Tag: Flight segment crossword clue

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Constructed by: Jess Rucks & Andrew Kingsley

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Pardon My French

Themed answers are common phrases with the first word replaced by another that is phonetically identically, but FRENCH:

• 38A “Please excuse the bad language,” and what can be said about 18-, 26-, 55-, and 65-Across : PARDON MY FRENCH

• 18A “You can’t be serious!” : EAU BROTHER! (from “Oh brother!”)
• 26A Chant from a giant : FILLE-FI-FO-FUM! (from “Fee-fi-fo-fum!”)
• 55A First words of the Constitution : OUI THE PEOPLE (from “We the people”)
• 65A “RuPaul’s Drag Race” catchphrase : SACHET AWAY! (from “Sashay away!”)

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

Bill’s time: 8m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Chews like a beaver : GNAWS

Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. They are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.

15A Super Monkey Ball company : SEGA

“Super Monkey Ball” is a series of video games that debuted in 2001 as a Sega arcade title simply called “Monkey Ball”. One of the unique features of the arcade game is that it has a memorable joystick that looks like a bright yellow banana.

16A Dulce de __ : LECHE

“Dulce de leche” is Spanish for “candy of milk”, and is a confection made by slowly heating milk and sugar until it develops a pleasing flavor and color.

17A Native Alaskan : ALEUT

The Aleuts live on the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific, and on the Commander Islands at the western end of the same island chain. The Aleutian Islands are part of the United States, and the Commander Islands are in Russia.

18A “You can’t be serious!” : EAU BROTHER! (from “Oh brother!”)

“Eau” (plural “eaux”) is the French word for “water”.

20A Undersea data carrier : CABLE

The world’s first international undersea cable was a telegraph line connecting Dover, England and Calais, France. Laid in 1850, it only operated for a single day as a French fisherman accidentally snagged the copper wire with his anchor.

21A Flight segment : RISER

The riser is the vertical part of a step in a flight of stairs.

24A Bulldogs sch. : UGA

The sports teams of the University of Georgia are called the Bulldogs. The team mascot is known as Hairy Dawg. “Forbes” magazine once listed Hairy Dawg as the third-best sports mascot. Impressive …

26A Chant from a giant : FILLE-FI-FO-FUM! (from “Fee-fi-fo-fum!”)

The line “fee-fi-fo-fum” (with various spellings) comes from the famous English fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Within the story, the giant at the top of the beanstalk utters a little poem when he detects the presence of Jack:

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

In French, a “fille” (girl, daughter) might be addressed as “Mademoiselle” (Miss).

30A Flight segment : STEP

A landing is the area at the top and bottom of a staircase. Apparently, we call the steps between the landings a “flight” of stairs, because one “flies” between landings! Can that be true?

37A Cal. neighbor : ARI

Most of the Arizona-California state line is defined by the winding path of the Colorado River, a boundary established when Arizona became a US territory in 1863. The river has shifted its course over the decades, but the official border remains in the middle of the main channel as it existed during the original surveys.

44A Pilates surface : MAT

Pilates is a physical exercise system developed by, and named for, German physical trainer Joseph Pilates. Pilates developed his system of exercises, which he called “Contrology”, while interned by the British during World War One.

45A 56-Down pioneer : AOL
[56D Username, often : EMAIL]

AOL’s “first” initial public offering was in 1992. Years later, the company was picked up by Time Warner (not a great investment for Time Warner, it turned out). AOL was spun off as a separate entity again in 2009 and the new company had a “second” IPO that same year.

52A Indent key : TAB

Like many features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious, involving lots of tapping on the spacebar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.

54A __ ayam: Indonesian chicken noodle soup : SOTO

Soto ayam is a traditional Indonesian chicken soup with a vibrant yellow color. That color comes from the use of turmeric as a main ingredient. Today, soto ayam is one of Indonesia’s official national dishes.

55A First words of the Constitution : OUI THE PEOPLE (from “We the people”)

The US Constitution begins with the words “We the People …” So, the first “article” in the text of the document is the “definite article”, i.e. “the”. Hah!

In French, “oui” (yes) might be stated more emphatically as “certainement!” (certainly!).

65A “RuPaul’s Drag Race” catchphrase : SACHET AWAY! (from “Sashay away!”)

A sachet is a small packet of perfumed powder left in perhaps a closet or trunk to scent clothes. The word “sachet” is a diminutive of the French word “sac” meaning “bag”.

To sashay is to strut along in a showy manner. “Sashay” is an Anglicized form of the French word “chassé”, a sliding step used in square dancing.

In the TV reality competition show “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, RuPaul announces the fate of the bottom two competitors with the terms “shantay” and “sashay away”. The former, a play on the French greeting “enchanté”, is used in place of “you stay”. The latter is a dismissal.

69A Religion with a call to prayer five times a day : ISLAM

Salah (also “salat”) are daily prayers performed by the faithful in the Islamic tradition. Collectively, the prayers form the second of the Five Pillars of Islam.

