Tag: Prattles on crossword clue

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Constructed by: Kinan Alsheikh

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Main Event

Themed answers each include a homophone of “MAIN” within:

• 61A Principal draw on fight night, or an apt title for this puzzle : MAIN EVENT

• 17A Shampoo for horses as well as humans : MANE ‘N TAIL
• 24A Meatless Chinese noodle dish : VEGETABLE LO MEIN
• 36A “The Theory of Everything” Best Actor Oscar winner : EDDIE REDMAYNE
• 52A Tender salad greens : HEARTS OF ROMAINE

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

Bill’s time: 6m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Bay Area sch. : UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has a unique status in the UC system, as it is the only campus that does not accept undergraduates. It was founded in 1864 as Toland Medical College, and joined the University of California system nine years later. UCSF is entirely dedicated to health sciences and graduate-level professional degrees.

9A Uninspiring : VAPID

We use the adjective “vapid” today to describe something that is dull, that lacks liveliness. Back in the 1600s, the term was used to describe drinks that were flat. “Vapid” comes from the Latin “vapidus”, which translates literally as “that has exhaled its vapor”.

14A Mapa of “Ugly Betty” : ALEC

Alec Mapa is an actor and comedian from San Francisco. To TV audiences, he is perhaps best known for playing Suzuki St. Pierre on “Ugly Betty”, as well as Vern on “Desperate Housewives”.

“Ugly Betty” is a drama-comedy show that originally aired on television from 2006 to 2010. The show is based on a telenovela soap opera from Colombia called “Yo soy Betty, la fea”. The title role of Betty Suarez is played by America Ferrera.

15A “New Rules” and “New Love” singer Dua : LIPA

“New Rules” is a 2017 song released by English singer Dua Lipa. The lyrics are about the singer setting new rules for herself to help get over an ex-boyfriend. The success of the song is attributed by some to the popularity of the accompanying music video. It shows Lipa in a hotel room with very supportive friends who are encouraging her to be strong, and not get back together with her ex.

“New Love” is the debut single co-written and released by English singer Dua Lipa in 2015. Despite the title hinting at a romantic relationship with someone, the lyrics actually refer to Lipa’s struggle to find her place in the music industry.

17A Shampoo for horses as well as humans : MANE ‘N TAIL

Mane ‘n Tail is a line of hair and skin care products marketed as suitable for both horses and humans. Introduced as a horse shampoo in 1970, the product made the leap from horse stables to human bathrooms when riders began secretly using it on themselves as they loved the lustrous coat the protein-enriched formula gave to their animals!

19A Honeycomb units : CELLS

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.

21A Future atty.’s exam : LSAT

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

23A Southeast Asian language : LAO

Lao is the official language of Laos. It is also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, but there the language is known as Isan.

24A Meatless Chinese noodle dish : VEGETABLE LO MEIN

“Chow mein” has two slightly different meanings on the East and West Coasts of the US. On the East Coast, basic chow mein is a crispy dish, whereas on the West Coast it is a steamed dish that is relatively soft. On the East Coast the steamed dish is available, but under the name “lo mein”. On the West Coast, the crispy dish is also on the menu, as “Hong Kong-style chow mein”.

32A Private aid gp. : NGO

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

33A Sure winner : SHOO-IN

A shoo-in is a surefire winner, especially in politics. Back in the 1920s, a shoo-in was a horse that was prearranged to win a race, a race that was fixed.

36A “The Theory of Everything” Best Actor Oscar winner : EDDIE REDMAYNE

English actor Eddie Redmayne played mainly supporting roles, such as Marius Pontmercy in 2012’s “Les Misérables”, until he wowed the world portraying Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”. A few years later, Redmayne played Lili Elbe in “The Danish Girl”, and then Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. I really like him playing the title character in the TV adaptation of “The Day of the Jackal”.

“The Theory of Everything” is a 2014 biographical film that tells the life story of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Eddie Redmayne portrays Hawking, in a performance that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. Stephen Hawking himself was very supportive of the film, and even provided his own electronic “voice” for the latter part of the movie.

45A Former House Speaker Nancy : PELOSI

Nancy Pelosi first became Speaker of the House in 2007, and was the 52nd person to hold that position. Ms. Pelosi represents a district not far from here, which covers most of San Francisco. She was the first Californian, the first Italian-American and the first woman to be Speaker of the House. As Speaker is second-in-line to the presidency, after the Vice President, Nancy Pelosi was for many years the highest-ranking female politician in US history. That was until Kamala Harris became Vice President in 2021.

52A Tender salad greens : HEARTS OF ROMAINE

Romaine is also known as cos lettuce, with the “romaine” name being most common here in North America.

56A “The Lord of the Rings” beast : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth. They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

57A Move for one’s co., say : RELO

Relocate (relo)

58A Olive extract : OIL

The olive tree developed in and around the Mediterranean Basin, but has been cultivated in many locations around the world for thousands of years. The fruit of the olive tree is prized as a foodstuff, as well as a source of olive oil. Our word “oil” ultimately derives from the Greek “elaia” meaning “olive”.

59A Capone cohort Frank : NITTI

Frank Nitti was one of the top henchmen working for Al Capone. Unlike American-born Capone, Nitti was actually from Italy and was born near the city of Salerno. When Capone was eventually put away for 11 years for tax evasion, Nitti was convicted of the same crime. Nitti was only imprisoned for 18 months, and when released he was labeled as the new head of Capone’s Chicago Outfit. However the truth seems to be that he was just a frontman, with others making the decisions.

