Tag: Inconsequential moment crossword clue

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Constructed by: Kareem Ayas & Brian Callahan

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: En Masse

Themed answers are common phrases, but with “-ON” ADDED to the end:

• 133A Appended, or an alternate title for this puzzle : ADDED ON

• 23A “Don’t be afraid to embrace fan fiction!”? : KICK THE CANON (from “kick the can”)
• 30A Encouraging message to a sad nobleman? : CHIN-UP, BARON (from “chin-up bar”)
• 51A Garment that’s entirely unsuitable for cooking? : ZERO PERCENT APRON (from “zero percent APR”)
• 68A Title for Elroy during his boot camp days? : PRIVATE JETSON (from “private jets”)
• 90A Game that involves old-fashioned wine vessels? : CAPTURE THE FLAGON (from “capture the flag”)
• 108A Offering from an African republic? : GIFT OF GABON (from “gift of gab”)
• 122A Feature of a “Twilight” relay race? : VAMPIRE BATON (from “vampire bat”)

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

Bill’s time: 15m 50s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

19A Substance in an Erlenmeyer flask, maybe : CHEMICAL

An Erlenmeyer flask is a vessel used in laboratories that was designed by German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer in 1860. It has a distinctive conical shape that allows the contents to be swirled vigorously without splashing, which is a key advantage over a standard beaker.

20A Pont Neuf river : SEINE

Paradoxically, Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge standing today that crosses the River Seine in Paris. The paradox is that the name translates to “new bridge”. The bridge is in two parts, as it crosses from the Left Bank to the Île de la Cité (on which stands Notre Dame) and then from the Île de la Cité to the Right Bank.

23A “Don’t be afraid to embrace fan fiction!”? : KICK THE CANON (from “kick the can”)

Back in the 15th century, the word “canon” was used to describe the whole collection of the books of the Bible accepted by the Christian church, the so-called “Scriptures”. In the 1930s, the term was adopted by fans of the “Sherlock Holmes” stories to describe all such works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Since then, the usage of “canon” has extended to cover an accepted body of related works by a particular author.

Kick the can is a children’s game that melds hide-and-seek and tag, as “It” guards a can while other players hide. The game’s main twist is that hidden players can try to kick the can, which frees any players “It” has already captured.

25A Folklore beasts : OGRES

An ogre is a hideous monster of legend. There is a suggestion that “ogre” is French in origin and comes from “Orcus”, the name of an Etruscan underworld god who fed on human flesh. Nice guy …

26A Snacking syllable : NOM

“Om Nom Nom Nom” is a slang expression that indicates satisfied eating.

34A Falafel holders : PITAS

Falafel is a ball of ground chickpeas or fava beans that has been deep fried and served in pita bread. I love chickpeas, but falafel is often too dry for me …

42A Some BrickLink.com buys : LEGO SETS

BrickLink.com is the world’s largest online marketplace for buying and selling individual Lego bricks, minifigures, and retired sets. It was founded in 2000 by Lego fan Dan Jezek. He originally named the site “BrickBay”, but he was forced to change it to BrickLink in 2002 following a challenge from eBay. The LEGO Group acquired BrickLink.com in 2019.

49A Kathmandu citizen : NEPALI

Although Kathmandu (sometimes “Katmandu”) is the capital city of the lofty nation of Nepal, it sits in a bowl-shaped valley at an elevation of only 4,600 ft. Air pollution is a huge problem in the city. Industry and residents launch a lot of smog into the air, and given the surrounding geography and climate, any pollution blown away during the day tends to fall back into the valley at night.

50A __ smasher : ATOM

Nowadays, we call an “atom smasher” a “particle accelerator”. An accelerator creates highly focused beams of fast-moving ions that can be “smashed” into various atoms. Those collisions can produce new particles. Important work, I hear …

51A Garment that’s entirely unsuitable for cooking? : ZERO PERCENT APRON (from “zero percent APR”)

In Old French, a “naperon” was a “small table-cloth”. The term was absorbed into English as “napron”, describing a cloth used to cover the front of a person at work. Over time, “a napron” was heard as “an apron”, giving us our contemporary noun “apron”.

Annual percentage rate (APR)

68A Title for Elroy during his boot camp days? : PRIVATE JETSON (from “private jets”)

“The Jetsons” is an animated show from Hanna-Barbera that had its first run in 1962-1963, and then was recreated in 1985-1987. When it debuted in 1963 on ABC, “The Jetsons” was the network’s first ever color broadcast. “The Jetsons” is like a space-age version of “The Flintstones”. The four Jetson family members are George and Jane, the parents, and children Judy and Elroy. Residing with the family in Orbit City are their household robot Rosie and pet dog Astro.

