Tag: Japanese fish preparation crossword clue

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Constructed by: Hoang-Kim Vu & Wendy L. Brandes
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Auto Correct

Themed answers are common phrases, but with a letter SHIFTED. Both old and new letters are GEARS (PRNDL) in an AUTOMATIC car:

• 16D With 100-Down, change one’s approach, and a hint to the circled letters : SHIFT …
• 100D See 16-Down : … GEARS

• 26A Noisy outbursts that are greatly appreciated? : WELCOME RACKETS (Shift P to R in “welcome packets”)
• 44A Bird voted “Most Likely to Succeed”? : BEST OF THE NEST (Shift R to N in “best of the rest”)
• 61A Messages hidden in some brunch fare? : WAFFLE CODES (Shift N to D in “waffle cones”)
• 74A Bit of middle-school fashion? : TWEEN JACKET (Shift D to N in “tweed jacket”)
• 89A Halloween rental fee? : COSTUME CHARGE (Shift N to R in “costume change”)
• 110A Bad news at an Atlanta pie shop? : JUST OUT OF PEACH (Shift R to P in “just out of reach”)

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

Bill’s time: 22m 26s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Ends of pens : NIBS

“Nib” is a Scottish variant of the Old English word “neb”, with both meaning “beak of a bird”. This usage of “nib” as a beak dates back to the 14th century, with “nib” describing the tip of a pen or quill coming a little later, in the early 1600s.

5 Approval from a Lab : WAG

The Labrador (Lab) breed of dog has been around at least since 1814, and the chocolate Labrador appeared over a century later in the 1930s. The name “Labrador Retriever” is simply a reference to the breed’s origin and behavior. Labs originally “retrieved” from the “Labrador Sea”.

8 Like chocolate ganache : RICH

Ganache is a rich sauce made from chocolate and cream. To make a ganache, one pours heated cream over chopped chocolate, mixes until smooth, with perhaps a liqueur added for flavor. “Ganache” is French for “jowl”. I’m not sure how “jowl” links to a rich chocolate source, though.

25 Japanese fish preparation : TATAKI

Uncooked fish can be prepared tataki style in Japanese cuisine. The fish is chopped and mixed with garnishes. The term “tataki” translates as “pounded, hit into pieces”.

33 Toot : SPREE

“Toot” and “tear” are slang terms for a drinking binge.

36 __ A: Italian soccer league : SERIE

Serie A is the premier soccer league in Italy, and has been operating since 1929. Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan (three of the most famous football clubs in the world) compete in Serie A.

39 Loot : LUCRE

Our word “lucre” meaning “money, profits” comes from the Latin “lucrum” that means the same thing.

49 Like crudités : RAW

Crudités are a French appetizer made up of sliced and whole raw vegetables that are dipped into a sauce. The French word “crudité” simply means “raw vegetable”, and derives from the Latin word “crudus” meaning “raw”.

50 Fix, as a pet : SPAY

Our verb “to spay”, meaning “to surgically remove the ovaries of” (an animal), comes from an old Anglo-French word “espeier” meaning “to cut with a sword”.

58 Beach town west of Santa Monica : MALIBU

Malibu is a beach city in Southern California that is known as home to many Hollywood movie stars. It is also home to several beaches including Malibu Surfrider Beach, which was dedicated in 2010 as the first World Surfing Reserve.

60 AED administrators : EMTS

An emergency medical technician (EMT) might use an automated external defibrillator (AED).

69 Wallach of “The Magnificent Seven” : ELI

Eli Wallach appeared consistently and made great performances on the big and small screens from the 1950s onwards. Wallach’s most famous role was probably “the Ugly” in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. More recently he gave a very strong performance in 2006’s “The Holiday”. Sadly, Wallach passed away in June 2014, at the age of 98.

“The Magnificent Seven” really is a very entertaining western movie (and I am no fan of westerns, quite frankly). Famously, it is a 1960 remake of the Akira Kurosawa 1954 Japanese film, “Seven Samurai”. “The Magnificent Seven” is the second most shown film on television in the US. Only “The Wizard of Oz” gets more air time.

