Tag: Get ready to start fly-fishing say crossword clue

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Constructed by: Tennessee Grimes

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Animal Shelter

Themed answers each comprise two parts, the first an ANIMAL, and the second a synonym of “SHELTER”:

• 34A Place to adopt a new pet, or what is found in 17-, 24-, 49-, and 59-Across? : ANIMAL SHELTER

• 17A Fraternal organization venue : ELKS LODGE
• 24A Desk accessory that might coordinate with a wrist rest : MOUSE PAD
• 49A Emphasizes passionately : RAMS HOME
• 59A “Land ho!” caller’s spot : CROW’S NEST

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

Bill’s time: 7m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A ABC show for early risers, briefly : GMA

“Good Morning America” (GMA) is ABC’s morning show, and has been since 1975. There was even a spin-off show called “Good Afternoon America”, although that only lasted for a few months in 2012.

14A Grammy winners __ Tigres del Norte : LOS

Los Tigres del Norte (The Tigers of the North) are a band that was founded in the city of Mocorito in Mexico. While still in their teens, the band members started recording after moving to San Jose, California.

15A Muscat resident : OMANI

Muscat is the capital city of Oman. It lies on the northeast coast of the state on the Gulf of Oman, a branch of the Persian Gulf.

16A Celtic priest of old : DRUID

Druids were priests of Celtic Europe during the Iron Age. Historians rely on accounts of the beliefs and practices of druids recorded by the likes of ancient Romans and Greeks, as it is believed that druids themselves were prevented from recording their knowledge by their belief system.

17A Fraternal organization venue : ELKS LODGE

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome. The list of US presidents that have been members of the BPOE includes Presidents Eisenhower, Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Ford.

19A Musical instrument similar to the xylophone, familiarly : VIBES

A vibraphone is similar to a xylophone, but it has aluminum instead of wooden bars. It is most commonly seen as part of a jazz ensemble.

23A Device at a parking spot : METER

An early patent for a parking meter, dated 1928, was for a device that required the driver of the parked car to connect the battery of his or her car to the meter in order for it to operate!

28A Oscar hopeful : NOMINEE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is the organization that gives the annual Academy Awards, also known as the “Oscars”. The root of the name “Oscar” is hotly debated, but what is agreed is that the award was officially named “Oscar” in 1939. The first Academy Awards were presented at a brunch in 1929 with an audience of just 29 people. The Awards ceremony is a slightly bigger event these days …

40A Latch (onto) : GLOM

“Glom” is a slang term meaning “steal”, although it can also be used to mean “latch onto” when used as “glom onto”. The term probably comes from the Scots word “glam” meaning “to snatch at”.

42A Kenya’s continent : AFRICA

Kenya lies on the east coast of Africa, right on the equator. The country takes its name from Mount Kenya, the second-highest peak on the continent (after Kilimanjaro). The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili.

51A Salami choice : GENOA

Genoa salami is made using preservation techniques that originated in ancient Rome.

54A Ugly garment at many a holiday party : SWEATER

Until the early 1880s, the word “sweater” applied to clothing worn specifically for weight reduction by “sweating”.

56A Pinkberry dessert, familiarly : FROYO

Pinkberry is a chain of frozen dessert outlets that is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Pinkberry’s desserts were originally marketed as frozen yogurt, but that description didn’t fit with criteria laid down by the State of California. After a hiatus of a few years, apparently the “yogurt” moniker is in use again.

59A “Land ho!” caller’s spot : CROW’S NEST

A crow’s nest is a structure atop the mainmast of a ship that is used as a lookout point. The first crow’s nest was erected in 1807, and was simply a barrel that was lashed to the tallest mast. Supposedly, the structure is named for the crows or ravens that Vikings carried with them on their voyages. The birds were released and used as navigation aids as invariably, the crow or raven headed straight for the nearest land.

The cry of “land ho!” from a sailor means that land has just been spotted. A similar shout is “sail ho!”, indicating that another boat has been spotted.

62A __ Major: constellation with Sirius, the Dog Star : CANIS

Canis Major is Latin for “greater dog”, and is the constellation containing the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. Because of its location in Canis Major, Sirius is also known as the Dog Star.

63A Many ICU pros : RNS

A registered nurse (RN) might work in an intensive care unit (ICU).

