Tag: Fly-by-night operation? crossword clue

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 13m 36s

Bill’s errors: 2

• ORO Y PLATA (Ora y plata!!!)
• AVEENO (Aveena!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7A Hit up quickly : PINGED

In the world of computer science, a ping is a test message sent over a network between computers to check for a response and to measure the time of that response. We now use the verb “to ping” more generally, meaning to send someone a message, usually a reminder.

13A Muralist on some Mexican 500-peso notes : RIVERA

Diego Rivera was a prominent Mexican painter and muralist who is best known for his large-scale murals that depict social and political issues of his time. He was married four times, including to the artist Frida Kahlo, who was his third wife. Rivera was an outspoken communist and a strong supporter of the Soviet Union. This led to some controversy in his home country of Mexico, as well as in the US, where his political beliefs were viewed with suspicion during the Cold War. In 1933, Rivera was commissioned to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center in New York City, but it was later destroyed due to its controversial political themes.

14A Citrus hybrid : TANGELO

The fruit called a tangelo is a hybrid between a tangerine and either a grapefruit or a pomelo (which gives it the name). A pomelo is a very large, pear-shaped citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. The Jamaican form of tangelo is known as the ugli fruit.

17A Place to go for a drive? : TEE

In the game of golf, a “tee” is a wooden or plastic peg on which one can place a ball when “teeing off”. Also, the “teeing ground” (sometimes “tee” or “tee box”) is the area at the beginning of the hole from which the first stroke is taken, from where one tees off.

18A Mosslike organisms : LICHENS

Lichens are interesting organisms, as they are made up of a partnership of a fungus and either an alga or a bacterium existing in a symbiotic relationship. The algae or bacteria are capable of photosynthesis, and so manufacture simple sugars using light and carbon dioxide from the air. The fungus uses the manufactured sugars, and in return provides a stable environment for the algae or bacteria to thrive.

20A Only Canadian NBA city, for short : TOR

The Raptors are an NBA basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The franchise was founded, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, when the NBA expanded into Canada in 1995. However, the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001, leaving the Raptors as the only Canadian member of the league. The selection of the name “Raptors” in 1995 was strongly influenced by the popularity of the movie “Jurassic Park in the mid-nineties.

23A Valley known as the “Garden of France” : LOIRE

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet. It is also home to some of the nation’s most spectacular châteaux. There are over 300 castles along the river, built by French kings and their courtiers.

25A Montana motto : ORO Y PLATA

“Oro y Plata” means “gold and silver”, and is the state motto of Montana. The motto was written in Spanish, apparently because “it had a nice ring to it”.

33A “Days of Our Lives” actress on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” : LISA RINNA

Actress and TV personality Lisa Rinna is likely best known for her appearances in reality programming, like “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”. Earlier in her career, she was a soap opera star, playing a character in “Days of Our Lives”. She married actor Harry Hamlin, portrayer of Michael Kuzak in “L.A. Law”, in 1997. They later featured together in their own reality show “Harry Loves Lisa”.

38A Small porch : STOOP

A stoop is a raised platform at the door of a house. “Stoop” came into American and Canadian English in the mid-1700s from the Dutch “stoep” meaning “flight of steps”.

40A “Details later” letters : TBA

To be advised/announced (TBA)

43A Tom yum __ soup : GAI

Tom yum is a delicious spicy soup served in Thai restaurants. It is usually described as “hot and sour”, and I love it …

49A Snapple rival : NESTEA

Nestea is a brand of iced tea made by Nestlé. The name is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “tea”.

50A Fly-by-night operation? : RED-EYE

A red-eye flight is one departing late at night and arriving early the next morning. The term “red-eye” is a reference to tired passengers disembarking with red eyes.

51A Sturdy woolens : TWEEDS

Tweed is a rough woolen fabric that is very much associated with Scotland in the UK, and with County Donegal in Ireland. The cloth was originally called “tweel”, the Scots word for “twill”. Apparently a London merchant misinterpreted some handwriting in the early 1800s and assumed the fabric was called “tweed”, a reference to the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck …

Down

1D Spelunking site : GROTTO

A grotto is a cave or cavern. “Grotto” is a word that we have imported from Italian, in which language it has the same meaning, and can also describe a vault.

