Tag: Obscure for security reasons perhaps crossword clue

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Constructed by: Kyle Dolan
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: I’m Not a Robot

Even though the themed answers all include a metal, they ARE NOT ROBOTS:

• 56A Captcha confirmation well-suited to the people in 16-, 27-, and 42-Across? : I’M NOT A ROBOT

• 16A Margaret Thatcher biopic : THE IRON LADY
• 27A Nickname in Metropolis : MAN OF STEEL
• 42A Admirals, colloquially : NAVAL BRASS

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

Bill’s time: 7m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Tunneling pests : ANTS

Anthills are actually underground nests. The ants in the colony excavate below ground, resulting in a pile of sand or soil above ground.

14 Event that may begin at sunset : SOIREE

“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a soirée is an evening party. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.

16 Margaret Thatcher biopic : THE IRON LADY

“The Iron Lady” is a 2011 biopic about Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister. The marvelous Meryl Streep does a wonderful job playing the title role. I had great expectations for this film and found that it didn’t quite deliver, despite a great cast.

Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the UK from 1979 to 1990, making her the longest serving leader of the country in the 20th century, and the first woman to hold the office. Thatcher’s nickname in the press was the “Iron Lady”, a moniker bestowed on her by a Soviet journalist. The “Iron Lady” was born Margaret Hilda Roberts, the daughter of a grocer. She studied chemistry at Oxford University and worked for a while as a research chemist.

18 “60 Minutes” network : CBS

The marvelous news magazine program “60 Minutes” has been on the air since 1968. The show is unique among all other regularly-scheduled shows in that it has never used theme music. There is just the ticking of that Aristo stopwatch.

20 Many profile pics : SELFIES

A selfie is a self-portrait, one usually taken with a digital camera or cell phone. A “group selfie” is sometimes referred to as a “groufie” or “wefie”. A “couple selfie” is known as an “usie” or “ussie”, although those terms are sometimes also used for a group picture.

22 Fra __: spicy Italian sauce : DIAVOLO

Fra diavolo is a spicy sauce used for pasta and seafood that is usually made with chili peppers in a tomato base. The name “Fra diavolo” translates to “Brother devil”. The sauce may be named for the Italian revolutionary Michele Pezza who was also known as Fra Diavolo.

27 Nickname in Metropolis : MAN OF STEEL

In the world of DC Comics, Metropolis is a city-state in America that is inspired by real-life New York City that is home to Superman, the Man of Steel. And, while New York City is nicknamed “the Big Apple”, fictional Metropolis is nicknamed “the Big Apricot”.

30 Affectionate treatment, for short : TLC

Tender loving care (TLC)

31 Actress Tomei : MARISA

Marisa Tomei’s first screen role was in the daytime soap “As the World Turns”, but her break came with a recurring role in “The Cosby Show” spin-off “A Different World”. Tomei won an Oscar for her delightful performance in “My Cousin Vinny” in 1992.

32 Like the sound of a double bass : DEEP

The double bass (often just “bass”) is usually referred to as the bass fiddle or bass violin in the world of folk and bluegrass music.

39 Greenery symbolizing victory : LAUREL

To be “laureate” is to be “crowned with laurels”. In ancient Greece, poets and heroes were honored with a crown or wreath made from laurels.

41 Fox foot : PAW

Male foxes are usually called dogs, and sometimes tods or reynards. Females are vixens, and young foxes are cubs, pups or kits.

46 Crumbly, briny cheese : FETA

Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep’s milk, or a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk. The cheese is salted and cured in a brine solution for several months before it is eaten.

48 Carolina __: superhot peppers : REAPERS

The Carolina reaper was recorded as the hottest chili pepper by “Guinness World Records” starting in 2013. It is a cultivar that was developed by pepper breeder Ed Currie (an apt family name!). “Guinness” demoted the Carolina reaper in 2023, instead recognizing the Pepper X as the world’s hottest. Notably, the Pepper X was also bred by Ed Currie.

50 Casual eateries : BISTROS

“Bistro” was originally a Parisian slang term describing a little wine shop or restaurant.

53 Obscure for security reasons, perhaps : REDACT

Our word “redact”, meaning to revise or edit, comes from the past participle of the Latin “redigere” meaning “to reduce”.

56 Captcha confirmation well-suited to the people in 16-, 27-, and 42-Across? : I’M NOT A ROBOT

A CAPTCHA is a challenge-and-response test that is used to determine if a user is a human or some automated program. The acronym “CAPTCHA” stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”.

59 Google Maps fig. : ETA

Google Maps was developed as a web mapping service for desktops. The (wonderful!) Google Maps mobile app was released in 2008, and is now the most popular smartphone app in the world.

