Tag: Flagon kin crossword clue

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Constructed by: Marc Goldstein
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Play Ball!

Themed answers are all common phrases reinterpreted with reference to baseball:

• 17A Tube on an automatic ball launcher? : PITCH PIPE
• 25A Batter’s decision not to bunt? : SWING VOTE
• 34A “I got it!” or “Blazing fastball!,” for example? : CATCH PHRASE
• 50A Tally entered on a scoreboard? : HIT RECORD
• 58A Instructional video about getting under a tag? : SLIDE SHOW

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

Bill’s time: 8m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 “Whip It” band : DEVO

Devo is a band from Akron, Ohio formed back in 1973. The band’s biggest hit is “Whip It” released in 1980. Devo have a gimmick: the wearing of red, terraced plastic hats that are referred to as “energy domes”. Why? I have no idea …

9 Mint family herb : BASIL

Traditionally, basil is considered “the king of herbs”. In fact, the herb’s name comes from the Greek “basileus” meaning “king”.

14 Photoshop, say : EDIT

Photoshop is an amazing piece of software used for editing graphics. When I first bought a copy of Photoshop, it was really expensive (about $300 in 1995), but now there are cost-effective, stripped-down versions available. Also, the full version of Photoshop is now only available as a monthly subscription service.

16 “My Brilliant Friend” novelist Ferrante : ELENA

Elena Ferrante is an Italian author, best known for her 4-part series known as the “Neapolitan Novels”. What is very interesting about “Ferrante” is that the moniker is a pseudonym, and no one seems to know the author’s real name. There is some speculation that “Elena” is in fact a man.

“My Brilliant Friend” is the first installment in Elena Ferrante’s series of four “Neapolitan Novels”. It introduces the reader to the complex and often turbulent friendship between Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, as they grow up in Naples in the 1950s.

22 Polar vehicle : SNO-CAT

The brand name “Sno-Cat” is owned by the Tucker company. All snowcats are tracked vehicles built to work in snow, and are famously used in expeditions to the polar regions. The modern Sno-Cat from Tucker differs from its competitors in that it has four independently-mounted tracks.

23 __-Leste: first new sovereign state of the 21st century : TIMOR

Timor is an island in Maritime Southeast Asia. The island is politically divided into West Timor, belonging to Indonesia, and the independent state of East Timor (aka “Timor-Leste”). The name “Timor” comes from a Malay word for “east”, and is used as Timor lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

28 Bygone boxy Toyota : SCION

The Scion is a family of cars manufactured by Toyota from 2003 to 2016. Scion models were aimed at younger drivers, and are sporty and compact in design. Some of the Scion models are still available, but are sold under the Toyota name.

29 Art Deco designer : ERTE

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian-born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. “Erté” is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

30 Flagon kin : EWER

A flagon is a large jug with a lid that is traditionally used for holding beer or wine.

46 “A Death in the Family” writer James : AGEE

“A Death in the Family” is a 1957 novel by James Agee. It is about the death of a father and the impact it has on his family. The novel won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1958, and was adapted into a 1963 film “All the Way Home” starring Jean Simmons and Robert Preston.

48 Container allowances on scales : TARES

Tare is the weight of a container that is deducted from the gross weight to determine the net weight, the weight of the container’s contents.

50 Tally entered on a scoreboard? : HIT RECORD

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.

56 Rock & Roll HoF city : CLE

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can be visited on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983 and started inducting artists in 1986. The Foundation didn’t get a home until the museum was dedicated in Cleveland in 1995. I had the great privilege of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some years ago and really enjoyed myself. The magnificent building was designed by famed architect I. M. Pei.

61 Govt. security : T-NOTE

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.

64 Ribald nature spirit of Greek mythology : SATYR

The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

Down

1 Storehouses : DEPOTS

Our term “depot”, meaning “station, warehouse”, comes from the French word “dépôt”. The French term translates into English as “deposit” or “place of deposit”.

2 Imposing structure : EDIFICE

To edify is to provide instruction in order to improve spiritually, morally or intellectually. The intent is to “build up” someone’s faith or morality, and so “edify” comes from the Latin “aedificare” meaning “to build, construct”. This Latin root also gives us our word “edifice”, meaning “massive building”.

3 Nutrient in citrus : VITAMIN C

The essential nutrient referred to as vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid or ascorbate. A lack of vitamin C causes the disease scurvy.