74 Bit of middle-school fashion? : TWEEN JACKET (Shift D to N in “tweed jacket”)

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 …

80 Used a rotary phone : DIALED

The first patent for a rotary dial mechanism for a phone was granted in 1898, and the familiar rotary dial phones (with holes for the finger) were introduced by the Bell System in 1919. This form of dialing was called “pulse dialing”. When you dialed the number 5, say, the dial would rotate back to the start position, opening and closing electrical contacts five times and sending five pulses over the telephone line. I used to love rotary dial phones when I was a kid. My grandfather was a telephone engineer and he showed me how to “tap out” the pulses on the “hook” at the top of a pay phone. I was able to make free calls that way. He definitely contributed to the delinquency of a minor …

83 Not online, online : IRL

In real life (IRL)

88 Actor Chaney : LON

Lon Chaney, Sr. played a lot of crazed-looking characters in the days of silent movies. He did much of his own make-up work, developing the grotesque appearances that became his trademark, and earning himself the nickname “the man of a thousand faces”. Most famous were his portrayals of the title characters in the films “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925).

89 Halloween rental fee? : COSTUME CHARGE (Shift N to R in “costume change”)

All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year. The day before All Saints’ Day is All Hallows’ Eve, better known by the Scottish term “Halloween”.

96 Writer Calvino : ITALO

As well as being an author, Italo Calvino was a famous Italian journalist. He was a supporter of communism and so wasn’t very popular in the US nor in Britain.

97 Like ta moko and the haka : MAORI

The permanent tattooing of the skin practiced by the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, is known as ta moko.

The haka is a war dance used by the Maori people of New Zealand. Famously, the New Zealand rugby team performs a haka before each of their matches.

99 Indy 500 family name : UNSER

The Unser family seems to have auto racing in their blood. Al Unser, Sr. won the Indy 500 on four occasions. Al’s brother Jerry was the first of the Unsers to compete at Indianapolis. Al’s other brother Bobby, won the Indy three times. Al’s son, Al Junior, won the Indy twice. Al Junior’s son is also a racing driver who competes at the Indy Speedway.

100 Chutzpah : GALL

Our word “chutzpah” meaning “nerve, gall, impudence” is derived from the Yiddish “khutspe”, which has the same meaning.

103 Govt.-issued IDs : SSNS

Social Security number (SSN)

105 Oft-removed throat tissues : TONSILS

The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the human throat. The exact role that tonsils play isn’t completely understood, but it is known that they are in the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. They provide some level of protection against pathogens that are ingested and inhaled.

110 Bad news at an Atlanta pie shop? : JUST OUT OF PEACH (Shift R to P in “just out of reach”)

The US state of Georgia has two nicknames: the Peach State, and the Empire State of the South.

119 Large-horned mammals : RHINOS

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

121 “__ Brockovich” : ERIN

Erin Brockovich is an environmental activist who is famous for the role she played in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating drinking water. Her story was told in a 2000 film titled “Erin Brockovich” starring Julia Roberts in the title role. Brockovich herself actually appeared in the film, as she was given a cameo as a waitress in a restaurant scene.

122 Teacher from the old school? : MARM

“Marm” is short for “schoolmarm”, a quaint term for a female teacher.

123 “Yesterday” and “Tomorrow” : SONGS

“Yesterday” is such a beautiful ballad. It was written by Paul McCartney, who also routinely performed the song as a solo piece. “Yesterday” wasn’t originally released as a single, and first appeared as a track on the 1965 Beatles album, “Help!” In several polls over in the UK, “Yesterday” has been named the number one pop song of all time.

“Tomorrow” is a song written for the Broadway musical “Annie”. The musical is based on the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There were two subsequent film adaptations, both really quite successful, including one released in 1982 directed by John Huston of all people. It was the only musical that he ever directed.

126 Apple Watch assistant : SIRI

The Apple Watch was announced in 2014 and started shipping in 2015. The device works as an extension to a user’s smartphone, although it also has capabilities of its own. I’m not a big fan of smartwatches; I really don’t see the point …

Down

1 Blue tag? : NSFW

The abbreviation “NSFW” stands for “not safe/suitable for work”. It’s Internet slang used to describe online content that is best not viewed at work.

3 Jessica of TV’s “The Sinner” : BIEL

Jessica Biel is an actress who was known by television audiences for portraying Mary Camden on “7th Heaven”. Biel’s first film role was playing Peter Fonda’s granddaughter in “Ulee’s Gold”. Biel married singer and actor Justin Timberlake in 2012.

“The Sinner” is a crime drama series starring Bill Pullman as police Detective Harry Ambrose. The series is structured so that Ambrose investigates a new crime every season, and so is supported by a different cast each season. The title, and the story in the first season, is taken from a 1999 novel by German author Petra Hammesfahr.

