Tag: Extremely unfriendly crossword clue

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Confounded

Themed answers are common phrases, but with CON- added to the front:

• 27A Bistro where diners rarely get what they order? : CONFUSION RESTAURANT
• 37A One who makes a huge profit in the gaming industry? : CONSOLE BENEFICIARY
• 50A Museum employee who specializes in topographic maps? : CONTOUR GUIDE
• 67A Well-secured garden vines? : CONSTRAINED PEAS
• 89A Inflatables ridden in a river race? : CONTEST TUBES
• 97A Inchworm with a successful YouTube channel? : CONTENT CATERPILLAR
• 109A Remodel of a badly designed airport terminal? : CONCOURSE CORRECTION

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

Bill’s time: 14m 16s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Geyser output : STEAM

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”.

11A Some Caribbean exports : RUMS

Rum was first distilled by slaves on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 1800s, with the tradition being that the very first production came from Barbados.

15A “Goldberg Variations” composer : BACH

Bach’s set of 30 variations (plus the original aria) are known as the “Goldberg Variations”. First published in 1741, the work is named for virtuoso harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been its first performer.

20A Marisa who plays Peter Parker’s aunt : TOMEI

Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in the daytime soap “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spin-off “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

Spider-Man is a creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and first appeared in comics in 1962. He was a somewhat groundbreaking character in that his alter ego was a teenage high school student (Peter Parker), which marked the first time that a young person featured front and center as the superhero.

25A Annapolis sch. : USNA

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It was founded in 1845 and educates officers for both the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. The motto of the USNA is “Ex Scientia Tridens”, which translates as “From Knowledge, Sea Power”.

26A “For All Mankind” side: Abbr. : USSR

“For All Mankind” is an interesting sci-fi TV series that first aired in 2019. The fascinating premise of the show is that the Soviet Union beat the US to send the first humans to the Moon. The two superpowers set up moon bases, and conflict ensues.

33A Poke bowl choice : AHI

Poke is a Native Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

34A Vassals : SERFS

A serf was a member of the lowest feudal class, someone attached to land owned by a lord. Even though “serf” comes from the Latin “servus”, meaning “slave”, serfs could not be bought or sold. However, they were not free to leave the land they worked without the lord’s permission

44A Branch of Islam : SHIA

Shiism, the second-largest branch of Islam, distinguishes itself from Sunni Islam primarily through its belief in the rightful succession of leadership after the Prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims believe that leadership should have passed to Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, and his descendants, known as Imams, whom they consider divinely appointed and infallible. In contrast, Sunni Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad did not explicitly designate a successor, and that leadership should be determined through consensus among the Muslim community.

49A Chaney of classic horror : LON

Lon Chaney, Sr. played a lot of crazed-looking characters in the days of silent movies. He did much of his own make-up work, developing the grotesque appearances that became his trademark, and earning himself the nickname “the man of a thousand faces”. Most famous were his portrayals of the title characters in the films “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925).

50A Museum employee who specializes in topographic maps? : CONTOUR GUIDE

A topographic map is one that illustrates land relief, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the terrain. Typically, this is done using contour lines that show the steepness of slopes.

55A Marvel superhero with martial arts expertise : IRON FIST

Iron Fist is the alter ego of Danny Rand, a martial arts master who gained the power to focus his chi into an indestructible fist. The character was created in 1974 by Marvel Comics to capitalize on that era’s kung fu craze.

61A TV actress Susan : DEY

Actress Susan Dey first appeared on “The Partridge Family” when she was 17-years-old when she had no acting experience. Years later, Dey won a Golden Globe for playing the leading role of Grace Van Owen in “L.A. Law”.

66A Black stone : ONYX

Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

75A Kumquat shade : ORANGE

The kumquat tree bears fruit that looks like a small orange, about the size of an olive. The rind of a kumquat is sweet, and the center sour, so often it is only the rind that is eaten.

83A Nail art brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film. Opi also launched a collection of nail lacquers inspired by the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” in celebration of its 10th anniversary on Broadway.

92A Shiba __ : INU

The Shiba Inu is a Japanese breed of dog that was developed for hunting. Although the exact etymology of “Shibu” is unclear, the term translates as “brushwood”. “Inu” is Japanese for “dog”.

95A Shoddy : POOR

Something described as shoddy is of inferior quality, especially if it has a delusive appearance of high quality.

96A The Hawkeye State : IOWA

Iowa is nicknamed the Hawkeye State in honor of Chief Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk people during the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War.

