Tag: Lots of rich folks crossword clue

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Constructed by: C. W. Stewart

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Change Gears

Themed answers all end with the letters “GEARS”, but with the order CHANGED:

• 59A Shift, or what the ends of 17-, 23-, 38-, and 48-Across do : CHANGE “GEARS”

• 17A Some fines : LATE CHARGES
• 23A Group leaders : TEAM MANAGERS
• 38A Old name for neon or argon : RARE GAS
• 48A Prom purchase : WRIST CORSAGE

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

Bill’s time: 8m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Headcheese ingredient : ASPIC

Aspic is a dish in which the main ingredients are served in a gelatin made from meat stock. “Aspic” is a French word meaning “jelly”.

Headcheese is a meat jelly usually made using the fleshy part of the head from a calf or pig. The dish’s name is a bit of a misnomer, as there is no dairy involved at all. Rather, the meat products are set in gelatin. Back in Ireland, I used to eat a variant called brawn, which is made from the head of a pig and is offered as a sliced sandwich meat in delis. I didn’t know what I was eating …

6A Nave-y bases? : PEWS

A pew is a church bench, usually one with a high back. The original pews were raised and sometimes enclosed seats in the church used by women and important men or families. “Pew” comes from the Old French “puie” meaning “balcony, elevation”.

In large Christian churches, the nave is the main approach to the altar, and is where most of the congregation are seated.

10A Ad __ : HOC

The Latin phrase “ad hoc” means “for this purpose”. An ad hoc committee, for example, is formed for a specific purpose and disbanded after making its final report.

13A Like bagpipes and wetlands : REEDY

Bagpipes have been played for centuries all across Europe, in parts of Asia and North Africa, and in the Persian Gulf. However, the most famous versions of the instrument today are the Scottish Great Highland bagpipe and the Irish uilleann pipes (my personal favorite; I’m biased!). The bag in the Scottish version is inflated by blowing into it, whereas the Irish version uses a bellows under the arm.

16A Forest hooter : OWL

Much of an owl’s diet consists of small mammals. As a result, humans have used owls for centuries to control rodent populations, usually by placing a nest box for owls on a property. Despite the fact that owls and humans live together in relative harmony, owls have been known to attack humans from time to time. Celebrated English bird photographer Eric Hosking lost an eye when attacked by a tawny owl that he was trying to photograph. Hosking wrote a 1970 autobiography with the wry title “An Eye for a Bird”.

19A Messenger __ : RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA. An added complication is that small changes in the sequence of amino acids specified by DNA sometimes takes place in a process known as RNA editing. This RNA editing occurs after the nucleotide sequence has been transcribed from DNA, but before it is translated into protein.

27A Broccoli __ : RABE

Broccoli rabe is perhaps better known as “rapini”, and is a vegetable often used in Mediterranean cuisines. It is quite delicious sauteed with garlic …

31A Carol contraction : ‘TIS

The music for the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The same tune was used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. The lyrics with which we are familiar (other than the “fa-la-la”) are American in origin, and were recorded in the 19th century.

“’Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la la!”

38A Old name for neon or argon : RARE GAS

The rare gases are better known as the noble gases, but neither term is really very accurate. “Noble” gas might be a better choice though, as they are all relatively unreactive. But “rare” they are not. Argon, for example, is a major constituent (1%) of the air that we breathe.

Neon (Ne) was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They chilled a sample of air, turning it into a liquid. They then warmed that liquid and separated out the gases that boiled off. Along with nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. The first they called “krypton” and the second “neon”. “Krypton” is Greek for “the hidden one” and “neon” is Greek for “new”.

The chemical element argon has the symbol Ar. It is a noble gas, and so by definition is relatively nonreactive. The name “argon” comes from the Greek word for “lazy, inactive”. There’s a lot of argon around, as it is the third-most abundant gas in our atmosphere.

40A San Francisco’s __ Hill : NOB

Nob Hill is a very elevated and central location in the city of San Francisco. Because of its views of the surrounding city and environs, Nob Hill became a desirable place to live for the wealthy in the 1800s. The area is still one of San Francisco’s most affluent neighborhoods and is home to upscale hotels as well as the magnificent Grace Cathedral. The name “Nob Hill” comes from the slang term for someone who is well-to-do, a “nob”.

41A Long rowboat, or a long kitchen : GALLEY

Galleys were large medieval ships found mainly in the Mediterranean. They were propelled by a combination of sails and oars.

43A Square on a waffle : PAT

By definition, a waffle is made from dough or batter cooked between two patterned plates (a waffle iron). Modern-day waffles were preceded in the Middle Ages by communion wafers used in the Christian tradition. Such wafers usually had images of a crucified Jesus imprinted by the iron plates.

45A In medias __ : RES

“In medias res” is a Latin phrase that translates as “into the middle of things”. We use it to describe a literary technique in which a story starts at some point other than the beginning of the plot.

46A The Smiths guitarist Johnny : MARR

English-born Irish musician Johnny Marr became famous in the 1980s as a co-founder of the Manchester-based rock band the Smiths. He was born John Maher, and “modified” his family name to avoid confusion with John Maher, drummer for the punk rock band Buzzcocks.

47A Political satire that won 17 Emmys in seven seasons : VEEP

“Veep” is a political satire sitcom created by Armando Iannucci, who also wrote the related British show “The Thick of It” (Warning: strong, strong language!). “Veep” is set in the office of fictional US Vice President Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

48A Prom purchase : WRIST CORSAGE

“Corsage” is a word that we imported from French in the late 15th century. Back then it meant, believe it or not, “body size”. By the early 1800s, a corsage was a bodice, or the body of a woman’s dress. At the beginning of the 20th century, the French term “bouquet de corsage” was being used for a “bouquet worn on the bodice”, and this has been shortened simply to “corsage”.