65A Actress Harmon : ANGIE

Actress Angie Harmon is perhaps best known from playing Boston police detective Jane Rizzoli on the crime-drama show “Rizzoli & Isles”. In 2000, a marriage proposal from former NFL player Jason Sehorn was quite a public affair. He surprised Harmon by walking out, bending on one knee, and asking her to marry him. Their marriage produced three daughters, but ended with a separation after 13 years.

Down

4D Room with a lot of natural light : SOLARIUM

A solarium (plural “solaria”) is a sunroom or sun lounge, a structure usually built onto the side of a house that contains a lot of glass to let in the sun.

5D Frenzied : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

7D U.K. part : ENG

The terms “United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” and “England” can sometimes be confused. The official use of “United Kingdom” originated in 1707 with the Acts of Union that declared the countries of England and Scotland as “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”. The name changed again with the Acts of Union 1800 that created the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” (much to the chagrin of most of the Irish population). This was partially reversed in 1927 when the current name was introduced, the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in recognition of an independent Irish Free State in the south of the island of Ireland.

8D Soccer great Maradona : DIEGO

Diego Maradona had to have been the most famous of Argentina’s soccer players. He was also one of the country’s most controversial sportsmen and was noted for his outspoken manner with journalists, as well as his cocaine addiction. He was often referred to by his nickname “El Pibe de Oro” (The Golden Boy).

11D Irish tavern : PUB

Oh, how I miss them …

25D Title for Robert Prevost since May 8, 2025 : POPE

Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the US, in 2025, taking the name Leo XIV. He chose the name Leo in part to honor Pope Leo XIII, who was known for his social teachings which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism. The choice of name suggests a continuation of the emphasis placed by Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, on social justice and reform.

26D Common topic for a bachata crooner : AMOR

The bachata genre of music that emerged in the mid-1900s in the Dominican Republic. It originated in poorer parts of the country, and incorporated elements of Spanish, indigenous Taino and African music. The style was initially known as “música de amargue”, or “bitter music,” because of its lyrics about heartbreak and despair. The name change to “bachata”, meaning “party, revelry”, helped the genre gain mainstream acceptance.

29D Govt. intel org. : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

34D Automaker __ Romeo : ALFA

The “Alfa” in “Alfa Romeo” is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

37D Roman Empire raider : HUN

The Huns were a nomadic people who originated in Eastern Europe in the 4th century. Under the command of Attila the Hun they developed a unified empire that stretched from modern-day Germany across to the steppes of Central Asia. The whole of the Hunnic Empire collapsed within a year of Attila’s death in 453 AD.

39D Philanthropist’s quality : LARGESSE

Philanthropy is a concern for human welfare, and the act of donating to persons or groups who support such concerns. The term “philanthropy” derives from the Greek “phil-” meaning “loving”, and “anthropos” meaning “mankind”.

40D Skinny swimmer : GAR

“Gar” was originally the name given to a species of needlefish found in the North Atlantic. The term “gar” is now used to describe several species of fish with elongated bodies that inhabit North and Central America and the Caribbean. The gar is unusual in that it is often found in very brackish water. What I find interesting is that the gar’s swim bladders are vascularized so that they can actually function as lungs. Many species of gar can actually be seen coming to the surface and taking a gulp of air. This adaptation makes it possible for them to live in conditions highly unsuitable for other fish that rely on their gills to get oxygen out of the water. Indeed, quite interesting …

43D Cast a ballot, say : CHOOSE

Today, a ballot is a piece of paper or equivalent used to cast a vote. Back in the 1500s, a “ballot” was a small “ball” used in the process of voting.

50D Site where the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad : MECCA

In the Islamic tradition, It is believed that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in a cave on Mount Hira, which is located near the city of Mecca. While the revelation started in this specific cave, the city of Mecca itself is considered the general location where the revelation began and continued over a period of about 23 years.

55D 1940s conflict, for short : WWII

World War II started on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, falsely claiming that Poland had invaded German territory. Two days later, France and the UK declared war on Germany as a reprisal. The former British dominions of Australia, India and New Zealand followed suit within hours.

56D U.S. pres. for most of 55-Down : FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only child of Sara Delano and James Roosevelt Sr. The Delano family history in America goes back to the pilgrim Philippe de Lannoy, an immigrant of Flemish descent who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The family name “de Lannoy” was anglicized here in the US, to “Delano”. Franklin was to marry Eleanor Roosevelt, and apparently the relationship between Sara and her daughter-in-law was very “strained”.

57D __ Speedwagon : REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.