Tag: Mil. mess duties crossword clue

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Constructed by: C. W. Stewart

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Katie, Bar the Door

Themed answers each end with something that might BAR THE DOOR:

• 35A Quaint warning of impending danger, and a hint to the implements at the ends of 16-, 24-, 49-, and 58-Across : KATIE, BAR THE DOOR!

• 16A Linked-together homemade decoration : PAPER CHAIN
• 24A Noisy flash of lightning : THUNDERBOLT
• 49A Tool needed for some needlecraft : CROCHET HOOK
• 58A Arm-twisting wrestling hold : HAMMERLOCK

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

Bill’s time: 5m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A __ and weave : BOB

The phrase “to bob and weave” comes from boxing, where it describes the defensive actions of moving your head down (bobbing) and your upper body from side to side (weaving) to avoid punches. Figuratively, bobbing and weaving is evading or dodging something, like difficult questions or responsibilities.

13A Brownstone porch : STOOP

A stoop is a raised platform at the door of a house. “Stoop” came into American and Canadian English in the mid-1700s from the Dutch “stoep” meaning “flight of steps”.

Brownstone is a reddish-brown form of sandstone that is a popular building material, especially in the Northeastern United States. The term “brownstone” is often used to describe a townhouse constructed from such a stone, or a similar material.

15A Slip-on shoe : CROC

Crocs are foam clogs that were originally designed as shoes to be worn at health spas. I bought a pair of crocs, and then my kids said they weren’t going to talk to me again …

18A The Chicago Marathon, for one : RACE

The World Marathon Majors is a collective term describing the most prestigious city marathons in the world. The series includes the Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, and Sydney Marathons.

19A Native of New Zealand : MAORI

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

The first European to sight the nation that we know today as New Zealand was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. He labeled the land “Staten Landt”, believing it to be part of South America. Dutch cartographers changed the name to “Nova Zelandia”, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. That Latin name evolved into the Dutch “Nieuw Zeeland”, which Captain James Cook anglicized to “New Zealand”.

21A Black’s opponent in checkers : RED

“Checkers” is yet another word that I had to learn moving across the Atlantic. In Ireland, the game is called “draughts”.

24A Noisy flash of lightning : THUNDERBOLT

The word “thunder” precedes the word “lightning” in the phrase “thunder and lightning”. However, thunder comes after lighting in reality, at least to the observer. The observer sees the flash of lightning and then seconds later hears the crash of thunder. That’s because light travels faster than sound.

30A Hi or low follower, in graphics : RES

When we buy an HDTV, our display resolution choices might be:

1. 1080i (1920 × 1080 split into two interlaced fields of 540 lines)
2. 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressive scan)

When we splash out for a UHDTV, the choices are:

1. 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 progressive scan)
2. 8K UHD (7680 × 4320 progressive scan)

35A Quaint warning of impending danger, and a hint to the implements at the ends of 16-, 24-, 49-, and 58-Across : KATIE, BAR THE DOOR!

“Katy, bar the door” is an American phrase (which I had never heard of!) that is a warning to take precautions as there may be trouble ahead. The origin of the phrase doesn’t seem to be clear but, as always, there’s a lot of speculation.

46A Test for Ph.D. hopefuls : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

49A Tool needed for some needlecraft : CROCHET HOOK

Crochet is a process of making a fabric using a hooked needle. “Crochet” is a French word meaning “hook”.

53A Name on a box by the sink : SOS

S.O.S is a brand of scouring pads made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The product was invented as a giveaway by an aluminum pot salesman in San Francisco called Ed Cox. His wife gave it the name “S.O.S” as an initialism standing for “Save Our Saucepans”. Note the punctuation! There is no period after the last S, and that is deliberate. When Cox went to register the trademark, he found that “S.O.S.” could not be a trademark because it was used as an international distress signal. So he dropped the period after the last S, and I hope made a lot of money for himself and his wife.

58A Arm-twisting wrestling hold : HAMMERLOCK

A hammerlock is a wrestling hold in which an opponent’s arm is bent behind their back to control them, putting significant pressure on the shoulder joint. The same maneuver is a restraining technique used by law enforcement to control suspects during an arrest. However, because the hammerlock carries a risk of causing serious shoulder injury, many police departments now favor safer control tactics.

67A Beaver creation : DAM

Beavers build dams so that they can live in and around the slower and deeper water that builds up above the dam. This deeper water provides more protection for the beavers from predators such as bears. Beavers are nocturnal animals and do all their construction work at night.

Down

5D Nursery rhyme couple with restricted 23-Downs : SPRATS

“Jack Sprat” is a nickname given in the 16th century to people of small stature. Jack featured in a proverb of the day:

Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane. Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.