4 Genus subdivision : SPECIES

Taxonomy is the classification of organisms into groups or categories known as taxons (plural “taxa”). We are most familiar with the classification of organisms in the major taxonomic ranks (taxa):

• Life
• Domain
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus (plural “genera”)
• Species

5 Some gummy animals : WORMS

Gummy worms originated in the 1980s in Germany, where they were created by the confectionary maker Haribo. Haribo was the company that had already come up with gummy bears in the 1920s.

6 Parting mot : ADIEU

“Adieu” is French for “goodbye, farewell”, from “à Dieu” meaning “to God”. The plural of “adieu” is “adieux”.

8 Corporal or private : RANK

A corporal is an army officer ranking above a private, and below a sergeant. The term “corporal” comes into English via French and Italian from the Latin “caput” meaning “head, leader”, as in “leader of troops”.

The lowest military rank of soldier is often a private (pvt.). The term “private” comes from the Middle Ages when “private soldiers” were hired or conscripted by noblemen to form a “private army”. The more generic usage of “private” started in the 1700s.

9 Potential cause of brain freeze : ICEE

Slush Puppie and ICEE are brands of frozen, slushy drinks. Ostensibly competing brands, ICEE now owns the Slush Puppie brand.

12 Onetime Volvo rival : SAAB

“SAAB” stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. Although we usually think of SAAB as an auto manufacturer, it is mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. The assets were acquired in 2012 by NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), a new company that used the SAAB name on its vehicles for several years.

Volvo is a Swedish manufacturer of cars, trucks and construction equipment. The Volvo name was chosen as “volvo” is Latin for “I roll”.

15 Predatory sharks : MAKOS

The shortfin mako shark can appear on restaurant menus, and as a result the species is dying out in some parts of the world. The mako gets its own back sometimes though, as attacks on humans are not unknown. It is the fastest-swimming shark, and has been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles/hour. And the shark in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”, that’s a mako. “Mako” is the Maori word for “shark” or “shark tooth”.

31 Filmmaker with a unique style : AUTEUR

We use the term “auteur” to describe a film director with a distinctive style, and someone who is distinguished enough to overcome the influence of a movie studio and other commercial pressures. Examples often cited are Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks and Jean Renoir. “Auteur” is a French word meaning “author”.

33 Bit of hardware : SCREW

Screws come with slot-heads (-) and Phillips-heads (+). The Phillips-head screw and screwdriver are named for Henry F. Phillips of Portland, Oregon. Phillips didn’t invent the “+” screw head, but as a businessman he was behind its successful implementation.

34 One of yoga’s five vital forces : PRANA

“Prana” is a Sanskrit word meaning “breath, life force”.

35 Piano-playing dog on “The Muppet Show” : ROWLF

Rowlf the Dog is a regular on “The Muppet Show”, and plays the piano at the Muppet Theatre. He was also the first Muppet to appear regularly on network television, as he played sidekick to Jimmy Dean on “The Jimmy Dean Show” from 1963 to 1966.

37 Puerto Rico y Mallorca : ISLAS

Puerto Rico (PR) is located in the northeastern Caribbean (in the Atlantic Ocean), east of the Dominican Republic. The name “Puerto Rico” is Spanish for “rich port”. The locals often call their island Borinquen, the Spanish form of “Boriken”, the original name used by the natives.

The Island of Majorca (“Isla Mallorca” in Spanish) is Spain’s largest island, and is located in the Mediterranean Sea. The population of the island ballooned over the past few decades as Majorca became a mecca for tourists from all over Europe.

40 “The Pioneer Woman” host Drummond : REE

Ree Drummond is a food writer and blogger. Drummond’s blog “The Pioneer Woman” recounts her daily life on her family’s working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

42 Fragrant compounds : ESTERS

Esters are very common chemicals. The smaller, low-molecular weight esters are usually pleasant smelling and are often found in perfumes. At the other end of the scale, the higher-molecular weight nitroglycerin is a nitrate ester and is very explosive, and polyester is a huge molecule and is a type of plastic. Fats and oils found in nature are fatty acid esters of glycerol known as glycerides.

46 Muppet with a puppy named Tango : ELMO

The Muppet Tango is a female puppy that Elmo found as a stray and decided to keep as a pet. She made her debut performance in a Sesame Street special in 2021.

47 In __: as found : SITU

“In situ” is a Latin phrase meaning “in the place”, and we use the term to mean “in the original position”.

57 Luge, e.g. : SLED

A luge is a small sled used by one or two people, on which one lies face up and feet first. The luge can be compared to the skeleton, a sled for only one person and on which the rider lies face down and goes down the hill head-first. Yikes!

