Tag: Green energy sources in some desert regions crossword clue

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Constructed by: Sean Ziebarth

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Sound Advice

Themed answers are all words of ADVICE, with each phrase starting with a SOUND:

• 61A Words of wisdom, and what 17-, 30-, and 45-Across could be called? : SOUND ADVICE

• 17A “Turn that frown upside down” : CRACK A SMILE
• 30A “Get your head on straight” : SNAP OUT OF IT
• 45A “Get on that stage and wow the crowd” : KNOCK ‘EM DEAD

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

Bill’s time: 6m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Like much of central Illinois : RURAL

The State of Illinois is known as “Land of Lincoln”, as well as “The Prairie State”.

15A “The Raven” writer, briefly : E A POE

“The Raven” is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe that tells of a student who has lost the love of his life, Lenore. A raven enters the student’s bedchamber and perches on a bust of Pallas. The raven can talk, to the student’s surprise, but says nothing but the word “nevermore” (“quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”). As the student questions all aspects of his life, the raven taunts him with the same comment, “nevermore”. Finally, the student decides that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “nevermore”.

16A “Better. Guaranteed.” gadget brand : OXO

The OXO line of kitchen utensils and housewares is designed to be ergonomically superior to the average household tools. The intended user of OXO products is someone who doesn’t have the normal range of motion or strength in the hands e.g. someone suffering from arthritis.

20A Luau performance : HULA

The hula is a native dance of Hawaii that uses arm movements to relate a story. The hula can be performed while sitting (a noho dance) or while standing (a luna dance).

21A Psychic ability : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

36A Sleep acronym : REM

“REM” is an acronym standing for “rapid eye movement”. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

43A “C’est la __!” : VIE

“C’est la vie” is French for “that’s life”.

50A Brand of riding mowers : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

51A YouTube journal : VLOG

A video blog is perhaps what one might expect, i.e. a blog that is essentially a series of video posts. The phrase “video logging” is often shortened to “vlogging”.

56A Turkey neighbor : IRAN

The Iran-Turkey border runs for just over 330 miles, in a roughly north-south direction. It extends from a tripoint with Azerbaijan in the north to a tripoint with Iraq in the south.

60A Burrito option : WET

A wet burrito is one smothered in a red chili sauce, and with shredded cheese melted on top.

64A Melissa of “The Fighter” : LEO

Melissa Leo is an Oscar-winning actress known for her roles in films like “The Fighter” and “Frozen River”, as well as her work on TV shows such as “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Louie”, for which she also won an Emmy. She has a son, John Matthew Heard, from a relationship with the late actor John Heard.

67A Cheap tix option : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

68A “The Wild Swans at Coole” writer : YEATS

Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote the poem “The Wild Swans at Coole” while staying at Coole Park in County Galway, Ireland. Coole Park was the estate of Lady Gregory, a close friend of the poet.

Down

3D North __ Sea: Central Asian lake : ARAL

The former Soviet Union decided to divert the two rivers feeding the Aral Sea in order to irrigate food and cotton crops. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea began to shrink dramatically in the 1960s due to the loss of water. Today, the Aral Sea is no more. Instead, there are two relatively small bodies of water labeled as the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea.

4D Hong Kong neighbor : MACAU

Macau (also “Macao”) is an autonomous territory of China located on the Pearl River estuary about 40 miles west of Hong Kong. It was a Portuguese colony from the mid-1500s until 1999. Macau was in fact the first European colony in China, and the last, having been handed back to the Chinese in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was returned by the British. Macau’s economy is driven by tourism and gambling. The territory’s gaming revenue is the highest for any gambling center in the world.

5D Utah’s state animal : ELK

The legislature of Utah made the elk its State Animal in 1971. Utah is the only state that has so honored the elk.

6D General aviation company owned by Textron : CESSNA

The Cessna aircraft manufacturing company was founded in 1927 by Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos in Wichita. Clyde Cessna was the first person to build and fly his own aircraft between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, doing so in 1911. The company’s most popular model is the Cessna 172, which has sold more units than any other aircraft in history since its introduction in 1956.

7D Lava __ : LAMP

The lava lamp was invented in 1960 by a British man, Edward Craven-Walker. The “lava” is a mixture of wax and carbon tetrachloride, floating in a water/glycerol mix. The wax reduces in density as it picks up heat from the incandescent bulb in the lamp’s base. The wax rises, cools, and then sinks to the bottom of the liquid only to be heated again.

8D Maker of Talk to the Hand press-on nails : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film. Opi also launched a collection of nail lacquers inspired by the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” in celebration of its 10th anniversary on Broadway.

9D Blues : DOLDRUMS

The doldrums are a band of generally light winds and calms that span the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near the equator. More formally known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the phenomenon occurs at the interface between the northeast and southeast trade winds. We have come to use the term “doldrums” colloquially, to describe a state of listlessness, inactivity or stagnation.

11D Green energy sources in some desert regions : SOLAR FARMS

Solar farms, also known as photovoltaic power stations, are large-scale, grid-connected solar power systems designed to supply power at the utility level. A 2023 study in Canada highlighted the country’s significant potential for “agrivoltaics”, a dual-use land strategy where solar energy production is integrated with agriculture. This study suggests that installing agrivoltaic systems on just 1% of Canada’s agricultural land could generate between 25% and 33% of the country’s electricity needs.

29D Luke Skywalker’s loyal droid : ARTOO-DETOO

Artoo’s proper name is R2-D2 (also “Artoo-Detoo”). R2-D2 is the smaller of the two famous droids from the “Star Wars” movies. British actor Kenny Baker, who stood just 3 feet 8 inches tall, was the man inside the R2-D2 droid for the first six of the “Star Wars” movies.

33D On edge : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

40D Small coin : DIME

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

46D Plum who was the WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2022 : KELSEY

Kelsey Plum is a WNBA player, a three-time All-Star who was named the WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2022. She also held the NCAA Division I women’s all-time scoring record from her college career at Washington. Beyond the basketball court, Plum has a passion for cigars and has even developed her own cigar brand: Kingmakers Kelsey Plum Signature Limited Edition.

48D Baja’s opposite : ALTA

In Spanish, “baja” is “low” and “alta” is “high”.

53D Parliament birds : OWLS

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

62D Jenny Thompson’s team : USA

Jenny Thompson is one of the most decorated Olympians in history, having earned twelve medals, including eight gold, across four Summer Olympic Games from 1992 to 2004. After retiring from competitive swimming, Thompson pursued a career in medicine, receiving her medical degree from Columbia University and completing a residency in anesthesiology.

63D Genetic blueprint : DNA

DNA contains nucleotide base sequences called genes, which are blueprints used in the manufacture of proteins needed by the body. Our DNA is also “decorated” with epigenetic markers that modify the activity level of genes, and can even turn genes off. These epigenetic markers respond to environmental conditions, so that organisms with the same DNA can exhibit differences in behavior and appearance, as a result of differing environments. This explains why identical twins develop differences in appearance over time.

Blueprints are reproductions of technical or architectural drawings that are contact prints made on light-sensitive sheets. They were introduced in the 1800s and the technology available dictated that the drawings were reproduced with white lines on a blue background, hence the name “blue-print”.