97A Inchworm with a successful YouTube channel? : CONTENT CATERPILLAR

Inchworms are the larvae of geometer moths. Also known as “loopers”, inchworms are so called because as they move along with a looping gait, they appear to be measuring the Earth, one inch at a time.

103A “Goosebumps” series writer : STINE

“Goosebumps” is a series of children’s horror novels written by author R. L. Stine. The novels have been adapted into a television series shown on Canadian TV.

104A Retro hip beer, for short : PBR

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is the most recognizable brand of beer from the Pabst Brewing Company. There appears to be some dispute over whether or not Pabst beer ever won a “blue ribbon” prize, but the company claims that it did so at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The beer was originally called Pabst Best Select, and then just Pabst Select. With the renaming to Blue Ribbon, the beer was sold with an actual blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle until it was dropped in 1916 and incorporated into the label.

119A River of northern Spain : EBRO

The Ebro is the longest river in Spain. It was known by the Romans as the Iber, and it is “Iber” that gives the “Iberian” Peninsula its name.

121A “The Studio” actress Catherine : O’HARA

Catherine O’Hara is an actress and comedian from Toronto. One of O’Hara’s more famous film roles is Kevin’s mother in the Christmas classic “Home Alone”. She also plays a lead character (Moira) in the excellent sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” alongside Eugen Levy.

“The Studio” is a cringe comedy series starring Seth Rogen as a neurotic movie executive and Catherine O’Hara as his mentor. Rogen’s character takes over a struggling film studio, and struggles to balance a love for cinema with corporate demands for profit. I haven’t seen this one, but I hear that there are some amazing celebrity cameos, with stars like Martin Scorsese playing twisted and heightened versions of themselves …

124A “Judge Mathis” event : TRIAL

The judge in the “Judge Mathis” reality TV show is Judge Greg Mathis. Mathis is known for his “gang to gavel” life story. He was a member of a notorious street gang as a teenager in Detroit, and served jail time before turning his life around to become a district court judge.

125A Election Day figure : VOTER

Election day was chosen by Congress back in 1845. The month of November was selected as it suited an agricultural society, following the fall harvest and yet not too far into winter, which could make travel difficult. Tuesday was chosen so that people had time to travel to polling stations. Monday elections might have meant that some would have to start out on Sunday, and that could interfere with Christian services.

Down

3D Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne : ELENA

Elena Delle Donne is a professional basketball player who was the second pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, and was drafted by the Chicago Sky. She was the first WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club, an informal statistic used to rate shooters. The requirement is to achieve a 50% field goal percentage, a 40% three-point field goal percentage, and a 90% free throw percentage.

5D Mexican soup made with tripe : MENUDO

Menudo is a traditional Mexican soup made from tripe (a cow’s stomach lining) that is slow-cooked in a broth, often with hominy. It has quite a reputation as a hangover cure.

6D Guitarist Chet who helped create the Nashville sound : ATKINS

Chet Atkins was a guitarist famous for playing “smooth” country music that crossed over into the genre of lighter pop music.

7D Pro __: at no charge : BONO

The Latin term “pro bono publico” means “for the public good”, and is usually shortened to “pro bono”. The term applies to professional work that is done for free or at a reduced fee as a service to the public.

10D Sleeper sofa : HIDE-A-BED

The first patent for a folding bed (later “hide-a-bed”) was issued way back in 1899.

12D __ Major : URSA

The constellation Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call it back in Ireland, the “plough”. The words “Ursae Majoris” mean “of Ursa Major”, and are found in the names of several stars in the constellation.

13D OpenTable link : MENU

OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation service that was established in 1998 in San Francisco. Founder Chuck Templeton came up with the idea after he witnessed his wife’s frustration as she spent hours making phone calls just to secure a single dinner reservation.

15D Country surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak : BRUNEI

The official name of Brunei is the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace. Brunei is situated on the island of Borneo, almost completely surrounded by Malaysia. Brunei’s government is dictated by the constitution adopted in 1959, and is ruled by a sultan with full executive authority. The main language spoken in the country is “Melayu Brunei” (Brunei Malay), with the official language being Malay. Apparently Malay and Brunei Malay are quite different from each other, with native speakers finding it difficult to understand each other.

16D Like koalas : AUSTRALIAN

Koalas are not bears, but are marsupials, which means they carry their young in a pouch.They are known for their diet of eucalyptus leaves, which are toxic to most other animals. To cope with this, koalas have a special digestive system that allows them to break down the toxins and extract the nutrients from the leaves. Koalas are one of the sleepiest animals in the world, sleeping up to 20 hours a day. This is because eucalyptus leaves provide very little energy.

