Tag: Flight maintenance word crossword clue

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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris

Today’s Reveal Answer: Cornerstone

Today’s grid includes four types of STONE hidden in the CORNERS of the grid. The stones’ names use letters running into and out of each corner square:

• 37A Architectural marker, or what can be found four times in this puzzle : CORNERSTONE

The CORNER STONES are:

• MARBLE
• BASALT
• SHALE
• PUMICE

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

Bill’s time: 10m 08s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Support pieces : STUDS

In home construction, a wall stud is a vertical member providing support inside a wall.

10 Execs’ wall displays : MBAS

The world’s first Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree was offered by Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, in 1908.

14 Houston campus : RICE

Rice University is a private school in Houston, Texas. William Marsh Rice had made a will endowing the funds for the establishment of the school at the time of his death. When he was found dead one morning in his bed, his lawyer announced that his will had been changed, with the bulk of Rice’s estate actually going to the lawyer making the announcement. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the lawyer had paid Rice’s valet to murder his employer using chloroform and a fake will was written. Eventually, the original will was deemed valid and the funds were disbursed so that the school could be built.

15 Fiddlers follower, in verse : … THREE

Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there’s none so rare, as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

16 Soft drink opener? : COCA-

The exact formula for Coca-Cola is a trade secret. The secret recipe is locked in a vault. That vault is on public display in the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta, Georgia.

18 Flight maintenance word : DEICE

Deicing is the process of removing snow and ice from a surface. Deicing is particularly important for aircraft operating in freezing conditions. Ice on the surface of a plane can change its aerodynamics, and dislodged ice can cause damage to engines.

19 Worldwide: Abbr. : INTL

International (intl.)

22 Toucan’s pride : BEAK

The toucan is a brightly-marked bird with a large, colorful bill. The name “toucan” comes into English via Portuguese from the Tupi name “tukana”. The Tupi were an indigenous people of Brazil.

23 I.M. Pei alma mater : MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

I. M. Pei (full name: Ieoh Ming Pei) was an exceptional American architect who was born in China. Of Pei’s many wonderful works, my favorite is the renovation of the Louvre in Paris, and especially the Glass Pyramid in the museum’s courtyard.

26 Word with board or mentioned : ABOVE

We use “above board” to mean “on the up and up, without any trickery”. The phrase dates back to the 17th century, and comes from the gaming world. Card players who keep their hands above the board (i.e. the card table) are assumed to be playing openly and fairly.

28 Sudden flight : 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, to scram”.

29 Actress Longoria : EVA

Eva Longoria is a fashion model and actress who had a regular role on TV’s “Desperate Housewives”, playing Gabrielle Solis.

32 Romance novelist Hilderbrand : ELIN

Elin Hilderbrand is an author of romance novels who was once dubbed “the queen of summer beach read” by the “New York Post”. When growing up, she spent her summers on Cape Cod, and now lives on Nantucket Island. As a result, Hilderbrand sets all of her works on and around Nantucket.

34 Natural climber : IVY

The species of flowering plant Hedera helix is variously referred to as common ivy, English ivy, or usually just plain “ivy”. “Hedera” is the generic term for “ivy”, and “helix” is Greek for “spiral, twist, turn”.

36 SUV part, briefly : UTE

“SUV” is an initialism standing for “sports utility vehicle”, and is a term that was introduced by our marketing friends. Using the phrase “sports utility vehicle” was a very clever way to get us to pay a lot of money for what was essentially a station wagon on a truck chassis, or at least it was back then.

37 Architectural marker, or what can be found four times in this puzzle : CORNERSTONE

In practical terms, a cornerstone is the first stone set during the construction of a building with a masonry foundation. Also known as the foundation stone or setting stone, the cornerstone determines the final position of the final structure, as all other stones are laid with reference to that first stone. For some time, we’ve also used the term “cornerstone” in a ceremonial sense. A ceremonial cornerstone is set in a prominent position at the corner of a wall, and usually bears significant information such as date of construction and names of the architect and builder.