83A Goddess whose tears flood the Nile : ISIS

Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, as well as the protector of the dead and the goddess of children. She was the personification of the pharaoh’s power. The name “Isis” translates as “throne”, and she is usually depicted with a headdress shaped like a throne.

86A Some classic PCs : IBMS

Tech giant IBM was founded as the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. The company changed its name to the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) in 1911 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916. The name “International Business Machines” (IBM) was given first to the company’s Canadian subsidiary, and then to its South American subsidiary. In 1924, it was decided to adopt the International Business Machines name for the whole company. Good choice …

89A Tropical sorbet flavor : GUAVA

The name “guava” applies to several tropical fruit species. The most frequently eaten species is the apple guava (also “common guava”). Almost half of the world’s guava is produced by India.

“Sorbet” can mean different things around the world. Here in the US, sorbet is a non-fat frozen dessert that is made without any dairy content.

90A Game that involves old-fashioned wine vessels? : CAPTURE THE FLAGON (from “capture the flag”)

A flagon is a large jug with a lid that is traditionally used for holding beer or wine.

Capture the flag is a kid’s game that has gone hi-tech. There are computer versions of the game now, as well as an intriguing “urban game” version. In the urban game, players head out into the city streets and play in teams while communicating by cell phone.

98A Some cards checked by the TSA : STATE IDS

What we know today as “Real IDs” are the result of the Real ID Act of 2005. One of the most visible results of the law are state-issued drivers’ licenses that meet new minimum security standards set by the federal government.

100A Part of a swing set? : DANCE STEP

The swing style of dance was developed to accompany the swing style of jazz music that became particularly popular in the swing era (1933-1947). Examples of swing dances that persist to this day are the Lindy hop and Charleston.

106A Arequipa auntie : TIA

Arequipa is located in the south of Peru and is the second-most populous city in the country, after the capital Lima. Arequipa has been the center of many uprisings since the city was founded in 1540, and was declared the nation’s capital on two occasions, in 1835 and in 1883.

107A Sean of “Stranger Things” : ASTIN

Sean Astin is best known for playing the title role in the 1993 film “Rudy” and the character Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” movies. You might also have seen him playing Lynn McGill in the 5th season of “24”. Astin is the son of actress Patty Duke, and the adopted son of actor John Astin (of “The Addams Family” fame).

“Stranger Things” is a sci-fi horror TV show made for Netflix that aired its first season in 2016. I don’t do horror, and so haven’t seen it …

108A Offering from an African republic? : GIFT OF GABON (from “gift of gab”)

The nation of Gabon lies on the west coast of Central Africa. Since it became independent from France in 1960, Gabon has become one of the most prosperous countries on the continent, by making use of the abundant natural resources and willing foreign investment.

Blarney is a town in County Cork in the south of Ireland. Blarney is home to Blarney Castle, and inside the castle is the legendary Blarney Stone. “Kissing the Blarney Stone” is a ritual engaged in by many, many tourists (indeed, I’ve done it myself!), but it’s not a simple process. The stone is embedded in the wall of the castle, and in order to kiss it you have to sit on the edge of the parapet and lean way backwards so that your head is some two feet below your body. There is a staff member there to help you and make sure you don’t fall. The Blarney Stone has been referred to as the world’s most unhygienic tourist attraction! But once you’ve kissed it, supposedly you are endowed with the “gift of the gab”, the ability to talk eloquently and perhaps deceptively without offending. The term “blarney” has come to mean flattering and deceptive talk.

120A Fawn’s mom : DOE

A fawn is a young deer, usually one less than a year old.

122A Feature of a “Twilight” relay race? : VAMPIRE BATON (from “vampire bat”)

Author Stephenie Meyer is best-known for her “Twilight” series of vampire romance novels. The “Twilight” books are aimed at young adults. Meyer also wrote a 2008 adult sci-fi novel called “The Host”, which went straight to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. Obsessive fans of the “Twilight” series of books can be referred to as “Twihards”, a portmanteau of “Twilight” and “die-hard”.

Vampire bats feed mostly in the blood of mammals, including humans. When they find a suitable “victim”, often one that is asleep, the bat usually lands close by and approaches its “meal” on the ground. It makes a small cut with its razor-sharp teeth and laps up the blood. The blood tends to flow freely as the bat’s saliva contains anticoagulants. Reports of bats biting the neck of humans are very rare in the real world, but the neck is the preferred location of attack in the fantasy world of vampires.