17D IRA options : CDS

A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

36D Sentence structure : SYNTAX

Syntax is the way linguistic elements are assembled to form phrases and clauses. The term “syntax” comes from Greek via Latin, and ultimately from “syn” meaning “together” and “tassein” meaning “arrange”.

37D Blanchett with two Oscars : CATE

Cate Blanchett is a great actress from Australia, and a winner of an Academy Award for playing Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator”. Winning for that role made Blanchett the first person to win an Academy Award for playing an actor (Hepburn) who had also won an Oscar. Now that is trivial information …

39D Singers Reed and Rawls : LOUS

Lou Reed was best known as a rock musician and songwriter, and was especially associated with the fabulous 1973 hit “Walk on the Wildside”. Reed is less well known as a photographer, but he published two collections of his work. The first was released in 2003 under the title “Emotions in Action”, and the second in 2006 called “Lou Reed’s New York”. Reed passed away in 2013.

Lou Rawls was an American soul and blues singer known for his smooth vocal style. With his singing career well on the way, Rawls was asked to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1977 at a Muhammad Ali fight in Madison Square Garden. This performance led to him being asked to sing the anthem many, many times in the coming years with his last rendition being at a World Series game in 2005. Rawls passed away in January of the following year.

46D Memorial Day weekend race, casually : INDY

The Indianapolis 500 race is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race is run around a 2.5 mile oval, hence requiring 200 laps for completion. The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly, that was the first ever use of a rear-view mirror on a motor vehicle.

51D Chem class for premeds : ORGO

Organic chemistry (“Orgo”)

By one definition, an organic chemical is a compound containing carbon-hydrogen and/or carbon-carbon bonds. A more broad definition is that a chemical containing carbon is classed as organic. Back in the mid-1600s, anything described as “organical” related to the body and its organs. In the early 1800s, the phrase “organic chemistry” was coined to describe the study of compounds derived from living things, from nature.

53D “Midnight Cowboy” hustler : RATSO

Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo is one of the characters in the groundbreaking 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy”. He is a down-and-out con man, and played by Dustin Hoffman.

The 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy” is a Hollywood adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It’s a pretty depressing story about a young Texan named Joe Buck (played by Jon Voight) who heads to New York City to make money as a hustler, hiring himself out to women for sex. Pretty soon the young man ends up selling his body for sex with males as well. Prior to release the MPAA gave the movie an R-rating, but the United Artists studio took advice and decided to release it with an X-rating. When “Midnight Cowboy” won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1969, it became the only X-rated film to be so honored.

59D Zamboni surface : ICE

The first ice resurfacing machine was developed in 1949 by one Frank Zamboni. The eponymous Zamboni machine works by simultaneously executing a number of tasks. First, the surface of the ice is scraped off by a sharp blade. Next the ice is “washed” with water sprayed from the front of the Zamboni, and that wash water is vacuumed back up and filtered to remove impurities. Water is then reapplied to the scraped ice by a wet towel dragging behind the machine, forming a new skating surface.

67D Minesweeper unit : CELL

The relatively simple computer game called Minesweeper has been included in releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from 1992. The first version of Windows to include Minesweeper was Windows 3.1, but the last version was Windows 7. Windows 8 didn’t include Minesweeper by default, but you could pick up a copy in the Windows Store.

68D Torrid Zone boundary : TROPIC

The Earth has five geographical zones defined by the major circles of latitude:

• The North Frigid Zone lies north of the Arctic Circle
• The North Temperate Zone lies between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer
• The Torrid Zone lies between the two Tropical Circles
• The South Temperate Zone lies between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle
• The South Frigid Zone lies south of the Antarctic Circle

74D Narwhal : SEA UNICORN

The narwhal is a whale species in which the male has a large tusk. The “tusk” is actually a canine tooth that projects from the jaw through the lip. Usually only one tusk develops, on the left side of the jaw. Occasionally, a second tusk develops as well, on the right side of the jaw. The tusk is unlike a tooth in that it contains many nerves, making it a sensory organ. It is rarely used in an act of aggression.

