Tag: Large garlic relative? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 15s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6. Hamlet’s “A little more than kin, and less than kind,” e.g. : ASIDE

Early in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, the title character utters the aside “A little more than kin, and less than kind”. Prince Hamlet’s disparaging remark is a reference to his uncle Claudius, the new king of Denmark. Hamlet’s opinion of his uncle is well-deserved, as Claudius had secretly poisoned the prince’s father in order to seize the throne.

11. Cut short : BOB

A bob cut is a short hairstyle in which the hair is cut straight around the head, at about the line of the jaw. Back in the 1570s, “bob” was the name given to a horse’s tail that was cut short, and about a century later it was being used to describe short hair on humans. The style became very popular with women in the early 1900s (as worn by actress Clara Bow, for example), with the fashion dying out in the thirties. The style reemerged in the sixties around the time the Beatles introduced their “mop tops”, with Vidal Sassoon leading the way in styling women’s hair in a bob cut again. Personally, I like it …

14. Atlas box : INSET

The famous Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published his first collection of maps in 1578. Mercator’s collection contained a frontispiece with an image of Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology holding up the world on his shoulders. That image gave us our term “atlas” that is used for a book of maps.

15. Got a lode of : MINED

A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The mother lode is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

21. Pond fish : KOI

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

23. Meeting organizers : AGENDAS

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

27. Belg. neighbor : GER

The country that we known in English as “Germany” is known as “Deutschland” in German. The name “Germany” comes from “Germania”, which is the Latin name that Julius Caesar gave to the peoples located east of the Rhine. The name “Deutschland” comes from an Old High German word meaning “land belonging to the people”.

29. Oil-yielding Asian tree : TUNG

Tung oil is obtained from the tung tree by pressing the seed found within the tree’s nuts. The oil is used as a component in varnish for wood finishing.

30. Large garlic relative? : BIG SHALLOT (“all” in “big shot”)

The shallot is a type of onion that is closely related to the garlic, leek and chive. I’m a big fan …

36. Striped animal : TIGER

The tiger is the largest species in the cat family. Tigers have been known to breed with lions. A liger is cross between a male lion and female tiger. A tigon is a cross between a female lion and a male tiger.

38. South side? : GRITS

When grain has been separated from its chaff, to prepare it for grinding, it is called “grist”. Indeed, the word “grist” is derived from the word “grind”. Grist can be ground into a relatively coarse meal, or into a fine flour. The names can be confusing though. For example, the grist from maize when ground to a coarse consistency is called “grits”, and when ground to a fine consistency is called “corn meal”. There is an idiomatic phrase “grist for one’s mill”, meaning something used to one’s advantage. The grinding mechanism, or the building that holds the mechanism, is known as a “gristmill”.

42. Amazon business : E-TAIL

“E-tail” is the term used these days for online shopping (coming from “retail”). E-tail is often compared to regular shopping in the “real world” by juxtaposing it with a “brick and mortar” store.

Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in the world. It is also the most largest Internet company in the world by revenue. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s approach to customer service …

44. Disney Store collectible : CEL

In the world of animation, a cel is a transparent sheet on which objects and characters are drawn. In the first half of the 20th century the sheet was actually made of celluloid, giving the “cel” its name.

48. Classical dance minus the lifting, throwing, and such? : SAFE BALLET (“all” in “safe bet”)

Ballet is a type of dance that originated in Italy during the Renaissance. The term “ballet” ultimately derives from the Greek “ballizo” meaning “to dance”.

51. Sign of elimination : DELE

“Dele” is the editorial instruction to delete something from a document, and is often written in red.

52. Wise __ : MEN

“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, “magi” is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born. In Western Christianity, the three Biblical Magi are:

• Melchior: a scholar from Persia
• Caspar: a scholar from India
• Balthazar: a scholar from Arabia

55. Siamese, nowadays : THAI

Siam was the official name of Thailand up to 1939 (and again from 1945 to 1949).

62. Genetic determinants of Southern linguistic variations? : Y’ALL CHROMOSOMES (“all” in “Y chromosomes”)

In most mammalian species, including man, females have two identical sex chromosomes (XX) and males two distinct sex chromosomes (XY). As a result it is the males who determine the sex of the offspring. However, in birds the opposite is true and so females determine the sex of the chicks.

68. Vietnamese soup : PHO

Pho is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food.

69. Irritant : PEEVE

The phrase “pet peeve”, meaning “thing that provokes one most”, seems to be somewhat ironic. A “peeve” is a source of irritation, and the adjective “pet” means “especially cherished”.

Down

1. It’s petty but misleading : FIB

To fib is to to tell a lie. The verb likely comes from “fibble-fable” meaning “nonsense”, with “fibble-fable” coming from “fable”.

2. Brahms’ “Variations __ Theme of Paganini” : ON A

Niccolò Paganini was a famed Italian violinist and composer. Paganini was perhaps the most celebrated violinist of the 19th century. His most famous composition has to be his Caprice No. 24 in A minor, Op. 1. This work is the basis for many derivative masterpieces by other composers, including the wonderful “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninoff, and the “Variations on a Theme of Paganini” by Brahms.

