Tag: Playroom detritus crossword clue

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Constructed by: Jay Silverman
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Choppy Waters

Happy New Year, everyone! Themed answers each include a CHOPPED-UP body of WATER spelled out within, in circled letters:

• 53A Rough sailing, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues : CHOPPY WATERS

• 20A *Occasion to stay up late : SLUMBER PARTY (hiding a choppy BAY)
• 29A *Hard wear with links : CHAIN MAIL (hiding a choppy CANAL)
• 38A *Team whose stadium is at the highest elevation in the majors : COLORADO ROCKIES (hiding a choppy LAKE)
• 45A *Ford Mustang, for one : MUSCLE CAR (hiding a choppy SEA)

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

Bill’s time: 5m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 88 Earth days on Mercury : YEAR

Mercury is the smallest of the planets in our solar system, and is the nearest to the Sun. Mercury orbits the sun relatively rapidly compared to the other planets, and this fact may have led to it being given the name “Mercury”, the Roman deity who was the speedy messenger to the gods.

14 Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida __” : LOCA

“Livin’ La Vida Loca” is a 1999 single recorded by Ricky Martin, the title of which translates as “Living The Crazy Life”.

Ricky Martin’s real name is Enrique Martin Morales. A native of Puerto Rico, Martin first achieved fame with the boy band Menudo before going solo in 1991.

16 Like a literary duckling : UGLY

Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Ugly Duckling” has to be one of the most endearing ever written. Unlike so many fairy tales, “The Ugly Duckling” isn’t based on any folklore and is simply a product of Andersen’s imagination. It is speculated that Andersen was the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince of Denmark, and that he wrote the story of the ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan as a metaphor for the secret royal lineage that was within Andersen himself.

17 Gelcap, e.g. : PILL

Gelatin capsules (gelcaps) might be an issue for those on a strict vegan diet. The gelatin used in the capsule is made from collagen extracted from animal skin and bone.

18 Rodeo rope : RIATA

A riata is a lariat or a lasso. “Riata” comes from “reata”, the Spanish word for “lasso”.

23 Anna’s “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. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

27 Protein source in Greek salad : FETA

What we know as a Greek salad here in North America evolved from the horiatiki salad from Greek cuisine. The name “horiatiki” translates as “peasant, village salad”. A typical horiatiki salad consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives with a slice of feta cheese on top. It also includes a dressing made from Greek oregano and salt in olive oil. Notably, the original dish does not include lettuce.

38 *Team whose stadium is at the highest elevation in the majors : COLORADO ROCKIES (hiding a choppy LAKE)

Coors Field in Denver is home to the Colorado Rockies MLB team. Coors Field used to give up the most home runs in the league, due to low air density and dry air at Denver’s high elevation. The number of home runs has dropped dramatically since 2002 when officials began to store game balls in a high-humidity environment.

42 Actor Mahershala : ALI

Mahershala Ali is an actor and sometime rapper. Among the more memorable roles Ali has had are lobbyist Remy Danton in TV’s “House of Cards”, and Colonel Boggs in “The Hunger Games” series of movies. He also won Best Supporting Actor Oscars for playing Juan in the 2016 drama “Moonlight”, and Dr. Don Shirley in 2018’s “Green Book”.

45 *Ford Mustang, for one : MUSCLE CAR (hiding a choppy SEA)

By definition, a “muscle car” is a small vehicle with a large and maybe oversized engine.

The Ford Mustang car was introduced in 1964. Back then the Mustang wasn’t a brand new design, but was based on the Ford Falcon. The Mustang was the first of the “pony cars”, American models that are compact and affordable, as well as sporty in image and performance.

50 Branch of Islam : SHIA

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

51 Storyteller __ Christian Andersen : HANS

The wonderful storyteller Hans Christian Andersen became very successful in his own lifetime. In 1847 he visited England for the summer and made a triumphal tour of English society’s most fashionable drawing rooms. There Andersen met with the equally successful Charles Dickens, and the two seemed to hit it off. Ten years later Andersen returned to England and stayed for five weeks in Dickens’ home as his guest. Dickens published “David Copperfield” soon after, and supposedly the less than lovable character Uriah Heep was based on Dickens’ house guest Hans Christian Andersen. That wasn’t very nice!

60 Mexican peninsula, informally : BAJA

The Baja California Peninsula lies in the northwest of Mexico. It is bounded on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, and on the northeast by the Gulf of California. The border city of Mexicali sits at the north of the peninsula, and the resort city of Cabo San Lucas sits at the southern tip.

63 Alpaca kin : LLAMA

Alpacas are like small llamas, but unlike llamas were never beasts of burden. They were bred specifically for the fleece. As such, there are no known wild alpacas these days, even in their native Peru.

66 Bamboozles : DUPES

It’s thought that the lovely word “bamboozle” came into English from the Scottish “bombaze” meaning “perplex”. We’ve been using “bamboozle” since the very early 1700s.

67 Mythical cousin of Bigfoot : YETI

The sasquatch (also “bigfoot”) is our North American equivalent of the yeti, the ape-like creature said to inhabit the Himalayas. Bigfoot is supposedly hiding out mainly in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

Down

3 RBG employer in the 1970s : ACLU

“RBG” is a 2018 documentary about the amazing life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The film was released two years before Ginsberg died. After her passing, it was re-released, with box office profits going to the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU).