67A Ritz-Carlton competitor : OMNI

César Ritz was a Swiss hotelier, who had a reputation for developing the most luxurious of accommodations and attracting the wealthiest clientèle. He opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris in 1898 and the second of his most famous hotels, the Ritz Hotel in London, in 1906. Ritz was lucky in his career, as before starting his own hotel chain he had been dismissed from the Savoy Hotel in London, implicated in the disappearance of a substantial amount of wine and spirits. Today’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company was founded in 1983, although the chain has its roots in the properties developed by César Ritz.

70A “Auld Lang __” : SYNE

“Auld Lang Syne” is the third-most popular song in the English language according to the “Guinness Book of World Records”. Top of the list is “Happy Birthday to You”, with “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” in second place.

Down

2D __ carte menu : A LA

On a restaurant menu, items that are “à la carte” are priced and ordered separately. A menu marked “table d’hôte” (also called “prix fixe”) is a fixed-price menu with limited choice. “Table d’hôte” translates from French as “table of the host”.

5D Marathons longer than 26.2 miles, familiarly : ULTRAS

The term “ultramarathon” describes a race that is longer than the 26.2 miles of a traditional marathon. “Ultra running” falls into two categories. Some races cover a specified distance or route, while others last for a specified time, with the winner covering the most distance in that time.

7D Tell all, as gossip : SPILL

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

9D Beckham also known as Posh Spice : VICTORIA

Victoria Beckham (nee Adams) became famous as a member of the Spice Girls girl group, using the stage name Posh Spice. She married football legend David Beckham in 1999, not long after the celebrity couple had earned the nickname “Posh and Becks”. Their main home for several years was a large mansion on 24 acres of Hertfordshire countryside called Rowneybury House. After a multimillion-dollar renovation, the media dubbed the home “Beckingham Palace”. Oh, when she was a young girl, Victoria used to have her father drop her off at school each day in his Rolls-Royce. All very posh …

11D Wind-borne allergen : POLLEN

The pollen of ragweed is the most common allergen of all kinds of pollen. It seems that the pollen season has been lengthening in recent years, probably due to global warming.

13D High-end vacuum cleaners : DYSONS

Dyson vacuum cleaners do not use a bag to collect dust. James Dyson invented the first vacuum cleaner to use cyclonic separation in 1979, frustrated at the poor performance of his regular vacuum cleaner. As Dyson cleaners do not use bags, they don’t have to deal with collection bags that are blocked with fine dust particles, even after emptying. Cyclonic separation uses high speed spinning of the dust-containing air so that the dust particles are thrown out of the airflow into a collection bin. We have a Dyson now, and should have bought it years ago …

18D The “N” of N.B. : NOTA

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

22D “Tuesdays With Morrie” writer Mitch : ALBOM

Author Mitch Albom had established himself as a successful sports writer when he penned his breakthrough memoir “Tuesdays with Morrie” in 1997. Albom followed this with the 2003 novel “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. Both books were adapted into extremely successful TV movies.

25D Microsoft web browser : EDGE

The Microsoft Edge web browser was introduced in 2015 as a replacement for Internet Explorer. As of 2020, Microsoft Edge had 10% of the desktop web browser market, second only to Google Chrome that dominated with 70% market share.

27D Iraq port city : BASRA

Basra is Iraq’s main port, and is located in the southeast of the country, just 34 miles from the Persian Gulf. Access to the gulf is via the Shatt al-Arab waterway, a river that discharges into the gulf at the tip of the Al-Faw Peninsula.

34D __ of the woods mushrooms : HEN

“Hen of the woods” is a common name for the mushroom Grifola frondosa, which also goes by the names “maitake” in Japanese and “signorina” in Italian.

39D Renée __ Goldsberry of “Girls5eva” : ELISE

Renée Elise Goldsberry is an actress and singer who is best known to me for playing the attorney Geneva Pine on the TV show “The Good Wife”. Goldsberry also originated the role of Angelica Schuyler Church in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton”.

“Girls5eva” is a musical comedy TV show that debuted in 2021. It is about a one-hit-wonder girl group from the nineties who reunite in an attempt to rediscover past glories.

47D Acid type built up during high-intensity exercise : LACTIC

Lactic acid buildup in muscles occurs during intense physical activity when the body’s demand for oxygen exceeds the supply. In such conditions, muscle cells resort to anaerobic respiration to produce energy, a less efficient process that generates lactic acid as a byproduct. As lactic acid accumulates, it can cause a burning sensation and muscle fatigue, signaling the need to reduce exertion or rest.

49D Nickname for Canada’s $2 coin : TOONIE

“Toonie” is the familiar name for a two-dollar coin in Canada. The toonie was introduced in 1996, and gets its familiar name from the one-dollar coin known as a “loonie”.

53D “Battlestar Galactica” actor Edward James __ : OLMOS

Edward James Olmos is a Mexican American actor. I mostly remember Olmos as the Lieutenant who was the boss of Crockett and Tubbs on television’s “Miami Vice”.

“Battlestar Galactica” is a whole franchise these days, based on an original television series that aired in 1978. The executive producer of that first series was Glen A. Larson who had been trying to get the show off the ground since the sixties. Larson was finally able to get some finances for his sci-fi show on the back of the success of the 1977 movie “Star Wars”.

55D Singing brother of Simon and Theodore : ALVIN

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a cartoon musical group that was created for the recording of a novelty song in 1958 called “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. The three Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) were all voiced by singer Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. but with a speedy playback to create high-pitched voices.

62D Airbnb alternative : INN

Airbnb is a website-based service that matches people wanting to rent out short-term living quarters to people seeking accommodation. The company was founded in 2008 as AirBed & Breakfast. The original concept was renting out an “air bed” and providing “breakfast” to someone looking for cheap, temporary accommodation. That’s right; the “Air” in “Airbnb” has nothing to do with “air” travel …