61 One of the Gilmore girls : RORY

“Gilmore Girls” is a comedy show that originally aired from 2000 to 2007 on the WB. The title characters are mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. All the action takes place in the fictional Connecticut town of Stars Hollow. The theme song was written by Carole King, and is a version of her 1971 recording “Where You Lead”. King sing’s the show’s theme with her own daughter, Louise Goffin.

62 Rehoboth Beach’s st. : DEL

Rehoboth Beach is a southern Delaware city in the state’s Cape Henlopen Region. It is a popular vacation destination for folks from Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. One of those vacationers is President Joe Biden, who owns a summer home in Rehoboth Beach.

64 Skating jump with a forward take-off : AXEL

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

Down

3 Ski binding part : TOEPIECE

Ski bindings connect ski boots to skis. Bindings have evolved greatly over the decades, largely to reduce the risk of injury to skiers taking a fall.

5 Fashion designer Diane __ Furstenberg : VON

Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF) is a fashion designer from Brussels, now based in the US. Born Diane Halfin, she was Princess Diane of Fürstenberg from 1969 until 1972 while married to Prince Egon of Fürstenberg.

10 __ tax : EXCISE

Excise taxes differ from customs duties. Excise taxes are imposed on goods within a nation’s borders, whereas customs duties are imposed at the border on importation.

11 Marbled beef cut : RIB EYE

If you’re in Australia or New Zealand and looking for a rib eye steak, you’ll need to order a “Scotch fillet”.

12 Book in a pew : MISSAL

Missals came into being in medieval times and were used primarily by priests and ministers. A missal is a book containing all the texts necessary for the celebration of Mass through the liturgical year. Nowadays missals are used by the congregation and not just by the celebrants. The term “missal” comes from the Latin for “Mass book”.

14 Biblical city : SODOM

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Admah and Zeboim, were destroyed by God for the sins of their inhabitants, according to the Bible. The name Sodom has become a metaphor for vice and homosexuality, and gives us our word “sodomy”.

23 Hedy of Hollywood : LAMARR

Hedy Lamarr was an American actress who was actually born in Vienna in modern-day Austria. Not only was Lamarr a successful Hollywood performer, during WWII she was the co-inventor of a frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum method of transmitting radio signals that is still used to this day in wireless communication. Impressive …

29 Many a Christmas tree : FIR

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

34 Grizzly baby : CUB

The North American brown bear is usually referred to as the grizzly bear. The name “grizzly” was given to the bear by Lewis and Clark. The term “grizzly” might mean “with gray-tipped hair”, or “fear-inspiring”. Both definitions seem to be apt …

36 Spot for Statler and Waldorf on “The Muppet Show” : OPERA BOX

Statler and Waldorf are two Muppets who are very fond of heckling other characters (especially Fozzie Bear) on “The Muppet Show” while sitting in their box seats in a theater. They are a cantankerous pair, and were named for the Statler Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria hotels in New York City.

38 Pan Am rival : TWA

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a big carrier in the US, but was perhaps even more recognized for its extensive presence in Europe and the Middle East. For many years, especially after the collapse of Pan Am and TWA’s purchase by Howard Hughes, TWA was considered the unofficial flag carrier for the US. The company started in 1930, the product of a forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express. The Transcontinental and Western Air that resulted (the original meaning of the initialism “TWA”) was what the Postmaster General wanted, a bigger airline to which the Postal Service could award airmail contracts.

44 Liege’s tenant : VASSAL

Feudalism was a legal and military system that flourished in medieval Europe. Central to the system were the concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. Lords would grant fiefs (land or rights) to vassals in exchange for allegiance and service.

A liege was a feudal lord, one to whom service or allegiance was owed under feudal law. “Liege” was also the term used for one who owed allegiance or service to a lord. Apparently the term is influenced by the Latin verb “ligare” meaning “to tie, bind”. So, I guess both lord and servant were “bound” to each other.

45 Jazz singer Vaughan : SARAH

Sarah Vaughan was a jazz singer from Newark, New Jersey. The future winner of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy had a humble start to her career, singing and playing the piano at Newark Airport.

46 Hat for Indiana Jones : FEDORA

A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …

George Lucas created a lead character named “Indiana Smith” for what was to be his “Indiana Jones” series of films. Lucas asked Steven Spielberg to direct the first film, and Spielberg wasn’t too fond of the name “Smith”. Lucas then suggested “Jones” as an alternative, and Indiana Jones was born.

51 Arabian Peninsula country : OMAN

The Arabian Peninsula (also “Arabia”) is part of Western Asia that is located just north-east of Africa. The peninsula is bordered to the west by the Red Sea, to the northeast by the Persian Gulf, and to the southeast by the Indian Ocean. Most of the Arabian Peninsula is taken up by Saudi Arabia, but also included are Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. And, it’s the largest peninsula in the world, covering about 1¼ million square miles.

54 “bfn” reply : TTYL

Talk to you later (TTYL)

‘Bye for now (BFN)