4 South Carolina’s state tree : PALMETTO

The palmetto is a genus of palms that are native to the tropical regions of the Americas. The Sabal palmetto is the state tree of both Florida and South Carolina. South Carolina’s state flag also features a silhouette of a Sabal palmetto tree.

6 Former French president Jacques : CHIRAC

Jacques Chirac served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He also served twice as Prime Minister of France, and as the Mayor of Paris.

7 Haphazard pile : HEAP

Our word “hap” means chance or fortune. It turns up combined in words like “haphazard” and even “happen”. “To happen” originally meant “to occur by hap, by chance”.

8 “¿Cómo __ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is a more formal way of asking “How are you?” in Spanish.

9 People person? : STAR

There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call “People” magazine. “People” is noted for its annual special editions with features such as “Best & Worst Dressed” and “Sexiest Man Alive”. The “Sexiest Man Alive” edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for “Sexiest Man” was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

21 Serena’s frenemy on “Gossip Girl” : BLAIR

“Gossip Girl” is a teen drama TV show that originally aired from 2007 to 2012. It is based on the series of young adult novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. Both the show and novels are about a group of privileged high schoolers in New York City. The exploits of the teens are chronicled by an unknown gossip blogger, hence the title.

22 Cargo weight : TON

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

25 Reno venue : CASINO

The city of Reno’s economy took off when open gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. Within a short time, a syndicate had built the Bank Club in Reno, which was the largest casino in the world at the time.

27 Magic competition hosted by Penn & Teller : FOOL US

“Penn & Teller: Fool Us” is a TV show in which magicians compete to “fool” celebrated illusionists Penn & Teller. The idea is to perform an illusion in front of Penn & Teller, without the pair working out how the trick is done. Despite the setting in Las Vegas, the show was commissioned by British network ITV. ITV canceled the show after one season, and so it was taken up by the American network The CW. The show was originally hosted by English TV personality Jonathan Ross, with American actress Alyson Hannigan taking over at the start of season three.

28 “Bad Guy” singer Billie : EILISH

“bad guy” is a Grammy-winning song co-written by Billie Eilish that she released in March of 2019. She released another version of the song in collaboration with Justin Bieber in July, just a few months later.

30 Hullabaloo : HOO-HA

Our word “hullabaloo”, meaning “commotion”, is a derivative of an older term “hollo-ballo”. “Hollo-ballo” was a word used for an uproar in the north of England and Scotland.

31 Busy IRS mo. : APR

April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.

35 “Smooth Operator” singer : SADE

“Smooth Operator” is a 1984 song written and performed by English band Sade. The song’s lyrics tell the story of a smooth-talking, charming man who is able to charm women effortlessly.

39 “What’s up, __?” : DOC

Bugs Bunny first said “What’s up, Doc?” in the 1940 cartoon short “A Wild Hare”, while addressing the hunter Elmer Fudd.

40 Fine dishes : CHINA

The ceramic known as “porcelain” can be referred to as “china” or “fine china”, as porcelain was developed in China.

41 Playroom detritus : KIDS’ TOYS

Detritus is loose material that results from the process of erosion. The usage of the term has evolved to describe any accumulated material or debris. “Detritus” is Latin for “a wearing away”.

46 Noisy summer bug : CICADA

Cicadas are insects that are found all over the world. Although they resemble locusts, cicadas are an unrelated family. The name “cicada” is Latin and translated as “tree cricket”. However, the name is imitative of the clicking sound the insect makes using parts of its exoskeleton known as “tymbals”.

54 Poet Sharon : OLDS

Poet Sharon Olds won a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2013. She was also the first American woman to win the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

55 Purple fruit : PLUM

There are many plum tree cultivars that bear edible fruit. Examples are damsons, prune plums, greengages and mirabelles.

56 Smurf with a white beard : PAPA

The Smurfs are little blue people created in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist who went by the pen name Peyo. The Smurfs became famous in the US when Hanna-Barbera used them in a children’s cartoon series. The characters are largely a group of males. The original lineup included just one “Smurfette”, who is wooed by almost all of the boy Smurfs. Later, another female was introduced into the mix called Sassette, and still later along came Granny Smurf.

59 Svelte : SLIM

“Svelte” comes into English from Latin, via the Italian “svelto” meaning “stretched out”. Something or someone described as svelte would be slender and graceful.

60 High chair garb : BIB

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

62 Jacuzzi feature : JET

“Jacuzzi” is one of those brand names that has become so much associated with the product that it is often assumed to be a generic term. The Jacuzzi company was founded in 1915 by the seven(!) Jacuzzi brothers in Berkeley California. The brothers, who were Italian immigrants, pronounced their name “ja-coot-si”, as one might suspect when one realizes the name is of Italian origin. The company started off by making aircraft propellers and then small aircraft, but suspended aircraft production in 1925, when one of the brothers was killed in one of their planes. The family then started making hydraulic pumps, and in 1948 developed a submersible bathtub pump so that a son of one of the brothers could enjoy hydrotherapy for his rheumatoid arthritis. The “hydrotherapy product” took off in the fifties with some astute marketing towards “worn-out housewives” and the use of celebrity spokesman Jack Benny.