“Spelunking” is an American term describing recreational caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

3D Active Naturals brand : AVEENO

Aveeno is a manufacturer of skincare and haircare products that was founded in 1945. The name Aveeno comes from the Latin name for the common oat, i.e. Avena sativa.

4D Airport code in Victoria : MEL

The Melbourne-Tullamarine Airport (MEL) is the second busiest airport in Australia (after Sydney Airport) and serves the city of Melbourne. It opened for business in 1970, after six years of construction.

Victoria is the most densely populated state in Australia, with most inhabitants living in the state capital of Melbourne. Just like the Australian state of Queensland, Victoria was named for Queen Victoria, the British monarch at the time the state was founded.

6D Toy spaniels : PAPILLONS

The papillon is a Spaniel-type breed of dog. It is very small, and so falls into the toy category of breeds. The name “papillon” is French, and reflects the butterfly look of its long-haired, pricked-up ears. A papillon with dropped-ears is called a “phalène”, which is French for “moth”.

7D Stewart who won the U.S. Open twice in the 1990s : PAYNE

Payne Stewart was a crowd favorite on the golf course, and someone always recognizable as he wore flamboyant attire that included bright, patterned knickerbockers. Sadly, Stewart died in a famous airplane accident. All aboard the private plane in which he was travelling, including the pilots, succumbed to hypoxia after a loss of cabin pressure. The stricken plane flew for hours on autopilot escorted by USAF planes, until it ran out of fuel and crashed in South Dakota.

9D Many a charitable gp. : NGO

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

11D Los Angeles suburb : EL MONTE

The California city of El Monte is in Los Angeles County. It was named by the Spanish “El Monte” meaning “the meadow”. Back in the late 18th century, the area was a fertile oasis lying between the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers.

16D Hot dog option : WHITE ONIONS

A hot dog is a sausage served in a split roll. The term “hot dog” dates back to the 19th-century and is thought to reflect a commonly-held opinion that the sausages contained dog meat.

22D Padmé Amidala’s grandson : KYLO REN

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

In the “Star Wars” universe, Padmé Amidala is the Queen of the planet Naboo. Played very ably by Natalie Portman, Padmé becomes the secret wife of Anakin Skywalker, later revealed to be Darth Vader. As such, Padmé is also the mother of Luke Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia Organa.

36D Athletic brand based in Bavaria : ADIDAS

The Adidas brand dates back to when Adolf “Adi” Dassler started making his own sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room in Bavaria after returning from WWI. With his brother, Adi founded Dassler shoes. The company’s big break came in 1936 at the Berlin Olympics, when Adi persuaded American sprinter Jesse Owens to use his shoes, and with the success of Jesse Owens came success for the fledgling shoe company. After WWII the brothers split, acrimoniously. Adi’s brother, Ru-dolf Da-ssler, formed “Ruda” shoes (later to become Puma), and Adi Das-sler formed “Adidas”.

Bavaria in southeast Germany is the largest state in the country. The capital and largest city in Bavaria is Munich.

37D Aston Martin DB12, for one : GT CAR

In the automotive world, “GT” stands for “Grand Touring” or “Gran Turismo”.

Aston Martin is a British car manufacturer founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin. The Aston part of the company name comes from Aston Hill, a famous site for hill-climbing cars that is nearby the original factory. Aston Martin cars are much loved by the British entertainment industry. James Bond was given one in “Goldfinger”, and Michael Caine drove one in the 1969 version of “The Italian Job”. Also, Roger Moore’s character drove a yellow Aston Martin in the seventies television show “The Persuaders!”.

38D Three-ingredient treat : S’MORE

S’mores are treats peculiar to North America that are usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

41D Baby bok __ : CHOY

Bok choy is a variety of Chinese cabbage. “Bok choy” translates as “white vegetable”.

45D Nor. neighbor : SWE.

The border between Norway and Sweden, which is the longest for both countries at 1,630 kilometers, was formally defined by a treaty in 1751. A special addendum known as the Lapp Codicil was created to address the Sami people’s traditional way of life. This agreement granted the Sami the right to continue their traditional migratory reindeer herding without regard for the newly established border.

47D Tip of the tongue? : -ESE

Chinese, perhaps, or Portuguese.