3. Comm. system with hand motions : ASL

It’s really quite unfortunate that American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) are very different, and someone who has learned to sign in one cannot understand someone signing in the other.

4. Mixtures : MELANGES

“Mélange” is the French word for “mixture”.

5. Serious: STAID

Something described as staid is unwavering, fixed. This usage expanded to mean “sober, sedate”. The term dates back to the 16th century, and comes from verb “to stay”. “Staid” is a rewriting of the past participle “stayed”.

6. “Moi?” : AM I?

“Moi” is the French word for “me”. One might say “Moi?” when feigning innocence.

10. Email suffix : EDU

The .edu domain was one of the six original generic top-level domains specified. The complete original list is:

• .com (commercial enterprise)
• .net (entity involved in network infrastructure e.g. an ISP)
• .mil (US military)
• .org (not-for-profit organization)
• .gov (US federal government entity)
• .edu (college-level educational institution)

18. Uninteresting : DRAB

We now use the word “drab” to mean “dull, cheerless”. Back in the late 17th century, “drab” was the color of natural, undyed cloth.

19. Countess’ spouse, perhaps : EARL

In the ranking of nobles, an earl comes above a viscount and below a marquis. The rank of earl is used in the British peerage system and is equivalent to the rank of count in other countries. Other British ranks have female forms (e.g. marquis and marchioness, viscount and viscountess), but there isn’t a female word for the rank of earl. A female given the same rank as an earl is known as a countess.

23. Storage areas : ATTICS

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

24. Old U.K. coin worth 21 shillings : GUINEA

The British coin known as a “guinea” was minted between 1663 and 1814. The guinea was originally worth one pound sterling, but its value increased as the value of gold increased relative to silver. The value was eventually fixed in 1816 at twenty-one shillings when it was withdrawn from circulation and the pound was established as the major unit of currency. Even though the guinea coin stopped circulating soon after 1816, the term “guinea” continued to be used to indicate an amount of 21 shillings, especially when pricing certain things. Indeed, I remember some everyday items being price-tagged in guineas as a young boy. Do you remember the “10/6” price tag on the hat of the Hatter at the tea party in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”? That tag reads “10 shillings and sixpence”, which is “half a guinea”.

26. Lighthouse output : SIGNAL

I’m guessing that one of the most famous names in the world of lighthouse construction is George Meade. Before General Meade led the Union soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lieutenant Meade worked in the US Army Corps of Engineers, and was responsible for the erection of several lighthouses along the east coast.

34. Colorful songbird : ORIOLE

The songbird called an oriole builds an interesting nest. It is a woven cup-like structure that is suspended from a branch like a hammock.

37. Hasidic teacher : REBBE

“Rebbe” is the Yiddish word for “rabbi”.

The Hasidic Jewish movement was founded in the 18th century by Baal Shem Tov, a mystical rabbi from Eastern Europe.

43. Quahog’s quarters : TIDE POOL

“Quahog” is another name for “hard clam”, the clam that is commonly harvested on the eastern shores of North America. The quahog may also be called the “chowder clam”. Hard clams are the largest of the clams commonly sold, with the cherrystone clams being a little smaller.

49. Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL

Emil Jannings was an actor from Switzerland who also held German and Austrian citizenship. Jannings was the first person to receive an Oscar, as the star of the 1928 silent movie called “The Last Command”. He also starred opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1930 classic “The Blue Angel”.

50. Puente of mambo fame : TITO

After serving in the navy in WWII for three years, musician Tito Puente studied at Juilliard, where he got a great grounding in conducting, orchestration and theory. Puente parlayed this education into a career in Latin Jazz and Mambo. He was known as “El Rey” as well as “The King of Latin Music”.

The form of music and dance known as “mambo” developed in Cuba. “Mambo” means “conversation with the gods” in Kikongo, a language spoken by slaves taken to Cuba from Central Africa.

63. Many an IRS employee : CPA

Certified public accountant (CPA)

65. Thickness measure : MIL

The thickness unit known as a “mil” here in the US is usually referred to as a “thou” on the other side of the Atlantic. A “mil” is actually one thousandth of an inch. I vote for “thou” …

66. __ Gold, Alan Cumming’s “The Good Wife” role : ELI

Alan Cumming is a very versatile Scottish actor. Cumming has played some pretty “commercial” roles, like the bad guy Boris Grishenko in “GoldenEye” and Fegan Floop in the “Spy Kids” movies. He also played the unwanted suitor in the fabulous film “Circle of Friends” and won a Tony for playing the emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of “Cabaret”.

“The Good Wife” is a legal drama showing on CBS starring Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, a litigator who returns to practicing the law after spending 13 years as a stay-at-home mom. I binge-watched the show some time back and found it to be well-written, with a great cast and great acting …

67. U.S. ID : SSN

Social Security number (SSN)