are plenty of snakes and moles in Britain, just a few miles away. Over a pint, we tend to give the credit to Saint Patrick, but the last ice age is more likely the responsible party …

47 Chuck wagon fare: CHOW

A chuck wagon is a covered wagon that is in effect used as a field kitchen on the trail. They were particularly prevalent as part of the wagon trains crossing the country with people intending to settle in the West. They are also used as support vehicles for cowboys and loggers as they do their work.

50 *Literature Nobelist who wrote “The Good Earth”: PEARL S BUCK (sealed with a “PE-CK”)

Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Good Earth” won a Pulitzer in 1932, and helped Buck win the Nobel Prize for literature a few years later. The novel tells of life in a Chinese village and follows the fortunes of Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan. Although “The Good Earth” has been around for decades, it hit the bestseller list again in 2004 when it was a pick for Oprah’s Book Club.

53 Puts a curse on: HEXES

“Hexen” is a German word meaning “to practice witchcraft”. The use of the word “hex” in English started with the Pennsylvania Dutch in the early 1800s.

55 __ gin fizz: SLOE

By definition, a cocktail known as a “fizz” includes lemon or lime juice and carbonated water. The most popular of the genre is the gin fizz, made from 3 parts gin, 2 parts lemon juice, 1 part sugar syrup and 5 parts soda water. There is also a variant known as a sloe gin fizz.

57 Prime minister between Churchill’s two terms: ATTLEE

Clement Attlee served as leader of Britain’s Labour Party and as Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government during the war years under the leadership of Winston Churchill, a Conservative. Attlee swept into power right after WWII in a landslide victory over Churchill, and was responsible for major changes not only in Britain but around the waning British Empire. It was under Attlee that former British colonies like India, Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and Jordan became independent. Also, the Palestine Mandate was terminated in 1948, while he was in office, with the state of Israel being declared the very next day.

63 Love letter message often accompanied by a lipstick mark, and what the answers to the starred clues are, thanks to their circled letters: SEALED WITH A KISS

“SWAK” is an initialism standing for “sealed with a kiss”. SWAK, and the related SWALK (sealed with a loving kiss), are postal acronyms that originated during WWII.

66 Cleveland’s lake: ERIE

Cleveland, Ohio was named after the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to the founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.

68 Gets the lead out?: MINES

Lead is a heavy metallic element with the symbol Pb (standing for “plumbum”, Latin for “lead”). Although lead proves to be a very useful metal, it is very toxic and is poisonous if absorbed into the body.

Down

1 Turner in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: TINA

“Tina Turner” was the stage name used by Anna Mae Bullock, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Turner always loved Europe and moved there in the eighties, splitting her time between her homes in England, France and Switzerland.

4 Tampa-to-Jacksonville dir.: NNE

The Florida city of Tampa has been known as “the Big Guava” since the seventies. The term is imitative of New York’s “Big Apple”, and refers to the unsuccessful search for the reported wild guava trees that were once hoped to be the basis of a new industry for the area. Tampa has also been called “Cigar City”, a reference to the cigar industry that fueled the area’s growth starting in the 1880s.

The port city of Jacksonville, Florida is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States (four cities in Alaska cover more land). Jacksonville was named in honor of President Andrew Jackson.

5 Croat neighbor: SERB

Serbia is a landlocked country in southeast Europe. After WWII, Serbia became one of several states making up the nation called Yugoslavia. Serbia became independent again in 2006 as Yugoslavia broke up after the declaration of independence by Montenegro.

The Republic of Croatia is a Balkan country. The Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia became a member of NATO in 2009, and a member of the European Union in 2013.

6 Black eye: SHINER

A shiner is something that shines. The term “shiner” has been used to mean “black eye” since 1904.

8 Burro: ASS

Our word “burro”, meaning “donkey”, comes from the Spanish word for the same animal, namely “burrico”.

11 Injector for allergic emergencies: EPIPEN

EpiPen is a brand of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, which is a common treatment for an extreme allergic reaction.

18 Widely shared social media post: MEME

A meme (from “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

24 Fast-food chain with buckets: KFC

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

26 Bonfire fuel: WOOD

Back in the mid-1500s, a “bonfire” was a fire used for burning bones, a “bone fire”.

28 Pronoun that precedes “sells seashells” in a classic tongue twister: SHE

She sells seashells on the seashore.
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.
For if she sells seashells on the seashore
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

29 End of Oktober?: -FEST

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 …

34 Dodge trucks: RAMS

Chrysler put ram hood ornaments on all of its Dodge-branded vehicles starting in 1933. When the first line of Dodge trucks and vans were introduced in 1981, they were named “Rams” in honor of that hood ornament.

41 School playtimes: RECESSES

To recess is to go back, to retreat. The use of the noun “recess” to mean “period of stopping from usual work” dates back to the early 1600s. This usage might stem from the action of parliamentarians “recessing” into, returning to private chambers.

44 Soup cracker: SALTINE

F. L. Sommer & Company of St. Joseph, Missouri started to produce wafer thin soda crackers in 1876. The crackers were later marketed as “Saltines”, due to the baking salt that was a key ingredient. The company subsequently lost trademark protection of the term “saltine”.

46 __-Wan Kenobi: OBI

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the more beloved of the “Star Wars” characters. He was portrayed by two fabulous actors in the series of films. As a young man Kenobi was played by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and as an older man by Alec Guinness.

48 Straight: HETERO

“Heterosexuality” is sexual attraction between persons of the opposite gender. The prefix “hetero-” comes from the Greek “heteros” meaning “different, other”.

51 Wireless network device: ROUTER

In the world of computing, a router is a device that helps direct traffic, as it were. A router in a house is often found in combination with a modem, and directs traffic between the Internet and the computers in the home.

52 Solidarity leader Walesa: LECH

Lech Walesa worked as an electrician in the Gdansk Shipyards in Poland. Walesa was active in the trade union movement in the days when unions were not welcome behind the Iron Curtain. His efforts resulted in the founding of Solidarity, the first independent trade union in Soviet-controlled territory. For his work, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and in 1990 he became the first democratically elected President of Poland. He has lost support in Poland in recent years, but he is a very popular booking on the international speaking circuit.

60 __ Sutra: KAMA

The “Kama Sutra” is renowned for its descriptions of positions that can be used for sexual intercourse, but the sutra includes many other texts that deal with various matters of a sexual nature, including how to woo a woman, the conduct of a “chief wife”, the conduct of “other wives”, how to make money as a courtesan, and much more.