Constructed by: Samuel A. Donaldson
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
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Theme: Tea for Two
Today’s themed answers are common phrases, but a TEA sound has been swapped out FOR a TWO sound:
- 60A…”No, No, Nanette” song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across..TEA FOR TWO
- 17A…What Fey does in a mushy moment?..TINA MELTS (from “tuna melts”)
- 24A…Ornamental ducks?..GARDEN TEALS (from “garden tools”)
- 36A…Model high schoolers?..FINE TEENS (from “fine-tunes”)
- 51A…Park statue that might have the real things perched on it?..STEEL PIGEON (from “stool pigeon”)
Bill’s time: 14m 24s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…Quads with wheels..ATVS
All-terrain vehicle (ATV)
5…Perry of pop..KATY
Katy Perry is an American singer who grew up listening to and singing gospel music, as she was the daughter of two Christian pastors. In fact, her first musical release was a gospel album in 2001. She has branched out since then. Her first successful single was “Ur so Gay”, followed by “I Kissed A Girl”. She was married (only for a year) to the British comedian Russell Brand, until 2012.
9…Two-iron, before golf club numbering..CLEEK
Most of the irons in a golf bag had non-numerical names in days gone by:
- 2 Iron … Cleek
- 3 Iron … Mid Mashie
- 4 Iron … Mashie Iron
- 5 Iron … Mashie
- 6 Iron … Spade Mashie
- 7 Iron … Mashie Niblick
- 8 Iron … Pitching Niblick
- 9 Iron … Niblick
14…Orator’s prowess: Abbr…RHET
Rhetoric (rhet.)
15…Der Spiegel article..EINE
“Der Spiegel” is a very successful German magazine found on newsstands all over Europe. The name “Der Spiegel” translates from German into “the Mirror”.
16…Modicum..OUNCE
Our term “ounce” comes from the Latin “uncia”, which was 1/12 of a “libra”, the Roman “pound”.
A modicum is a small portion, with “modicum” coming into English from Latin, via Scottish. “Modicum” is Latin for “a little”.
17…What Fey does in a mushy moment?..TINA MELTS (from “tuna melts”)
Comic actress Tina Fey has a scar on her face a few inches long on her left cheek, which I was shocked to learn was caused by a childhood “slashing” incident. When she was just five years old and playing in the front yard of her house, someone just came up to her and slashed her with a knife. How despicable!
24…Ornamental ducks?..GARDEN TEALS (from “garden tools”)
The beautiful color of teal takes it name from the duck called a “teal”, which has dark greenish-blue (teal) markings on its head and wings.
30…Beefcake subjects..HUNKS
It’s not really clear how the “cheesecake” came to be used for a provocative picture of a woman. It is known that the term arose in the 1930s, and originally applied to to the covers of “pulp” magazines that used the images of the attractive young females to attract a largely male audience. One theory is that during the depression years, the luscious cheesecake dessert was unattainable, as were the “luscious” models depicted on the magazine covers. The male equivalent of cheesecake is “beefcake”.
32…Polo of “The Fosters”..TERI
Teri Polo’s most prominent role on the big screen was Pam Focker in “Meet the Fockers” and its sequel. Pam is the wife of the character played by Ben Stiller. Polo also played the wife of Presidential candidate Matt Santos in “The West Wing”.
“The Fosters” is a teen drama TV show about a lesbian couple raising a blended family of biological, adopted and foster children. Jennifer Lopez is involved in the show as an executive producer.
33…Provençal possessive..SES
“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its”, when referring to a group of items.
Provence is a geographical region in France, in the south of the country. The region was once a Roman province called Provincia Romana, and was the first Roman province beyond the Alps. It is this Roman name “Provincia Romana” that gives Provence its name.
34…1974 #1 country hit for Dolly Parton..JOLENE
I must admit that I am not a big fan of country music, but I do like the 1974 hit “Jolene” written and performed by Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton tells the story that the song was inspired by a red-headed bank teller who was frequently flirting with her husband.
39…__ Pie..ESKIMO
An Eskimo Pie is a chocolate-covered ice cream bar. The dessert was created in 1920, and first sold under the name “I-Scream Bar”.
42…Slowing, on scores: Abbr…RIT
Rit. (or sometimes ritard.) is the abbreviation for “ritardando”, a musical direction to slow down the tempo.