125A Venues such as Shakespeare’s Globe : THEATRES

The Globe Theatre was built in London in 1599, and was used mainly for staging works by William Shakespeare and his theater company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The theater was destroyed by fire in 1613. A second Globe was built on the site a year later, and it remained open until 1642. The original theater was reconstructed on a nearby site by the Thames and opened in 1997. I had the privilege of seeing a fabulous performance of “As You Like It” in Shakespeare’s Globe (as the new theater is called) about a decade ago. Seeing a play in that remarkable theater is tremendous entertainment, much recommended for anyone visiting London.

131A Newman of kid-lit : LESLEA

Lesléa Newman is a prolific American author of over 80 books who is known especially for her work in children’s literature. Her 1989 book “Heather Has Two Mommies” was one of the first children’s books to positively portray a family with same-sex parents.

Down

2D “Bathers by a River” painter Matisse : HENRI

“Bathers by a River” is a very large (103 in × 154 in) painting by Henri Matisse that features four large, abstract nudes. Matisse worked on the canvas intermittently for nearly a decade (c. 1909-1917), over time transforming it from an idyllic scene into a much darker, more abstract work that he himself considered one of the most pivotal of his career. It is now part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.

3D Biotech giant : AMGEN

AMGen is a biotechnology company that was founded in 1980 as Applied Molecular Genetics. The company’s headquarters is in Thousand Oaks, California.

7D Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA

Elena Kagan was the Solicitor General of the United States from 2009 until 2010, when she replaced Justice John Paul Stevens on the US Supreme Court. That made Justice Kagan the first female US Solicitor General and the fourth female US Supreme Court justice. Kagan also served as the first female dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009.

11D Egyptian symbol also called the “key of life” : ANKH

The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world). The ankh is also known as “the key of the Nile” and “crux ansata” (Latin for “cross with a handle”).

13D Oktoberfest structure : BEER TENT

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

14D Fortune rival : INC

“Inc.” is a business magazine that specializes in articles about growing companies. “Inc.” publishes a list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country each year, calling it the “Inc. 500”. The “Inc. 5000” is an expanded list also published by the magazine.

15D Lump in one’s throat? : ADAM’S APPLE

The voice box or larynx is where pitch and volume of sound are manipulated when we talk. The structure called the Adam’s apple that protrudes from the human neck is formed by the thyroid cartilage that surrounds the larynx. The Adam’s apple of males tends to increase in size during puberty, so the feature tended to be associated more with males in days gone by, perhaps leading to the name “Adam’s” apple. A doctor specializing in treating the larynx is a laryngologist.

16D Olympic gymnast Lee : SUNI

Suni Lee is an American gymnast who won the women’s artistic individual all-around event at the 2020 Olympics. A few weeks after her victory in Tokyo, Lee competed in the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars”, finishing in 5th place.

17D Aphrodite’s son : EROS

As always seems to be the case with Greek gods, Eros and Aphrodite have overlapping spheres of influence. Aphrodite was the goddess of love between a man and a woman, and Eros was the god who stirred the passions of the male. The Roman equivalent of Aphrodite was Venus, and the equivalent of Eros was Cupid.

19D Footwear with Jibbitz charms : CROC

Jibbitz are the official decorative charms designed to pop into the ventilation holes of Crocs sandals. They were invented in 2005 by Sheri Schmelzer, a mother who wanted to decorate her children’s Crocs. She turned her invention into a small business, which she sold to Crocs just one year later … for $10 million!

31D Abe, for one : PREZ

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the US. There are several stories told about how he earned the nickname “Honest Abe”. One story dates back to early in his career as a lawyer. Lincoln accidentally overcharged a client and then walked miles in order to right the wrong as soon as possible.

32D Kathy of “Matlock” : BATES

Actress Kathy Bates started her on-screen career in the early seventies, but it wasn’t until 1990 that she landed her breakthrough role, playing Annie Wilkes in the psychological thriller “Misery”. Her performance in “Misery” won her that season’s Best Actress Oscar.

“Matlock” is a 2024 reboot of the original Andy Griffith show from the 1980s and 1990s. The new series stars Kathy Bates as a brilliant septuagenarian lawyer named Madeline “Matty” Matlock. Matty rejoins the workforce at a prestigious law firm, using her unassuming manner to win cases. However, Matty is secretly on a mission to find the person who wronged her daughter. The 2024 version regularly pays homage to its predecessor, with other characters frequently asking Matty if she is related to the famous TV lawyer.