59 Puccini’s “La __” : BOHEME

“La bohème” by Giacomo Puccini is the second-most frequently performed opera in the US (after “Madama Butterfly”, also by Puccini). The lead female role in the piece is Mimì, a seamstress.

60 Fiat : EDICT

A fiat is an arbitrary rule that is imposed, and is the Latin for “let it be done”.

64 2002 American League MVP Miguel : TEJADA

Miguel Tejada is a retired MLB shortstop from the Dominican Republic. He had a reputation for “driving” in runs, earning him the nickname “La Guagua” meaning “The Bus”.

65 Transport to Tel Aviv : EL AL

El Al Israel Airlines is the flag carrier of Israel. El Al is known for its high levels of security, both on the ground and in the air. Reportedly, the airline’s passenger aircraft have been operating with anti-missile technology for several years.

68 Abbr. in an email subject line : FWD

Forward (fwd.)

70 Quite smart : CHIC

“Chic” is a French word meaning “stylish”.

71 Big sandwich : HERO

A hero is a submarine sandwich. It originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

73 Cars named for Henry Ford’s son : EDSELS

Edsel Ford was the only child of automobile manufacturing pioneer Henry Ford. Edsel became president of Ford Motors, as Henry’s sole heir, and served in that capacity from 1919 until his death in 1943. Henry’s name is very much associated with the Model T, the Tin Lizzie. Edsel was the man behind the subsequent development of the more fashionable Model A. However, despite Edsel’s many successes, his name is inextricably linked with the highly unsuccessful Edsel line of cars.

74 “Neon” fish : TETRA

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.

78 Mid-range voice : TENOR

A tenor (plural “tenori”) is a male voice that falls between that of a countertenor and a baritone. The word “tenor” comes from the Latin “tenere” meaning “to hold”. This etymology refers to the tenor part that carries the sustained melody (canto fermo) of a traditional polyphonic composition.

81 Fertile soil : LOAM

Loam is soil made up of sand, silt and clay in the ratio of about 40-40-20. Relative to other soil types, loam is usually rich in nutrients and moisture, drains well and is easy to till. Loam can also be used in constructing houses as it is quite strong when mixed with straw and dried.

90 Activity at windmills and pinball machines : TILTING

The phrase “tilting at windmills” means “attacking imaginary enemies”. The idiom comes from an episode in the novel “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes, in which the hero of the piece charges at windmills that he imagines are giants.

In a game of pinball, some players get an irresistible urge to “nudge” the machine . Such a nudge, a movement of the machine designed to influence the path taken by the ball, is called a “tilt”. Most pinball machines have sensors designed to detect a tilt, and when activated a “tilt” warning light comes on and the player’s controls are temporarily disabled.

102 “Lux et veritas” language : LATIN

“Lux et veritas” translates from Latin as “Light and Truth”. “Lux et veritas” is used as a motto of several universities including Indiana University, the University of Montana and Yale University. However, Yale’s motto is often given in Hebrew, as “Urim and Thummim”.

104 “Fat Is a Feminist Issue” writer Orbach : SUSIE

Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist and author from England who is perhaps best known for first book, 1987’s “Fat is a Feminist Issue”, which analyzes the psychology behind overeating and dieting in women. During the 1990s, she was also a therapist to Diana, Princess of Wales.

106 Sotomayor who said, “You cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true” : SONIA

“My Beloved World” is a 2013 memoir by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It covers her life from childhood through to 1992, and so does not deal with her time on the Supreme Court bench. Here is some advice that Sotomayor offers in the book:

…you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. The real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire.

109 Greek matchmaker? : EROS

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

111 Peddle : SELL

In its purest sense, a peddler is someone who sells his or her wares on the street or from door to door. The term probably comes from the Latin “pedarius” meaning “one who goes on foot”.

112 Número de leches en un postre específico : TRES

In Spanish, the “Número de leches en un postre específico” (Number of milks in a specific dessert) is “tres” (three).

A tres leches cake is a type of sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk, in heavy cream, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

113 Jai __ : ALAI

Jai alai is a game that derives from Basque pelota, and is known as “cesta-punta” in the Basque language. The name “jai alai” translates from the original Basque as “merry festival”.

114 NFL quarterback Derek : CARR

Quarterback Derek Carr was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2014. Derek is the younger brother of former NFL quarterback David Carr.

115 Port on some TVs : HDMI

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)