Tag: Northeastern octet crossword clue

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Constructed by: Robin Stears
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: Excuses, Excuses!

Themed answers are common phrases, but each has a key word changed to a homophone that suits the clue:

• 23A “I always wanted to be a ballerina, but I … ” : … JUST DIDN’T GET THE POINTE (point)
• 34A “I always wanted to be a baker, but I … ” : … HAVEN’T GOT WHAT I KNEAD (need)
• 53A “I always wanted to be a Gregorian monk, but I … ” : … NEVER GOT THE CHANTS (chance)
• 73A “I always wanted to be a perfumer, but I … ” : … HAD NO COMMON SCENTS (sense)
• 91A “I always wanted to be a gardener, but I … ” : … COULDN’T FIND THE THYME (time)
• 109A “I always wanted to be a wedding officiant, but I … ” : … DON’T KNOW THE RITE (right) PEOPLE

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

Bill’s time: 11m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Jorts fabric : DENIM

Jorts, also known as jean shorts, were originally created by cutting off a pair of jeans to make them more comfortable to wear during hot weather. They became popular in the 1980s, although the term “jorts” didn’t come into use until the early 2000s.

6 North Africa’s __ Mountains : ATLAS

The Atlas Mountains are a range stretching across Northern Africa, through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts are on one side of the range, and the Sahara Desert on the other.

11 Cranberry sites : BOGS

When early European settlers came across red berries growing in the bogs of the northern part of America, they felt that the plant’s flower and stem resembled the head and bill of a crane. As such, they called the plant “craneberry”, which evolved into “cranberry”.

15 TV ads for good causes : PSAS

Public service announcement (PSA)

19 One who may live by the Strait of Hormuz : OMANI

Given the politics of oil, the Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway in the Middle East. It is the link between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. On one side of the strait sits the UAE and Oman, and on the other Iran. 40% of the world’s oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

21 Old Testament twin : ESAU

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Esau was the elder twin brother of Jacob, and son of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau sold his birthright, which entitled him to a double portion of his father’s inheritance, for a bowl of lentil stew because he was hungry and didn’t want to wait for his brother to cook food.

22 Actress Wilson of “His Dark Materials” : RUTH

English actress Ruth Wilson really hit the big time when she played the title role in 2006’s “Jane Eyre”, the BBC’s adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel.

23 “I always wanted to be a ballerina, but I … ” : … JUST DIDN’T GET THE POINTE (point)

“En pointe” is ballet dancing on the tips of the toes, and is a French term. A ballerina wears pointe shoes (sometimes “toe shoes”) to perform this delightful-looking, albeit unhealthy, feat (pun!).

29 Long Beach’s location, informally : SOCAL

The California city of Long Beach is home to the second-busiest container port in the nation. Anyone visiting the waterfront can tour the famous transatlantic liner RMS Queen Mary, which has been docked there since 1967.

30 “I __”: Election Day sticker : VOTED

Election day was chosen by Congress back in 1845. The month of November was selected as it suited an agricultural society, following the fall harvest and yet not too far into winter, which could make travel difficult. Tuesday was chosen so that people had time to travel to polling stations. Monday elections might have meant that some would have to start out on Sunday, and that could interfere with Christian services.

31 North Carolina university : ELON

Elon is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina located close to the city of Burlington. Elon University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1889.

33 Ambulance wailers : SIRENS

Our word “ambulance” originated from the French term “hôpital ambulant” meaning “field hospital” (literally “walking hospital”). In the 1850s, the term started to be used for a vehicle transporting the wounded from the battlefield, leading to our “ambulance”.

40 __ bar : DIVE

We’ve been using the word “dive” in American English for a run-down bar since the latter half of the 19th century. The term comes from the fact that disreputable taverns were usually located in basements, so one had to figuratively dive into them. I’m a big fan …

42 Northeastern octet : IVIES

The term “Ivy League” originally defined an athletic conference, but now it is used to describe a group of schools of higher education that are associated with both a long tradition and academic excellence. The eight Ivy League Schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.

48 Vega, e.g. : STAR

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Vega (along with Altair and Deneb from other constellations) is also part of the group of three stars that is called the Summer Triangle. Vega is the star at the right-angle of said triangle.

49 Phony : SHAM

A sham is something that is imitation, fake. In the world of bed linens, a sham is also an imitation or fake, in the sense that it is a decorative cover designed to cover up a regular pillow used for sleeping.