33D On a streak? : NUDE

People have been running around naked for an awfully long time, but the application of the word “streaking” to the phenomenon only dates back to 1973. A journalist was reporting on a mass nude run of 533 people at the University of Maryland in 1973, and used the words “they are streaking (i.e. moving quickly) past me right now. It’s an incredible sight!”. The Associated Press picked up the story the next day, and interpreted “streaking” as the term to describe “running naked”, and we’ve been using it that way ever since.

35D On the briny : ASEA

The briny is the sea, with “brine” meaning “salty water”. The term “briny” was originally used for “tears”.

38D Alabama St., e.g. : HBCU

Alabama State University (ASU) is a public HBCU (Historically Black College or University) founded just two years after the Civil War as the Lincoln Normal School by nine formerly enslaved men. In 1874, it became the first state-supported educational institution for Black Americans in the nation. Located in Montgomery, it played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement: ASU’s faculty helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and one of its alumni was Rosa Parks.

43D Volcano featured in the second season of “The White Lotus” : ETNA

“The White Lotus” is a comedy-drama TV series about the fictional White Lotus chain of resort hotels. The first season is set in Hawaii, and the second in Sicily. Each season covers a week’s stay at a White Lotus resort. The first season is set in Hawaii, and the second in Sicily. A white lotus flower is symbolic of purity and innocence. Most of the guests and staff at “The White Lotus” are far from pure and innocent. Very enjoyable television, I think …

44D Superlative acronym : GOAT

Greatest of all time (GOAT)

46D Title of respect : SRI

“Sri” is a title of respect for a male in India.

48D Clickable link : URL

Uniform resource locator (URL)

52D Seal hunter : ORCA

Orca populations are split into two main “ecotypes”. All are the same species, but each population behaves differently. Resident orcas eat fish, primarily salmon, while transient orcas hunt marine mammals like seals, sea lions, and porpoises.

54D Cloverleaf component : EXIT

Cloverleaf interchanges allow two highways to cross without the need for stopping traffic. They are so called as when viewed overheard they look like the leaves of a four-leaf clover.

55D Brooklyn NBA team : NETS

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets were the New Jersey Nets until 2012, and were based in Newark. Prior to 1977, the team was known as the New York Nets and played in various locations on Long Island. Ten years earlier, the Nets were called the New Jersey Americans and were headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey.

62D “For You” singer Rita : ORA

“For You” is a 2018 song recorded by Liam Payne (of One Direction) and Rita Ora. It was used as the lead single from the soundtrack of the movie “Fifty Shades Freed”, the third installment in the “Fifty Shades” trilogy.

66D Female hedgehog : SOW

Hedgehogs are spiny mammals that have adapted to a nocturnal life. Even though they have spines, hedgehogs are unrelated to porcupines. The term “hedgehog” arose in the 15th century. They are often found in hedgerows and have hog-like snouts, hence the name “hedgehog”.

67D Uncommon blood type, for short : B-NEG

Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:

• O-positive: 38 percent
• O-negative: 7 percent
• A-positive: 34 percent
• A-negative: 6 percent
• B-positive: 9 percent
• B-negative: 2 percent
• AB-positive: 3 percent
• AB-negative: 1 percent

69D Romeo’s final words : I DIE

In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the last words uttered by Romeo are:

O true apothecary!
They drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.

Juliet’s last words are:

Yea, noise? then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.

70D Sleeveless garment : VEST

Here’s another word that often catches me out. What we call a vest here in the US is a waistcoat back in Ireland. And, the Irish use the word “vest” for an undershirt.

71D Game square with bars : JAIL

In the game of Monopoly, there are three ways that a player can end up in jail:

1. Landing directly on the “Go to Jail” space
2. Throwing three consecutive doubles in one turn
3. Drawing a “Go (Directly) to Jail” card from Chance or Community Chest

72D Actor Idris : ELBA

Idris Elba is a British actor and DJ. He was born in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. Elba’s breakthrough role came in 2002, when he was cast as Stringer Bell in the HBO series “The Wire”.

73D Rainforest vine : LIANA

Liana (also “liane”) is a vine that generally grows in moist areas such as rain forests. Lianas grow using the trees in the forest as structural support. My bet is that Tarzan swung from tree to tree on liana vines …

74D How checks are written : IN PEN

Checks and checking accounts caused me some language trouble when I first came to the US. Back in Ireland (and the UK) we write “cheques” using funds from our “current” accounts.