4 Like 3-Down pills: Abbr. : OTC

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs don’t need a prescription (Rx).

5 Former frosh : SOPH

The term “sophomore” has been used since the 1680s for a student in the second year of university. The original meaning of the word was “arguer”. The term has Greek roots, from two Greek words that have been artificially combined in English. The Greek “sophos” means “wise”, and “moros” means “foolish”.

6 Melodic : ARIOSE

A tune that is “ariose” is song-like, characterized by melody as opposed to harmony.

9 “The Perks of __ a Wallflower”: 2012 teen drama : BEING

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) is a coming-of-age film directed by Stephen Chbosky. Notably, Chbosky also wrote the original novel and the screenplay adaptation. The story follows Charlie, portrayed by Logan Lerman, a socially awkward and introverted freshman, as he navigates the challenges of high school with the help of two charismatic seniors: Sam (played by Emma Watson) and Patrick (played by Ezra Miller).

11 Dugong, for one : SEA COW

The dugong is a large marine mammal related to the manatee, and an ugly-looking brute. It feeds upon seagrass, and is the only marine mammal that is a strict herbivore.

18 Insects in the genus Vespa : HORNETS

A hornet is a large type of wasp, with some species reaching over two inches in length.

24 Actress Chaplin : OONA

Oona Chaplin is an actress from Madrid in Spain. Chaplin is getting a lot of airtime these days as she plays Talisa Maegyr on HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Oona is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and is named for her maternal grandmother Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

26 Spot for a bar code, often : WRAPPER

There are two types of barcode widely used today:

1. Linear, or one-dimensional, barcodes usually comprise vertical black and white lines (“bars”) of varying thickness.
2. Matrix, or two-dimensional, evolved from linear barcodes. They are often square in shape, and are usually made up of an array of rectangles, dots, hexagons and other shapes. A common example is a QR code.

33 Cracker served with 39-Across : 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”.

36 “Les Misérables” novelist : HUGO

Victor Hugo was a French writer who is known in his native country mainly for his poetry. Outside of France, Hugo is perhaps more closely associated with his novels such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.

Victor Hugo’s famous 1862 novel “Les Misérables” has been translated into English several times. However, the title is usually left in the original French as a successful translation of “les misérables” seems to be elusive. Some suggestions for an English title are “The Wretched”, “The Victims” and “The Dispossessed”. The novel follows the lives of several characters including an ex-convict Jean Valjean, a fanatic police inspector Javert, a beautiful prostitute Fantine, and Fantine’s illegitimate daughter Cosette.

37 English actor Bean : SEAN

Sean Bean is an English actor who is perhaps best known in North America for playing Boromir in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Ned Stark in the fantasy TV show “Game of Thrones”. James Bond fans will remember him as the bad guy in “GoldenEye”, the character called Alec Trevelyan.

43 Ryder of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” : WINONA

Hollywood actress Winona Ryder’s real name is Winona Horowitz. She was born near the town of Winona in Minnesota, from which she got her name. Ryder’s success on the screen has garnered as much media attention as her life off the screen. The papers had a field day when she was arrested in 2001 on a shoplifting charge followed by a very public court appearance. Her engagement with Johnny Depp in the early nineties was another media frenzy. Depp had “Winona Forever” tattooed on his arm, which he had changed after the breakup to “Wino Forever”. A man with a sense of humor …

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a 2024 film directed by Tim Burton, a sequel to the original 1988 cult classic “Beetlejuice”. Michael Keaton reprises his iconic role as the title character, and he once again disrupts the lives of the Deetz family. Winona Ryder returns to play Lydia Deetz, a goth teenager in the original, and mother of daughter Astrid in the sequel. Catherine O’Hara also returns, playing Lydia’s stepmother Delia Deetz.

51 Organic compound : ESTER

Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.

58 Pop duo __ & Him : SHE

She & Him is a musical duo comprising guitarist M. Ward and vocalist Zooey Deschanel, the noted actress. Ward and Deschanel met on the film set for “The Go-Getter” in 2007, and got together to sing over the film’s end credits.

59 Thompson of “Back to the Future” : LEA

Lea Thompson is well known as the star of “Caroline in the City“, the TV show from the nineties. That said, the Thompson performance that I most remember is her playing Marty McFly’s mother in the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

60 Moo __ pork : SHU

Moo shu pork (also “mu shu pork”) is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg. In North America, the dish is served with tortilla-like wrappers that are sometimes referred to as “moo shu pancakes”.