41 WWII org. with a Pallas Athene symbol : WAC

The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was formed in 1942, and the unit was converted to full status the following year to become the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). I like a quotation from the front of the WAC physical training manual from 1943: “Your Job: To Replace Men. Be Ready To Take Over.” Famously, General Douglas MacArthur referred to the WACs as his “best soldiers”, saying they worked harder, complained less and were better disciplined than men. The WACs were disbanded in 1978 and the serving members were integrated into the rest of the army.

The insignia of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was the head of the Greek goddess Pallas Athene. Apparently, the symbol was selected as Athena was the goddess of”victory and womanly virtue”, and “wise in peace and in the arts of war”.

42 __ Paulo : SAO

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil. It is also the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world. This is partly driven by the horrendous traffic jams in São Paulo, but also by the wealthy having a very real fear of being kidnapped on the city’s streets.

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the fifth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, China and the US). Brazil was a Portuguese colony from 1500 to 1815. The official name of the country under Portuguese rule was Terra da Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross). However, European sailors used the name Terra do Brasil (Land of Brazil), a reference to the brazilwood tree that was much prized in Europe for the deep red dye that it produced.

43 Govt. agents : T-MEN

A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (“T” stands for “Treasury”).

46 Some surfers : WAHINES

“Wahine” is a word meaning “woman”, in both Hawaiian and Maori.

57 VII x CCC : MMC

In Roman numerals, VII x CCC = MMC (7 x 300 = 2,100)

58 Ottoman honorific : AGHA

“Aga” (also “agha”) is a title that was used by both civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

59 Hall of Famer who was a Yankee manager and a Mets coach : BERRA

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some greats:

• It ain’t over till it’s over.
• 90% of the game is half mental.
• Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
• When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
• It’s déjà vu all over again.
• Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.
• A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

60 Canapé delicacy : PATE

Pâté is a rich spreadable paste made from a mixture of ground meat and fat, to which various vegetables, herbs and spices may be added. The most famous version of the paste is pâté de foie gras, which is made from the fattened livers of geese (“foie gras” means “fat liver” in French).

A canapé is a finger food, something small enough to eat in just one bite. In French, “canapé” is actually the word for a couch or a sofa. The name was given to the snack as the original canapés were savories served on toasted or stale bread that supposedly resembled a tiny couch.

67 Rockies state : UTAH

North America’s Rocky Mountains stretch from the very north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the US. The length of the range is over 3,000 miles. The highest point is Mount Elbert in Colorado, which has an elevation of 14,440 feet.

68 Modern navigation aids : MICE

The computer mouse was invented at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963, by one Douglas Engelbart. Sadly for him, his patent ran out before mice became standard equipment on computers, so he never made any money from his amazing invention.

70 Ward of “FBI” : SELA

Actress Sela Ward turns up in crosswords a lot. Ward played Teddy Reed in the TV show “Sisters” in the nineties, and was in “Once and Again” from 1999-2002. I don’t know either show, but I do know Ward from the medical drama “House” in which she played the hospital’s lawyer and Greg House’s ex-partner. That was a fun role, I thought. More recently, Ward played a lead role on “CSI: NY” and was a very welcome and much-needed addition to the cast. And, Ward played Dr. Richard Kimble’s murdered wife in the 1993 film version of “The Fugitive”.

The TV crime drama “FBI” premiered in 2018, and centers on the FBI office in New York City. Star of the show is Canadian actress Missy Peregrym, who plays FBI special agent Maggie Bell.

Down

1 Berry bush : BRAMBLE

The prickly and tangled shrubs that grow blackberries, dewberries and raspberries are known collectively as brambles.

3 Like Paul Samuelson’s field : ECONOMIC

Economist Paul Samuelson was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, doing so in 1970. He was also the author of the 1948 textbook “Foundations of Economic Analysis”, which was to become the best-selling economics textbook of all time.

5 Criterion: Abbr. : STD

Standard (std.)

6 Key ending words? : … THE BRAVE

Here are the words (and punctuation) of the poem “The Star-Spangled Banner” penned by Francis Scott Key in 1814:

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

7 Archangel of repentance : URIEL

Uriel is one of the archangels in the Jewish and Christian traditions. He makes a few notable appearances in literature: in John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” and in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Uriel”.