71A Imperial gem of ancient China : JADE

“Jade” is actually the name given to two different mineral rocks, both of which are used to make gemstones. The first is nephrite, a mineral with a varying degree of iron content, the more iron the greener the color. The second is jadeite, a sodium and aluminum-rich pyroxene. As well as being used for gemstones, both jade minerals can be carved into decorative pieces.

73A Kills it on the runway : SLAYS

In the world of fashion, the runway or catwalk is a platform used by models to show their clothes. The platform usually projects into the audience.

74A Mars counterpart : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. He united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

Down

3D Christina of “Burlesque” : AGUILERA

“Burlesque” is a 2010 musical film starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. Aguilera plays a singer who finds work in a Neo-Burlesque club in Los Angeles, where she meets a former dancer who becomes her mentor (played by Cher).

5D “I Will Survive” singer Gaynor : GLORIA

Gloria Gaynor is a singer who had most success during the disco era, most notably with “I Will Survive” in 1979. Gaynor released “I Will Survive” as a B-side to “Substitute”, a cover version to a Righteous Brothers song. “Substitute” made it to #107 in the charts in December 1978. “I Will Survive” hit the #1 spot three months later.

7D German cry : ACH!

The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

9D Ornamental lines : SERIFS

Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif, using the French word “sans” meaning “without” and “serif” from the Dutch “schreef” meaning “line”. Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

10D Go the wrong way? : BACKFIRE

Back in the 1830s, settlers in the prairies of North America would fight fire with fire. They would set a “backfire” that burned a strip of land in the path of an approaching wildfire, creating a fuel-free zone that halted the blaze. Firefighters still use backfires today, although the term “backfire” is also used as a verb to describe a plan that yields the exact opposite of its intended result.

11D Gulf st. : ALA

Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State, in honor of the state bird. It is also called the “Heart of Dixie”.

13D Tabbouleh grain : BULGUR

Bulgur is a cereal made from the groats (hulled kernels) of wheat, usually durum wheat.

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish made from tomatoes, and chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, along with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. The name “tabbouleh” comes from the Arabic “taabil” meaning “seasoning”. I love tabbouleh …

14D Like some “Heated Rivalry” scenes : STEAMY

“Heated Rivalry” is a Canadian TV drama that is based on the “Game Changers” series of books by Rachel Reid. The story follows a decade-long secret romance between professional hockey rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. In honor of the international success of the show, Williams and Storrie served as torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, carrying the Olympic flame through the town of Feltre. In the show, their characters competed in a fictionized version of the Winter Games.

27D Pride member : LION

Here are some colorful collective nouns:

• A pride of lions
• A shrewdness of apes
• A cloud of bats
• A bench of bishops
• A parliament of owls
• A clowder of cats
• A waddling of ducks
• An army of frogs
• A knot of toads

28D Quechua pack animal : LLAMA

The Quechua people are the most populous indigenous group in South America. Most Quechua speakers live in Peru, but there are large groups also living in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina. Many Quechua possess expanded lung capacities, an evolutionary trait that developed in response to living at high altitude in the Andes.

36D Capital in Honshu’s Kansai region : KYOTO

The Kansai region of Japan is part of Honshu, Japan’s main island. It is historically significant, as home to the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto.

40D Abalone eater : OTTER

The large edible sea snails that we call abalone are called ormer in Britain and Ireland, and are served as “awabi” at a sushi bar. The abalone shell resembles a human ear, giving rise to the alternative names “ear shell” and “sea ear”.

42D Backdrop of an animated series in a Lucasfilm franchise : CLONE WAR

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is an animated TV series that aired from 2008 to 2020. In a novel move, the series was launched in 2008 with a theatrical feature film bearing the same title, which was also animated. In terms of the timeline in the “Star Wars” universe, the Clone Wars kick off just after the end of the action in the movie “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”.

43D Harsh negativity, in slang : HATERADE

An extremely negative person might be described as having drunk the “haterade”, a play on the beverage name “Gatorade”.

48D Like some heart valves : AORTIC

The aortic valve is one of the heart’s four valves. It is located between the left ventricle and the aorta, and allows blood to flow out from the left ventricle into the aorta, and not the other way.

49D Gymnast Lee who won the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025 : SUNISA

Sunisa Lee is an artistic gymnast, a member of the “Golden Girls” team that won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She won the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025 in recognition of her securing three medals at the 2024 Paris Games after battling a career-threatening kidney disease that forced her to stop training for six months.

50D Natural rug fibers : SISALS

The sisal plant is an agave, the flesh of which is not generally used in making tequila. Sisal is grown instead for the fibers that run the length of its leaves. The fiber is used extensively for twine, rope, carpeting, wall coverings etc. My favorite application though, is in the construction of dartboards. Sisal takes its name from the port of Sisal in Yucatan, Mexico that was a major shipping point for sisal plants.

57D CPR expert : EMT

An emergency medical technician (EMT) might administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

62D Cal. neighbor, informally : BAJA

Baja California is both the most northern and the most western of the Mexican states. The name translates from Spanish as “Lower California”.

66D Nashville honor, for short : CMA

Country Music Association (CMA)