43…Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego..ALI G
Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian and comic actor from England. Baron Cohen is perhaps most famous for playing the characters Borat and Ali G on the small and large screens. I’m not a fan …
50…Number on a clapperboard..TAKE
Clapperboards are used in filmmaking as a device to help synchronize audio and video tracks, as well as to keep track of scene and take numbers.
51…Park statue that might have the real things perched on it?..STEEL PIGEON (from “stool pigeon”)
Stoolies, also called canaries, will sing to the cops given the right incentive. “Stoolie” is short for “stool pigeon”. A stool pigeon was a decoy bird tied to a stool so as to lure other pigeons. Originally a stoolie was a decoy for the police, rather than an informer, hence the name.
55…Sylvan Tolkien creature..ENT
Ents are those tree-like creatures that live in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth in his series of books “The Lord of the Rings”. “Ent” is an Old English word for “giant”.
A sylvan area is wooded, covered in trees. “Silva” is the Latin word for “forest”.
60…”No, No, Nanette” song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across..TEA FOR TWO
The 1925 musical “No, No, Nanette” spawned two famous songs: “Tea for Two” and “I Want to Be Happy”.
65…Der Spiegel rejection..NEIN
“Nein” is the German for “no”.
68…Where el sol rises..ESTE
In Spanish, “el sol” (the sun) rises in the “este” (east).
Down
3…Avenue next to Monopoly’s Water Works..VENTNOR
Ventnor Avenue is a property in the game of Monopoly. The street names in the US version of Monopoly are locations in or around Atlantic City, New Jersey.
7…Big blowup cause..TNT
TNT is an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene was first produced in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand, who developed it for use as a yellow dye. TNT is relatively difficult to detonate so it was on the market as a dye for some years before its more explosive properties were discovered.
8…Sycophants..YES MEN
A sycophant is a selfish person, one who flatters. The term comes from the Greek “sykophantes” which originally meant “one who shows the fig”. This phrase described a vulgar gesture made with the thumb and two fingers.
11…Subjugate..ENSLAVE
“To subjugate” is to bring under control, to enslave. The term comes from the Latin “subiugare”, which has the same meaning. A more literal translation of the Latin is bring under (“sub”) the yoke (“iugum”).
12…Command level..ECHELON
We use the word “echelon” (ech.) to describe a rank or level, particularly in the military. The term comes from French, in which language it has the same meaning, although the original meaning in Old French is “rung of a ladder”.
18…GQ or SI..MAG
The Men’s magazine known today as “GQ” used to be titled “Gentlemen’s Quarterly”, and before that was called “Apparel Arts” when it was launched in 1931.
“Sports Illustrated” (“SI”) is a weekly sports magazine that first hit the newsstands in 1954.
22…HP product..INKJET
Inkjet is a very accurate and descriptive name for the type of printer. Printing is done by shooting fine jets of ink onto the page.
25…South Korea’s first president..RHEE
Syngman Rhee was born in Korea, but received much of his education in the US, including a Ph.D. from Princeton. The very much westernized Rhee returned to Korea in 1910, a Korea that by then had been annexed by Japan. Soon after he found himself President of a Provisional Government of Korea based in Shanghai, but was eventually ousted for misuse of power. After WWII, Rhee was installed as President, heavily backed by the United States. However, Rhee’s rule proved to be more like tyranny and during the Korean War his relationship with the US Government became very strained. He stayed in power until 1960 when student revolts became popular enough to force him out of office. The CIA flew him out of the country and he went into exile in Hawaii, where a few years later he died of a stroke.
27…Baltic Sea country: Abbr…SWE
The country of Sweden emerged during the Middle Ages, and became one of the great powers of Europe in the days of the Swedish Empire in 17th and early 18th century. Since then Sweden’s influence has waned. What was the eastern part of Sweden was lost to Russia in the early 1800s, and is now modern-day Finland. In the 20th century Sweden has adopted a very non-aggressive stance and was neutral in both World Wars.
The Baltic is a sea in northern Europe that is much less saline than the oceans. The lower amount of salt in the Baltic partially explains why almost half of the sea freezes over during the winter. In fact, the Baltic has been known to completely freeze over several times in recent centuries.
29…Airport connection..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.
33…Joe Cool, sans shades..SNOOPY
When cartoon beagle Snoopy adopts his “Joe Cool” alias, he puts on sunglasses and just leans against a wall doing nothing.
35…Exam for a would-be atty…LSAT
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
38…The Emerald Isle..EIRE
Ireland is called the “Emerald Isle” (and described as “green”) because of all that green grass that grows due to the seemingly non-stop rain.