Over time, this mutated into a nursery rhyme that is still recited in England:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.

6D Cranium organ : BRAIN

The human skull is made up of two parts: the cranium (which encloses the brain) and the mandible (or “jawbone”).

8D Filmmaker Affleck : BEN

Actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck started his career as a child actor in the PBS show “The Voyage of the Mimi”. His big break came with the release of the film “Good Will Hunting” which he co-wrote and co-starred in with his childhood friend Matt Damon. Affleck had a relationship with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, with the celebrity couple often being referred to as “Bennifer” in the media. He was also married for several years to actress Jennifer Garner, with whom he has three children.

14D Drive-__ car wash : THRU

The history of the drive-thru car wash began in 1914 with a manual “Automobile Laundry” in Detroit, where cars were pushed through a tunnel and washed by hand. The process gradually became more automated, with a winch system introduced in the 1940s and the first semi-automatic wash featuring sprinklers and an air dryer appearing in 1946. The first truly hands-free, fully automatic car wash, which pulled the car through and used automated brushes and blowers, was opened in Seattle in 1951.

17D Pacific salmon : COHO

The coho salmon is dark blue with silver along the side of its body, but only during the phase of its life while it is in the ocean. When spawning and heading up into a freshwater river, the coho has bright red sides.

20D Member of the working class : PROLE

Author George Orwell introduced us to the proles, the working class folk in his famous novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Collectively, the proles make up the section of society known as the proletariat.

22D “At Last” singer James : ETTA

The 1942 song “At Last” was written for the 1941 musical film “Sun Valley Serenade” in which it is performed by Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Etta James recorded a version of “At Last” in 1960, after which it became her signature song.

23D Food regimen : DIET

Quite often, the terms “regime” and “regimen” seem to be used interchangeably. In contemporary usage, “regime” is applied more generally, and “regimen” more specifically. A “regimen” is a systematic approach that one might apply to something, to exercise or diet for example. The term “regime” can also be used in such contexts, but can have additional definitions, such as “government in power”. A form of government cannot be described as a “regimen”.

25D Pub game with sharp projectiles : DARTS

It was illegal to play darts in English pubs in the early 1900s because it was considered a game of chance. The law was overturned in 1908 when a pub owner, prosecuted for allowing the game, brought a skilled player into court. The player proved it was a game of skill by throwing three darts into the 20-point segment and then challenged any court official to do the same. When none could, the judge dismissed the case.

32D Proofreader’s insertion mark : CARET

The character known as a caret (^) was originally a proofreading mark, one used to indicate where a punctuation mark was to be inserted. “Caret” is Latin for “it lacks”.

33D 401(k) kin : IRA

A 401(k) account resembles an IRA in that contributions can be made from a paycheck prior to the deduction of income taxes. It differs from an IRA in that it is an employer-sponsored plan, with payments taken by the employer directly from an employee’s paycheck. Additionally, contributions can be fully or partially matched by an employer.

36D Number of legs on some arthropods : EIGHT

Arthropods are invertebrates with external skeletons, segmented bodies and jointed appendages. The list of arthropods includes animals such as insects, spiders, centipedes and crabs. Over 80% of the animal species on the planet are arthropod species.

39D Miranda of “Homeland” : OTTO

Miranda Otto is an actress from Brisbane, Australia. Perhaps most notably, she played Éowyn in “The Lord of the Rings” series of films. I remember her playing the wife of the Tom Cruise character in the 2005 film “War of the Worlds”. She also played a pivotal role in several episodes of the excellent espionage thriller TV series “Homeland”, portraying the chief of the CIA’s Berlin Station (and double agent … spoiler!).

“Homeland” is a psychological drama TV show about a CIA officer who is convinced that a certain US Marine is a threat to the security of the United States. The show is based on a series from Israeli television called “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War”). I highly recommend it …

45D Name on a box by the dryer : BOUNCE

Bounce is a brand of fabric softener and dryer sheets produced by Procter & Gamble.

48D Aspen trail : SKI RUN

Aspen, Colorado used to be known as Ute City, with the name change taking place in 1880. Like many communities in the area, Aspen was a mining town, and in 1891 and 1892 it was at the center of the highest production of silver in the US. Nowadays, it’s all about skiing and movie stars.

59D Pie __ mode : A LA

In French cuisine, “à la mode” (literally “in the manner of” or “according to the custom”) is a term that indicates a dish is prepared in a particular or traditional way, often referring to the specific cut of meat or method of preparation.

61D Cattle chew : CUD

Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely, exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.

62D Mil. mess duties : KPS

The initialism “KP” is US military slang that stands for either “kitchen police” or “kitchen patrol”.