Tag: Policy setter crossword clue

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Constructed by: Emma Oxford
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): A Horn Quartet

Themed answers all feature HORN(S):

• 17A Place to find a pointy horn : RHINOCEROS
• 23A Place to find many horns : FULL ORCHESTRA
• 53A Place to find a loud horn : STEERING WHEEL
• 63A Place to find a geographical horn : EAST AFRICA

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

Bill’s time: 8m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 1975 thriller filmed largely on Martha’s Vineyard : JAWS

“Jaws” is a thrilling 1975 movie directed by Steven Spielberg that is based on a novel of the same name by Peter Benchley. The film has a powerful cast, led by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. “Jaws” was perhaps the first summer blockbuster and had the highest box office take in history up to that time, which was a record that stood until “Star Wars” was released two years later.

Martha’s Vineyard is a relatively large island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. “Martha’s Vineyard” was originally the name of a smaller island to the south, named by English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. The name was eventually transferred to the main island, and is now the eighth-oldest English place-name still used in the US. It is likely that Gosnold named the island for his daughter Martha.

5 Comedian Black : LEWIS

Lewis Black is an stand-up comedian renowned for his signature style of angry, yet insightful, social and political commentary. Beyond stand-up, he has also ventured into acting, notably voicing “Anger” in the Pixar film “Inside Out”.

15 Balderdash : TRIPE

“Tripe” is an informal term meaning “rubbish, of little value”. Tripe is actually the rubbery stomach lining of an animal such as a cow. It is also a traditional dish in British cuisine, prepared by poaching it with onions in milk.

“Balderdash” means “senseless jumble of words”. The original balderdash (back before the late 1600s) was a jumbled mix of liquids like maybe beer and wine, or even beer and milk!

17 Place to find a pointy horn : RHINOCEROS

There are five types of rhinoceros that survive today, with the smaller Javan Rhino being the most rare. The rhinoceros is probably the rarest large mammal on the planet, thanks to poaching. Hunters mainly prize the horn of the rhino as it is used in powdered form in traditional Chinese medicine.

29 “The __ and I”: song from “Wicked” : WIZARD

“The Wizard and I” is a song from the musical “Wicked”, sung primarily as a solo by Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West. In the 2024 film version of the show, it is mainly sung by Cynthis Erivo, who portrays Elphaba. In both stage show and movie, the character Madame Morrible also sings part of the song. In the film, Madame Morrible is played by Michelle Yeoh.

30 Carey known as the “Queen of Christmas” : MARIAH

Mariah Carey earned the nickname “Queen of Christmas” due to the success of her 1994 song “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. It is the best-selling holiday single by any female artist. We should have a drinking game right through December. Take a shot every time we hear “All I want for Christmas is You” …

32 __ de mer : MAL

Here are some French terms for some unpleasant conditions:

• Mal de tête (headache)
• Mal de mer (seasickness)
• Mal de pays (homesickness)

33 “Klutzy me!” : OOPS!

A klutz is an awkward individual, with the term “klutz” coming from Yiddish. The Yiddish word for a clumsy person is “klots”.

37 Diagnostic scan: Abbr. : MRI

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate images that can be used by medical professionals to diagnose injury and disease.

38 Composer Rorem : NED

American composer Ned Rorem is famous for his musical compositions, but also for his book “Paris Diary of Ned Rorem” that was published in 1966. Rorem talks openly about his sexuality in the book, and also about the sexual orientation of others including Noël Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber, much to some people’s chagrin.

40 Symbol of Aries : RAM

According to the ancient Greeks, the constellation Aries the Ram represents the mythological winged ram with the Golden Fleece. The Greeks “hijacked” the constellation though, because it also represented a ram in late Babylonian times, long before the Golden Fleece came along.

42 “The Jungle Book” python : KAA

Kaa is the python character in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”. In the classic Disney animated adaptation, Kaa was voiced by Sterling Holloway, the same actor who originally voiced Walt Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh.

45 Rapper Lil __ X : NAS

“Lil Nas X” is the stage name of rapper Montero Lamar Hill. He was born and raised just outside of Atlanta. His first hit was “Old Town Road”, which is classified as country rap.

49 __ crab : HERMIT

Hermit crabs are famous for occupying the discarded shells of other animals. Most commonly, hermit crabs can be found in empty shells that once belonged to sea snails.

59 Gp. with badges : BSA

Boy Scouts of America (BSA)

62 Chain that sells Mexican Tres Leches Pancakes : IHOP

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) was founded back in 1958. IHOP was originally intended to be called IHOE, the International House of Eggs, but that name didn’t do too well in marketing tests.

63 Place to find a geographical horn : EAST AFRICA

The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent, containing the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. The Horn of Africa is also known as the Somali Peninsula.

66 Bishop of Rome : POPE

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The term “pope” comes from the Latin “papa”, and ultimately from the Greek “pappas”, with both terms being a child’s word for “father”.