Something or someone described as phony (sometimes “phoney”) is not genuine or real. There is a suggestion that the term “phony” comes from “fawney”, which was a gold-plated brass ring used by swindlers in place of a one made of pure gold.

53 “I always wanted to be a Gregorian monk, but I … ” : … NEVER GOT THE CHANTS (chance)

The word “Gregorian” is an adjectival form of the name “Gregory”. I suppose the most common uses of the term are in “Gregorian chant” and “Gregorian calendar”. Gregorian chant is named for Pope Gregory I, and the Gregorian calendar is named for Pope Gregory XIII.

57 Undefeated boxer Laila : ALI

Laila Ali is the daughter of the great Muhammad Ali and is a very capable boxer in her own right. Laila’s professional record is an impressive 24 wins, including 21 knockouts. Now retired, she never lost a fight, and nor did she ever draw. One of those victories was against Jackie Frazier-Lyde, daughter of her father’s nemesis Joe Frazier. Laila is not a bad dancer either, coming in third place in the fourth season of “Dancing with the Stars”.

59 Goatee spot : CHIN

A goatee is a beard formed by hair on a man’s chin. The name probably comes from the tuft of hair seen on an adult goat.

60 Key of Beethoven’s “Eroica” : E-FLAT

Beethoven originally dedicated his “Symphony No. 3” to Napoleon Bonaparte. Beethoven admired the principles of the French Revolution and as such respected Bonaparte who was “born” out of the uprising. When Napoleon declared himself Emperor, Beethoven (and much of Europe) saw this as a betrayal to the ideals of the revolution so he changed the name of his new symphony from “Bonaparte” to “Eroica”, meaning “heroic, valiant”.

62 Soy-based frozen dessert brand : TOFUTTI

Tofutti is a brand that specializes in dairy-free, vegan products, and was founded in 1980 by David Mintz. The name “Tofutti” is a combination of the words “tofu” and “ricotta”. The brand started by producing a tofu-based ricotta cheese alternative.

67 “__ Place”: 1990s TV drama : MELROSE

“Melrose Place” is a soap opera that originally aired from 1992 to 1999. “Melrose” was a spin-off of the hit show “Beverly Hills, 90210”. The show’s name comes from where the story is set, in an apartment complex with the address of 4616 Melrose Place in West Hollywood, California. “Melrose Place” was rebooted in 2009 (and some called “Melrose Place 2.0”, but was canceled after just one season.

69 Classic Windows catchphrase : I’M A PC

Microsoft introduced the “I’m a PC” advertising campaign in 2008 as a direct challenge to Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign that ran from 2006 to 2009. Some ads in Microsoft’s campaign featured a celebrity uttering the “I’m a PC” line. The list of celebrities included writer Deepak Chopra, actress Eva Longoria and singer Pharrell Williams.

70 Bygone Dodge subcompact : OMNI

The Dodge Omni is basically the same car as the Plymouth Horizon, and was produced by Chrysler from 1978-90. The Omni is a front-wheel drive hatchback, the first in a long line of front-wheel drive cars that were very successful for Chrysler. The Omni was actually developed in France, by Chrysler’s Simca division. When production was stopped in the US in 1990, the tooling was sold to an Indian company that continued production for the Asian market for several years.

71 Messy scuffle : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

72 Customizable Wii Sports avatar : MII

Nintendo introduced customizable avatars for the company’s video game consoles starting in 1997. The first customizable avatars for the Wii system were introduced in 2006, and were given the inventive name “Miis”.

81 French infinitive : ETRE

The French for “to be” is “être”.

84 Midday : NOON

Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

86 Setting for many Stephen King novels : MAINE

Author Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine and graduated from the University of Maine. He now lives in Bangor, Maine and many of King’s stories are set in the state of Maine.

91 “I always wanted to be a gardener, but I … ” : … COULDN’T FIND THE THYME (time)

In Britain and Ireland, thyme is listed as one of the four essential herbs. And those would be “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”.

98 Sugar shack surrounders : MAPLES

Sugar shacks, also known as “cabanes à sucre” in French, are unique structures that are typically found in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. These small buildings are used for the production of maple syrup.