75D Like five bones in the hand : METACARPAL

There are five metacarpal bones in each hand. They make up the framework of the palm and the back of the hand. Each metacarpal is connected to a finger and the wrist. The equivalent bones in the foot are called the metatarsals.

79D Island east of Java : BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is known as the “Island of the Gods” due to its rich and unique culture, which is steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs.

81D Cardi B songs : RAPS

Rap artist Cardi B’s real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. Her stage name is a diminutive of “Bacardi,” a nickname she was given because her sister is named Hennessy.

82D Move fast, as clouds : SCUD

To scud is a move swiftly as if propelled forward. The term is often used with reference to clouds, scudding across the sky.

84D Waffle House rival : IHOP

Waffle House is a chain of restaurants, located mainly in the Midwest and South, that specializes in Southern breakfast food. Most Waffle House outlets have jukeboxes, and the chain even has its own record label: Waffle Records.

87D Booker T.’s band : MG’S

Booker T. & the M.G.’s were in effect the house band at Stax Records, and so appeared on loads of famous recordings including some by Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. As such, they became synonymous with what became known as the Stax Sound. One of the unique things about the band was that it was racially integrated, with two white guys making a name for themselves in soul music, which at the time was very much part of black culture. And of course Booker T. & the M.G.’s produced the fabulous 1962 hit “Green Onions”.

88D __ voce : SOTTO

“Sotto voce” literally means “under the voice” in Italian, and describes the deliberate lowering of one’s voice for emphasis.

93D Critter with webbed feet : FROG

Frogs are amphibians that undergo a complete metamorphosis during their lives, transforming from aquatic tadpoles into air-breathing, carnivorous adults. Along with powerful jumping legs, frogs have permeable skin that can absorb oxygen from water, supplementing the oxygen in the air breathed in with their lungs.

94D Greenhorn : NAIF

A naïf is someone who is naive, as “naïf” is the French word for “naive”.

A greenhorn is a young-horned animal. “Greenhorn” is also a term that is now applied to any inexperienced person.

99D Event after spring cleaning, maybe : TAG SALE

A tag sale is a sale of household belongings, so called because the prices are usually marked on tags attached to the items for sale.

101D Laundry brand : TIDE

Tide is a laundry detergent that has been made by Procter & Gamble since 1946. Back then, it was marketed as “America’s Washday Favorite”.

104D Filtration organ : KIDNEY

The kidneys have several functions in the body, including the removal of toxins from the blood. This function is carried out by nephrons, the main structural units in the kidneys. Each human kidney comprises about a million nephrons.

105D Hub served by BART : SFO

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a commuter rail system serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

111D Transitional state, in Buddhism : BARDO

“Bardo” is a concept embraced by some schools of Buddhism. “Bardo” is a Tibetan word that translates literally as “intermediate, transitional state”. While it can refer to any gap, it is mostly used to describe the intermediate state between death and the next rebirth.

112D Western New York city : OLEAN

Olean is a city in New York State located on the Allegheny River. Its name comes from the Latin word “oleum”, meaning “oil”. This name was chosen by the city’s founder in the early 1800s due to the discovery of crude oil at a nearby spring, where crude oil bubbled to the surface.

113D Hawk’s home : NEST

Hawks are birds of prey known for their sharp talons, keen eyesight, and powerful flight. They represent a remarkably diverse group of raptors, a wide array of species that have adapted to nearly every terrestrial habitat. Several birds commonly referred to as hawks are actually kites, buzzards, or even eagles.

118D Laundry brand : GAIN

Gain is a detergent that was introduced in 1969 by Procter & Gamble. Gain was originally positioned in the market as the most powerful stain remover. That focus evolved into Gain being the detergent with the unique, fresh scent.

123D Half of a candy duo : IKE

“Mike and Ike” is a brand of fruit-flavored candy made by Just Born starting in 1940. Just Born launched quite a unique marketing campaign in 2012 asserting that Mike and Ike had “split up due to creative differences”. The campaign involved production of two different boxes for the candy showing one or the other name scratched out. Clever …

124D Resistance unit : OHM

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

127D Holiday that begins with the first sighting of the crescent moon : EID

Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday in the Muslim tradition that is known in English as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”. It marks the end of Ramadan, a period of dawn-to-sunset fasting.