68 Provo’s state : UTAH

Provo, Utah is a city located just over 40 miles south of South Lake City. It is home to Brigham Young University. The city was originally called Fort Utah, and the name was changed to Provo in 1850 in honor of Étienne Provost. Provost was a French-Canadian fur trader who was perhaps the first man of European descent to see the Great Salt Lake.

70 Rescuee in “The Rescuers” : PENNY

“The Rescuers” is a 1977 Disney animated film inspired by Margery Sharp’s children’s books. The movie follows the Rescue Aid Society’s Bernard and Miss Bianca, two mice, as they rescue orphan Penny from Madame Medusa in the Louisiana bayou. “The Rescuers” gained notoriety in 1990 when a recall was issued due to the discovery of a brief, subliminal image of a topless woman in a couple of frames in the background of one scene. Apparently, animators included it as a joke when they made the master copy of the film.

Down

5 Rank for Sen. Tammy Duckworth : LT COL

Tammy Duckworth has been a US Senator for Illinois since 2017. Duckworth is a veteran of the Iraq War, in which she served as a helicopter pilot and suffered severe combat wounds, including the loss of both her legs. She continued to serve in the Illinois National Guard after her recovery, and retired in 2014 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Duckworth has racked up quite a few firsts while in Congress. For example, she was the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, and the first Senator to give birth while in office. Senate rules were changed following the birth of her daughter, which allowed Duckworth to bring her baby onto the Senate floor and breastfeed her during votes.

8 Wall St. debut : IPO

Initial public offering (IPO)

9 French possessive : SES

“Ses” is the French word for “his”, “her” or “its” when referring to a group of items or individuals.

12 “Man Fire Food” host Mooking : ROGER

Roger Mooking is a Trinidadian-Canadian celebrity chef, TV host, and musician. He started hosting the food travelogue series “Man Fire Food” in 2012, on which he explores various live-fire cooking techniques used across the US. In his musical career, he went by the stage name “MC Mystic” and was a member of the Canadian hip-hop group Bass is Base.

13 Thompson of “Thor: Ragnarok” : TESSA

Tessa Thompson is an actress from Los Angeles who is known for playing the supporting role of Jackie Cook on the TV show “Veronica Mars”, and for playing student leader Diane Nash in the 2014 film “Selma”. She also portrays superheroine Valkyrie in movies based on Marvel Comics characters.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is a 2017 superhero film in the “Thor” series. It departs from the previous Thor films’ more serious tone, and instead uses a fast-paced, humorous narrative. The film is noted for the strong chemistry between cast members, particularly Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, and Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie.

25 Policy setter : CZAR

The term “czar” (also “tsar”) is a Slavic word that was first used as a title by Simeon I of Bulgaria in 913 AD. “Czar” is derived from the word “caesar”, which was synonymous with “emperor” at that time. We tend to use the “czar” spelling, as opposed to “tsar”, when we describe a person today with great power or authority, e.g. “Drug Czar”.

26 Kosher : Judaism :: __ : Islam : HALAL

“Halal” is a term describing an action or object that is permissible under Islamic Law. In particular “halal” is used to describe food that can be consumed. Anything that is not allowed is described as “haram”.

27 Stone with two Oscars : EMMA

Actress Emma Stone is from Scottsdale, Arizona. She really came to prominence with her performance in the 2010 high school movie called “Easy A”, and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2016 movie “La La Land”. Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Stone values her privacy and works hard to maintain a low profile. Good for her, I say …

31 Painter Matisse : HENRI

Henri Matisse was a French artist renowned for his contribution to modern art. In his early career, Matisse was classed as a “fauve”, one of the group of artists known as the “wild beasts” who emphasized strong color over realism in their works. He was a lifelong friend of Pablo Picasso, and the two were considered to be good-natured rivals so their works are often compared. One major difference between their individual portfolios is that Picasso tended to paint from his imagination, whereas Matisse tended to use nature as his inspiration.

51 4,000 pounds : TWO TON

Here in the US, a ton is equivalent to 2,000 pounds. In the UK, a ton is 2,240 pounds. The UK unit is sometimes referred to as an Imperial ton, long ton or gross ton. Folks over there refer to the US ton then as a short ton. To further complicate matters, there is also a metric ton or tonne, which is equivalent to 2,204 pounds. Personally, I wish we’d just stick to kilograms …

53 Roots for romantically, in slang : SHIPS

“Shipping,” in Internet slang, originates from the word “relationship”. It refers to fans’ desire for two fictional characters or real people to become romantically involved.

54 Chevy SUV since 1994 : TAHOE

The Chevrolet Tahoe SUV was introduced in 1994. It is based on the same platform as the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, and it shares many of its components. The Tahoe is sold under the Silverado badge in Mexico.

63 Clairvoyance, e.g. : ESP

We’ve been using the term “clairvoyant” to describe a psychic since the nineteenth century. Prior to that, a clairvoyant was a clear-sighted person. The term comes from French, with “clair” meaning “clear” and “voyant” meaning “seeing”.