99 Actress Mireille : ENOS

Mireille Enos is an actress from Kansas City. She is perhaps best known for her TV work, playing Sarah Linden on “The Killing” and for playing twins Kathy and JoDean Marquart on “Big Love”. Enos is married to actor Alan Ruck, who I mainly remember playing Cameron Frye in the great movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

100 MLB stat : RBIS

Runs batted in (RBIs)

101 Massive old computer : ENIAC

The acronym ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (although many folks insist that the C was for “Computer”). ENIAC was introduced at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, at which time it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, and dubbed “Giant Brain” by the press. Its original purpose was the calculation of artillery firing tables, but it ended up being used early on to make calculations necessary for the development of the hydrogen bomb. Given its uses, it’s not surprising to hear that development of ENIAC was funded by the US Army during WWII.

102 Amazon crime series based on Michael Connelly novels : BOSCH

“Bosch” is a well-written police drama series produced by Amazon Studios. The title character, detective Harry Bosch, is portrayed by Titus Welliver. Harry Bosch features in a series of novels by Michael Connelly, who is also the TV show’s creator.

104 Fanny pack’s spot : WAIST

In Britain and Ireland, a “fanny pack” is called a “bum bag”. The use of the word “bum” is considered more polite than the word “fanny”, which has a very rude meaning in that part of the world. In North America, we sometimes use the term “butt pack” for the same thing.

113 Not aweather : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather. The sheltered side of an island, for example, might be referred to as the “lee” side.

114 Canine pal of Nermal and Garfield : ODIE

“Garfield” is a comic strip drawn by Jim Davis from 1978. The title character is an orange tabby cat. Davis named his cartoon hero Garfield after his own grandfather.

118 Batik artist : DYER

Genuine batik cloth is produced by applying wax to the parts of the cloth that are not to be dyed. After the cloth has been dyed, it is dried and then dipped in a solvent that dissolves the wax. Although wax-resist dyeing of fabric has existed in various parts of the world for centuries, it is most closely associated historically with the island of Java in Indonesia.

119 Sherwin-Williams product : PAINT

Sherwin-Williams is one of the largest producers of paints and coatings in the world. It was founded in 1866 in Cleveland, Ohio by Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams. The company originally sold pigments and other supplies to the paint industry.

120 Toast opener : HERE’S …

The tradition of toasting someone probably dates back to the reign of Charles II, when the practice was to drink a glass of wine to the health of a beautiful or favored woman. In those days, spiced toast was added to beverages to add flavor, so the use of the word “toast” was an indicator that the lady’s beauty would enhance the wine. Very charming, I must say …

Down

1 “Say So” singer __ Cat : DOJA

Doja Cat is a singer and rapper who first gained popularity with her hit song “Mooo!” in 2018. Her real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini.

2 Some Down Under sprinters : EMUS

The emu has had a tough time in Australia since man settled there. There was even an “Emu War” in Western Australia in 1932 when migrating emus competed with livestock for water and food. Soldiers were sent in and used machine guns in an unsuccessful attempt to drive off the “invading force”. The emus were clever, breaking their usual formations and adopting guerrilla tactics, operating as smaller units. After 50 days of “war”, the military withdrew. Subsequent requests for military help for the farmers were ignored. The emus had emerged victorious …

3 Graham in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame : NASH

Graham Nash is a British singer-songwriter who is best known for his work with the bands The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – once in 1997 as a member of The Hollies, and again in 1997 as a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In the late 1960s, Nash was romantically involved with Joni Mitchell, another iconic singer-songwriter. Their relationship inspired some of Nash’s best-known songs, including “Our House” and “Simple Man.”

4 QB misfire : INT

In football, if a quarterback’s (QB’s) pass ends up in the hands of a cornerback (CB), then that’s an interception (INT).

6 Pasta specification : AL DENTE

The Italian expression “al dente” literally means “to the tooth” or “to the bite” and is used to describe not only pasta, but also vegetables that are cooked so that they are tender and yet still crisp.

10 Vacillate : SEESAW

To vacillate is to be indecisive, to waver. The verb “to vacillate” comes from the Latin “vacillare” meaning “to sway to and fro”.

12 Dept. of Labor arm : OSHA

OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, operates a “Whistleblower Protection Program” that provides protection to workers who report violations of workplace safety laws. Under this program, workers who report such violations are protected from retaliation by their employers, such as being fired or demoted, for reporting these violations.