39…Text tweakers, briefly..EDS
Editor (ed.)
41…Patella protector..KNEEPAD
The patella is the kneecap. “Patella” is the Latin term for the bone, and is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.
44…Ophelia’s avenger..LAERTES
In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, Laertes is the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. It is Laertes who kills Hamlet using a poisoned sword..
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia is courted by Hamlet, the man himself. Ophelia is the daughter of nobleman Polonius. She dies …
49…Being handled by a broker..LISTED
That would be a property listed by a real estate broker.
In the world of law, there are two main classes of property: personal property and real property. Personal property is basically movable property. Real property is immovable, such as land or buildings and related assets.
52…What Spanish Olympians go for..EL ORO
In Spanish, an athlete in the Olympics goes for “el oro” (the gold).
54…Con beginning..NEO-
By definition, a neoconservative (neocon) is a former left-aligned politician who has moved to the right and supports the use of American power and military to bring democracy, liberty, equality and human rights to other countries.
58…Former Education secretary Duncan..ARNE
Long before Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education he was a professional basketball player, but not in the NBA. Duncan played for the National Basketball League of Australia, for the Eastside Spectres in Melbourne.
59…Original D&D co…TSR
Dungeons & Dragons is a complex role-playing game (RPG) first published in 1974, by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my nerdy son …
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…Quads with wheels..ATVS
5…Perry of pop..KATY
9…Two-iron, before golf club numbering..CLEEK
14…Orator’s prowess: Abbr…RHET
15…Der Spiegel article..EINE
16…Modicum..OUNCE
17…What Fey does in a mushy moment?..TINA MELTS (from “tuna melts”)
19…Forward..UNSHY
20…Sandal feature..T-STRAP
21…Work the room..MINGLE
23…Long time..EON
24…Ornamental ducks?..GARDEN TEALS (from “garden tools”)
28…Blanket in a belt..SNOW
30…Beefcake subjects..HUNKS
31…One given at a wedding..VOW
32…Polo of “The Fosters”..TERI
33…Provençal possessive..SES
34…1974 #1 country hit for Dolly Parton..JOLENE
36…Model high schoolers?..FINE TEENS (from “fine-tunes”)
39…__ Pie..ESKIMO
42…Slowing, on scores: Abbr…RIT
43…Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego..ALI G
47…Home office, maybe..DEN
48…Quite cold..POLAR
50…Number on a clapperboard..TAKE
51…Park statue that might have the real things perched on it?..STEEL PIGEON (from “stool pigeon”)
55…Sylvan Tolkien creature..ENT
56…Airport snags..DELAYS
57…Dreaded..FEARED
59…Hit lightly..TAP ON
60…”No, No, Nanette” song, and a homophonic hint to 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across..TEA FOR TWO
63…Sudden jerk..START
64…Way off the highway..EXIT
65…Der Spiegel rejection..NEIN
66…Second chances..REDOS
67…”__ arigato”: Japanese “thank you very much”..DOMO
68…Where el sol rises..ESTE
Down
1…”Draw me” challenge..ART TEST
2…Selective words..THIS ONE
3…Avenue next to Monopoly’s Water Works..VENTNOR
4…Headliner..STAR
5…__ straight face..KEEP A
6…Come down with a bug..AIL
7…Big blowup cause..TNT
8…Sycophants..YES MEN
9…Has faith in..COUNTS ON
10…Sudden movement..LUNGE
11…Subjugate..ENSLAVE
12…Command level..ECHELON
13…Exam marking aid..KEY
18…GQ or SI..MAG
22…HP product..INKJET
25…South Korea’s first president..RHEE
26…Cleaning aid..DUST RAG
27…Baltic Sea country: Abbr…SWE
29…Airport connection..WI-FI
33…Joe Cool, sans shades..SNOOPY
35…Exam for a would-be atty…LSAT
37…Surgical installations..IMPLANTS
38…The Emerald Isle..EIRE
39…Text tweakers, briefly..EDS
40…Appointment..SET DATE
41…Patella protector..KNEEPAD
44…Ophelia’s avenger..LAERTES
45…”Aha!”..I KNEW IT!
46…Finish..GET DONE
49…Being handled by a broker..LISTED
52…What Spanish Olympians go for..EL ORO
53…Heading for..OFF TO
54…Con beginning..NEO-
58…Former Education secretary Duncan..ARNE
59…Original D&D co…TSR
61…Outer: Pref…EXO-
62…Intent..AIM