77D Baja resort, familiarly : CABO

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

79D The “kid” in “Here’s looking at you, kid” : ILSA

The famous line “Here’s looking at you, kid.” from 1942’s “Casablanca” was ranked no. 2 in a list of top movie quotes compiled by “The Hollywood Reporter”. The top of the list makes interesting reading, with the following comprising the top five:

1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” from “Gone With the Wind” (1939)
2. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” from “Casablanca” (1942)
3. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” from “Jaws” (1975)
4. “May the Force be with you.” from “Star Wars” (1977)
5. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

81D Organ near the pancreas : SPLEEN

The spleen has several functions in the human body, two of which are the removal of old red blood cells and the recycling of the iron contained therein. The waste product of this recycling is bile. It also holds a reserve of blood that can be released when necessary (if the body goes into “circulatory shock”). Greek and Roman physicians ascribed to the theory that the body had four basic substances, the so-called four humors. All diseases were caused by these four substances getting out of balance. The four humors were:

• Black bile (melancolia)
• Yellow bile (cholera)
• Phlegm (phlegma)
• Blood (sanguis)

82D CNN anchor Burnett : ERIN

Erin Burnett is a television journalist and the host of her own show on CNN called “Erin Burnett OutFront”. Apparently Burnett also used to show up occasionally as advisor to Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.

85D Actress Polo : TERI

Teri Polo’s most prominent role on the big screen was Pam Focker in “Meet the Fockers” and its sequels. Pam is the wife of the character played by Ben Stiller. Polo also played the wife of Presidential candidate Matt Santos in “The West Wing”.

86D ABC News anchor David : MUIR

Journalist and TV anchor David Muir started hosting the show “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir” in 2014, and co-anchoring “20/20” in 2013. Apparently, Muir’s reporting received more airtime than any other American journalist in 2012 and 2013. Muir also made it onto “People” magazine’s list of Sexiest Men Alive in 2014.

90D “The Mikado,” for one : OPERETTA

“The Mikado” is a wonderful comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, set in the exotic location of Japan. “Mikado” is a former term for the “Emperor of Japan”.

91D Scand. kingdom : NOR

Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that covers the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The broader region that includes Finland and Iceland is referred to locally as “the Nordic countries”.

98D IRA options : T-NOTES

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

99D Network that airs “TBBT” reruns : TBS

“The Big Bang Theory” (TBBT) is a very clever sitcom that first aired in 2007. “The Big Bang Theory” theme song was specially commissioned for the show, and was composed and sung by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. The theme song was released in 2007 as a single and is featured on a Barenaked Ladies greatest hits album.

106D Mazda two-seater : MIATA

The Mazda MX-5 is sold as the Miata in North America, and as the Roadster in Japan. I’ve always liked the looks of the Mazda Miata, probably because it reminds me so much of old British sports cars. The Miata is built in Hiroshima, Japan. The name “Miata” comes from an Old High German word meaning “reward”.

108D Drum kit piece : SNARE

Snare drums are so called because they have a set of wire strands (snares) stretching across the bottom surface of the drum. When the drum is struck, the snares vibrate against the bottom drumhead producing a unique sound.

110D Saxon foe : CELT

The Celts are a very broad group of people across Europe who are linked by common languages. The original Celts were largely absorbed by other cultures, although a relatively modern revival of the “Celtic identity” is alive and well in Britain and Ireland. Such Celtic peoples today are mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany in France.

Germanic tribes invaded Great Britain from the early 5th century and created the nation that we now call England. The Anglo-Saxons (sometimes simply “Saxons”), as these tribes came to be called, held sway in the country until the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Anglo-Saxons were descendants of three Germanic tribes:

• The Angles, from Angeln in Northern Germany (and the tribe that gave the name “England”).
• The Saxons, from Lower Saxony and Holland.
• The Jutes, from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.

113D Complain querulously : CARP

Someone described as querulous is always complaining. The term “querulous” comes from the Latin “queri” meaning “to complain”.

115D Word in some Spanish team names : REAL

Some Spanish sports teams In Spanish sports have the word “Real” in their names. This translates to “Royal”, and is a title of patronage bestowed by the Spanish monarch upon specific clubs. It grants the team permission to display a royal crown atop their official crest, as seen with clubs like Real Madrid and Real Betis.

116D Hammer-wielding god : THOR

The hammer associated with the Norse god Thor is known as Mjölnir. The name “Mjölnir” translates as “crusher”.

117D __ rata : PRO

“Pro rata” is a Latin phrase meaning “in proportion”.

118D Brief topic : LAW

The term “brief”, in the context of the law, applies to a written legal document presented in court as an argument in a legal process. “Brief” comes from the Latin “brevis” meaning “short”. So, I guess those arguments were originally meant to be short, concise. And “briefs” can be carried in a “briefcase”.