13 Fine __: Irish political party : GAEL

Fine Gael is a center-right political party in Ireland that was founded in 1933. Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar became “Taoiseach” (prime minister) in 2017, the first openly gay person to hold that position in Ireland.

15 “The Canterbury Tales” character : PRIORESS

“The Prioress’s Tale” is one of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. The story told by the prioress is very antisemitic, and tells of a child martyr killed by Jews.

16 Beverage brewed with solar energy : SUN TEA

Sun tea is tea that is made simply by dropping tea into water and letting it “brew” in the sun for a few hours, and then adding ice. A blog reader has kindly pointed out that he was told by a doctor that sun tea has the potential to be dangerous. The sun-heated brew is warm enough and sits long enough to incubate any bacterial contamination that may be present. I think I’ll stick to my regular iced tea that is speedily brewed at high temperature …

24 Appliance in some hotel room closets : IRON

In Old French a “clos” was an enclosure, with the diminutive form “closet” describing a small enclosure or private room. Over time this evolved into our modern usage of “closet”, describing a cabinet or cupboard.

25 Reggae pioneer Peter : TOSH

Peter Tosh was a musician from Jamaica, a member of the Wailers reggae band. Sadly, Tosh was murdered in a home invasion and extortion attempt in 1987.

26 Like a ram or a lamb : OVINE

The Latin word for “sheep” is “ovis”, giving us the adjective “ovine” meaning “like a sheep”.

32 Curry of the NBA’s “Splash Brothers” : STEPH

Stephen “Steph” Curry is a professional basketball player who was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 2009 draft. Steph’s father is former NBA player Dell Curry, and his younger brother is current player Seth Curry. Steph Curry is noted for accuracy in shooting. Curry set the record for three-pointers made in a regular season in 2013, broke that record in 2015, and broke it yet again in 2016. Then, in 2021, he broke the record for career three-pointers.

34 Home with cells : HIVE

Honeybees create a structure within their nests called a honeycomb that is used to contain their larvae and also to store honey and pollen. The honeycomb comprises hexagonal cells made from wax.

35 Tel __, Israel : AVIV

Israel’s Tel Aviv is known as the “White City” because of its many Bauhaus-style buildings. In fact, it has the largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world, with over 4,000 buildings in this style. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a suburb of the ancient port city of Jaffa.

39 Novelist Turgenev : IVAN

Ivan Turgenev was a Russian novelist and playwright. Turgenev’s most famous works are a collection of short stories called “A Sportsman’s Sketches” (1852) and the novel “Fathers and Sons” (1862).

45 Award quartet for John Legend, for short : EGOT

The acronym “EGOT” stands for “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony”, and is a reference to performers who have won all four awards. Also known as the “Showbiz Award Grand Slam”, there are relatively few individuals who have been so honored. The first five to do so were:

1. Richard Rodgers in 1962
2. Helen Hayes in 1977
3. Rita Moreno in 1977
4. John Gielgud in 1991
5. Audrey Hepburn in 1994 (posthumously)

“John Legend” is the stage name of singer-songwriter John Stephens. He has received many awards, and made many memorable performances. Notably, he played Jesus Christ in a live concert version of the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” produced for NBC in 2018. In 2019, Legend started appearing as a coach in the TV show “The Voice”. He married model Chrissy Teigen in 2013.

47 Grapefruit wedge : SECTION

The somewhat bitter fruit that we know as “grapefruit” originated in the island nation of Barbados in the Caribbean. It developed as a hybrid (possibly accidentally) of the Jamaican sweet orange and the Indonesian pomelo. Back in the mid-1700s, the new hybrid was referred to as “the forbidden fruit”, and later as the shaddock. Some believe that a “Captain Shaddock” brought Indonesian pomelo seeds to Barbados and was responsible for developing the hybrid. The contemporary name is perhaps an allusion to the fact that grapefruit grow in clusters like grapes.

52 Puny parasite : MITE

Mites are tiny arthropods in the arachnid (spider) class. They are (annoyingly!) very successful creatures that have adapted to all sorts of habitats. And being so small, mites generally pass unnoticed. Ick …

55 Sulu player John : CHO

John Cho is an actor and musician who was born in Seoul, South Korea but has lived in the US since he was a young boy. Cho’s break in movies came in playing Harold Lee in the ”Harold & Kumar” films. He is now making a name for himself playing Mr. Sulu in the latest “Star Trek” movies.