10 Defunct AT&T rival : MCI

MCI was a giant telecom company that suffered a similar fate to Enron, and around about the same time. MCI was formed with the merger of MCI Communications and WorldCom in 1997, and eventually became the second-largest, long-distance provider in the US. MCI’s stock price fell in 2000 and, in maneuvers designed to protect the price, the company committed illegal acts. MCI’s larger-than-life CEO Bernie Ebbers (formerly of WorldCom) served 13 years of a 25-year sentence, before being released due to a decline in health. He died one month later.

11 Witticism : BON MOT

“Bon mot” translates from French as “good word”. We use “bon mot” (and sometimes just “mot”) to mean “quip, witticism”.

13 Like roads in winter, at times : SALTED

Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, and is also known as “rock salt”. Halite is used to melt ice, as salt water has a lower freezing point than pure water. Adding salt to icy sidewalks can therefore cause any ice to melt (as long as the ambient temperature isn’t too low). A mixture of halite and ice can also be used to cool things below the freezing point of water, perhaps to make ice cream.

27 Spiner of “Star Trek: T.N.G.” : BRENT

Actor Brent Spiner plays the android named Lieutenant Commander Data on television’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Spiner also played the eccentric Dr. Brackish Okun in the 1996 movie “Independence Day”.

35 Annual arrivals: Abbr. : YRS

The Earth takes about 365¼ days to orbit the Sun. And so, by one definition, a year (a tropical year) lasts 365¼ days. As we progress through 365-day years, we get out of sync with the “true” year, and so the sun appears in a slightly different place in the sky at the same time and date, year after year. Pope Gregory XIII decided to deal with this issue when he introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. As each 365-day year was falling behind by a quarter of a day, he decided to make a correction on a regular basis. Our modern Gregorian calendar ignores the error until it amounts to a full day. That happens once every four years (4 x ¼), and so we have an extra day every fourth February (the 29th).

38 Tirade : RANT

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

39 Subtitle of Enya’s Grammy-winning “Orinoco Flow” : SAIL AWAY

“Orinoco Flow” is a song by Irish singer Enya that she released in 1988. It’s the one that goes “sail away, sail away, sail away …”

40 Settle in a new country : EMIGRATE

The verbs “to emigrate” and “to immigrate” are related, but not the same. To emigrate is to leave one’s native country to live in another. To immigrate is to move into a non-native country to live there. As an example, Albert Einstein emigrated from Germany, and immigrated to the US.

45 Boris’ sidekick : NATASHA

Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale are all characters in the cartoon show “Rocky and Bullwinkle”. Fearless Leader is the dictatorial ruler of Pottsylvania, and Boris and Natasha are two of his minions, two inept government agents.

46 Old Native American currency beads : WAMPUM

Wampum are sacred shell beads of North American tribes in the Eastern United States. The early European colonists often used wampum to trade with the native peoples. From this original usage, “wampum” came to be a slang term for money.

47 Luxury fashion name : ARMANI

Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the company that has borne his name since 1975. Although Armani is famous for his menswear, the company makes everything from jewelry to perfume.

49 Seal on a ring : SIGNET

A signet is a seal, in particular one used by an official to mark a document. A signet can be incorporated into a “signet ring”.

55 Capital at 12,000 feet : LHASA

Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, with the name “Lhasa” translating as “place of the gods”. However, Lhasa used to be called Rasa, a name that translates into the less auspicious “goat’s place”. Lhasa was also once called the “Forbidden City” due to its inaccessible location high in the Himalayas and a traditional hostility exhibited by residents to outsiders. The “forbidden” nature of the city has been reinforced since the Chinese took over Tibet in the early 1950s as it has been difficult for foreigners to get permission to visit Lhasa.

56 Picture puzzle : REBUS

A rebus is a puzzle that uses pictures to represent letters and groups of letters. For example, a picture of a “ewe” might represent the letter “U” or the pronoun “you”, a picture of an “oar” might represent the letter “R” or the conjunction “or”, and a picture of an “awl” might represent the word “all”.

61 Summer at the Sorbonne : ETE

“Sorbonne” is the name usually used for the old University of Paris, and some of the institutions that have succeeded it. The institution was named for French theologian Robert de Sorbonne who founded the original Collège de Sorbonne in 1257. That’s quite a while ago …

63 Start to snow? : ESS

The word “snow” starts with a letter S (ess).