54A Drive-in server : CARHOP

Carhops are servers who bring food to customers in their cars at drive-in restaurants. The first carhops were seen at the Pig Stand restaurant in Dallas, Texas in 1921. These male employees would “hop” onto the running boards of cars as they entered the restaurant’s parking lot in order to quickly take the customer’s order, hence the name “carhop”.

58A Shakshuka ingredient : EGG

Shakshouka (also “shakshuka”) is a dish that originated in North Africa. It consists of eggs poached in a sauce made from tomatoes, chili peppers, garlic and several spices. I’m hungry …

63A “Home Alone” boy : KEVIN

“Home Alone” is a 1990 film starring Macaulay Culkin that has become a Christmas classic. Culkin was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance, becoming the youngest actor ever to be so honored. And, there are five “Home Alone” sequels.

64A Will of “Blue Bloods” : ESTES

Actor Will Estes played JJ Pryor on the TV drama “American Dreams”, and then Jamie Reagan on the police drama “Blue Bloods”.

66A Tide type : NEAP

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

Down

1D “Collapsed in Sunbeams” singer-songwriter Parks : ARLO

“Arlo Parks” is the stage name of British singer and poet Anaïs Marinho. Parks seems to have hit the big time early in her career, with her first studio album “Collapsed in Sunbeams” (2021) garnering a lot of positive attention.

2D Astin of “The Goonies” : SEAN

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).

8D Native American hut : WIGWAM

The terms “wickiup” and “wigwam” are generally synonymous, with the former used mainly in the Southwest and West, and the latter used in the Northeast and Canada. Wickiups/wigwams are domed structures with a frame made from arched poles, and covered with a roofing material such as grass, bark, reeds, hide or cloth.

9D Hofbrau vessel : STEIN

Outside of Germany, a hofbrau is an informal restaurant or tavern that is German-themed.

24D “Wuthering Heights” setting : MOOR

“Wuthering Heights” is the only novel written by Emily Brontë, and one that she published using the pen name Ellis Bell. It was published in December of 1847, a date chosen to take advantage of the wave of success enjoyed by Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” that had been published just two months earlier.

26D PX patrons : GIS

A PX is a Post Exchange, a retail store operating on a US Army Base. The equivalent store on an Air Force Base is called a Base Exchange (BX).

28D Land east of the Urals : ASIA

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

29D Quasimodo, for one : BELL RINGER

The title character in Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” is Quasimodo, the hunch-backed bell-ringer. Quasimodo falls for the beautiful Roma girl Esmeralda, and eventually rescues her just before she is due to be hanged. He carries Esmeralda into Notre-Dame crying out “Sanctuary!” There is some recent evidence that a hunchbacked stone carver, working at Notre-Dame at the same time Hugo was alive, may have been the inspiration for Quasimodo the bell-ringer.

34D Daily grind : RAT RACE

We use “rat race” figuratively to describe an endless, pointless pursuit. The term comes from the laboratory, where one might imagine rats racing around a maze in search of some cheese.

39D Needle-nosed swimmers : GARS

“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 …

44D Highest point : EVEREST

Mount Everest was named by the Royal Geographical Society in 1865 for Welsh surveyor George Everest, who had served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 through 1843. Everest actually objected initially to the use of his name, given that he had nothing to do with the peak’s discovery, and given that he believed “Everest” was difficult to write and to pronounce in Hindi.

46D Natives of the Colorado river valley : MOHAVE

The Mohave people are Native Americans who originally occupied lands along the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert.

49D Thesaurus creator : ROGET

Peter Mark Roget was an English lexicographer. He was an avid maker of lists, apparently using the routine of list-making to combat depression, a condition he endured for most of his life. Roget published his famous thesaurus in 1852, with revisions and expansions being made years later by his son, and then in turn by his grandson.

50D Financier Steve who owns the New York Mets : COHEN

Steve Cohen is a hedge fund manager who took a relatively small stake in the New York Mets in 2021, before buying a controlling interest in 2020. Apparently, Cohon is the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball history.

51D Green plums : GAGES

Greengages are plum cultivars. They are named for British landowner and politician Sir William Gage, who supposedly was the first to import the fruit from France.

56D __ Ishii: Lucy Liu’s “Kill Bill” role : OREN

“Kill Bill” is a 2-part Quentin Tarantino movie (I haven’t seen it, as I really don’t “do” Tarantino). “Kill Bill” started off as one film, but as the running time was over four hours, it was split into two “volumes”, released several months apart in 2003 and 2004. There has been a lot of talk about making “Kill Bill: Volume 3”.

Lucy Liu is an actress from Queens, New York. Her big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked Liu in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy the movie “Kill Bill”. I do enjoy one of Liu’s more recent projects in which she plays Joan Watson, one of the two lead characters in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.

60D Actress Vardalos : NIA

Nia Vardalos is an actress and screenwriter whose biggest break came with the 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which she wrote and in which she starred. The film tells the story of a Greek-American woman marrying a non-Greek Caucasian American who converts to the Greek Orthodox Church to facilitate the marriage. The storyline reflects the actual experiences of Vardalos and her husband, actor Ian Gomez. Vardalos and Gomez appeared together as hosts for two seasons of the reality competition “The Great American Baking Show”.

61D Economic fig. : GNP

A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.