62 Person of the Year designator : TIME

“Time” magazine started naming a “Man of the Year” in 1927, only changing the concept to “Person of the Year” in 1999. Prior to 1999, the magazine did recognize four females as “Woman of the Year”: Wallis Simpson (1936), Soong May-ling a.k.a. Madame Chiang Kai-shek (1937), Queen Elizabeth II (1952) and Corazon Aquino (1986). “Time” named Albert Einstein as Person of the Century in 1999, with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi as runners-up.

65 Some med. plans : HMOS

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

68 “Frozen” sister : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Else was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

70 Advent : ONSET

In the Christian traditions, Advent is the season of expectation prior to the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus. The term “Advent” comes from the Latin “adventus” meaning “coming”. In non-religious contexts, an advent is a coming into being.

71 Ramadan, e.g. : MONTH

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The fast begins at dawn and ends at sunset each day. The end of Ramadan is marked by a three-day festival called Eid al-Fitr, which means “festival of breaking the fast.”

74 Essential fatty __ : ACIDS

Essential fatty acids (unlike “essential” oils) are fatty acids that we humans must ingest for good health, because our bodies cannot synthesize them. In that sense, essential fatty acids are like vitamins, being essential to the body but in very low quantities. In fact, the only two known essential fatty acids (alpha-linoleic acid and linoleic acid) were classified as “vitamin F” soon after they were discovered in the 1920s.

75 Brooks’s country music partner : DUNN

Brooks & Dunn are a country music duo made up of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. They hold the record for the most wins of the Country Music Association’s Vocal Duo of the Year award.

77 Castle trench : MOAT

A moat is a protective trench that surrounds a castle, say, or an exhibit in a zoo. A moat may or may not be filled with water.

79 Koala hangout : TREE

Koalas are not bears, but are marsupials, which means they carry their young in a pouch.They are known for their diet of eucalyptus leaves, which are toxic to most other animals. To cope with this, koalas have a special digestive system that allows them to break down the toxins and extract the nutrients from the leaves. Koalas are one of the sleepiest animals in the world, sleeping up to 20 hours a day. This is because eucalyptus leaves provide very little energy.

80 Genre of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones : SKA

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is a ska punk band that formed in 1983 in Boston. The band hosts an annual music festival in Boston around Christmas that is known as the Hometown Throwdown. The band’s frontman, Dicky Barrett, was the announcer for the late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from 2004 until 2022.

87 Smart __ : ALECK

Apparently, the original “smart Alec” (sometimes “Aleck”) was one Alec Hoag, a pimp, thief and confidence trickster who plied his trade in New York City in the 1840s.

91 Cooking oil option : CANOLA

Canola is a type of rapeseed, and Canola oil is made from the seeds. The particular cultivar used in oil production was developed in Canada, and the name Canola in fact comes from “CANadian Oil, Low Acid”.

93 “The Addams Family” uncle : FESTER

In the original television version of “The Addams Family”, the character called Uncle Fester was played by Jackie Coogan. In the first two adaptations for the big screen, Uncle Fester was portrayed by the talented Christopher Lloyd.

96 Recipe amt. : TBSP

Tablespoon (tbsp.)

97 Built for NASA, say : HI-TECH

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

103 Scrape covered with a Paw Patrol bandage, e.g. : OWIE

“PAW Patrol” is an animated children’s show that started airing in 2013. It’s all about Ryder, a young lad who leads the PAW Patrol, a pack of search-and-rescue dogs.

104 Library convenience : WI-FI

“Wi-Fi” is nothing more than a trademark, a trademark registered by an association of manufacturers of equipment that use wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology. A device labeled with “Wi-Fi” has to meet certain defined technical standards, basically meaning that the devices can talk to each other. The name “Wi-Fi” suggests “Wireless Fidelity”, although apparently the term was never intended to mean anything at all.

106 Cowpoke’s poker : SPUR

“Cowpoke” is a term used nowadays for any cowboy, but it was originally limited to the cowboys who prodded cattle onto railroad cars using long poles.

111 Fjord kin : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, and both are formed as sea levels rise. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

112 One of five principal resources in the game Catan : ORE

The Settlers of Catan (now just “Catan”) is a board game that was introduced in 1995, in Germany as “Die Siedler von Catan”. The game is very popular in the US and was called “the board game of our time” by the “Washington Post”. My son plays it a lot, and as a lover of board games, I am going to have to check it out …