Tag: Really really out there crossword clue

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Constructed by: Baylee Devereaux
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: French Twist

Themed clues cite something that is IN the themed answer. That something is shown in circled letters in the grid, translated into FRENCH and TWISTED throughout the answer:

• 63A Elegant hairstyle, and what the circled letters give to 17-, 30-, and 47-Across? : FRENCH TWIST

• 17A Man in 1990s hip-hop fashion? : HAMMER PANTS (with “HOMME” twisted in)
• 30A School in a recreational vehicle? : MOBILE HOME (with “ECOLE” twisted in)
• 47A Dog in a classic drawing game? : PICTIONARY (with “CHIEN” twisted in)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Market leader? : GROCER

Back in the early 1400s, a grocer was a wholesale dealer, someone who bought and sold goods in “gross”, in bulk. A century later, the term “grocer” became associated with a merchant selling individual items of food.

7 Bogus : SHAM

A sham is something that is imitation, fake. In the world of bed linens, a sham is also an imitation or fake, in the sense that it is a decorative cover designed to cover up a regular pillow used for sleeping.

Our word “bogus”, meaning “not genuine” was coined (pun!) in the 1830s, when it applied to counterfeit money.

14 Mexican state on the Gulf of California : SONORA

Sonora is the state in Mexico lying just south of the borders with Arizona and New Mexico. The Sonoran Desert actually straddles the US-Mexico border, covering 120,000 square miles in parts of the states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Arizona and California.

15 Pilates target : CORE

Pilates is a physical exercise system developed by, and named for, Joseph Pilates. Pilates introduced his system of exercises in 1883 in Germany.

17 Man in 1990s hip-hop fashion? : HAMMER PANTS (with “HOMME” twisted in)

Hammer pants are baggy pants that taper at the ankles. They are designed to facilitate hip-hop dancing, and are named for rap performer MC Hammer.

In French, an “homme” (man) might be a “père” (father).

20 “Uncut Gems” actor Sandler : ADAM

Adam Sandler’s big break came with “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). He then went on to make several successful movies and now Sandler has his own movie and television production company. Personally, I am not a fan …

“Uncut Gems” is a 2019 comedy thriller film starring Adam Sandler as a gambling addict. As well as gambling, Sandler’s character works as a jeweler in the Diamond District of New York, so one can perhaps imagine the gist of the storyline. The critics really liked this one …

21 AirPod locale : EAR

AirPods are Apple’s line of bluetooth earbuds. When AirPods were introduced in 2016, the market reacted with some skepticism. The left and right AirPods are not connected by any wire, so there was concern that individual earbuds could fall out of the ear, and possibly get lost. Another concern was Apple’s stated intent to abandon the wired headphone socket on new iPhone models.

24 “Umbrella” singer, to fans : RIRI

“Umbrella” is a 2007 song released by Rihanna as the lead single from the album “Good Girl Gone Bad”. It features rap artist Jay-Z, who also co-wrote the song. The song was a huge hit, and topped charts all over the world. While “Umbrella” was at number-one in the UK, the nation was pounded with unseasonal rain storms and flooding. One British newspaper dubbed the event the “Rihanna Curse”. The “Curse” moved around the planet, with the number-one spot coinciding with storms in New Zealand and Romania.

25 Device that forms the “I” in the Pixar logo : LAMP

Pixar Animation Studios started out as part of Lucasfilm in 1979, George Lucas’s production company. Lucas sold what was to become Pixar to Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 1986. Pixar produced its first feature film in 1995, the fabulous “Toy Story”, and followed up with a string of hits. The company was then sold to Walt Disney in 2006, when valued at $7.4 billion. That transaction resulted in Steve Jobs becoming the biggest shareholder in Walt Disney.

28 The Browns, on sports tickers : CLE

The Cleveland Browns football team was a charter member of the All-American Football Conference, formed in 1946. Cleveland is the only NFL city that has never hosted nor sent a team to the Super Bowl. And, the Browns are the only NFL team without a logo on their helmets.

30 School in a recreational vehicle? : MOBILE HOME (with “ECOLE” twisted in)

In French, one might learn “une leçon” (a lesson) in an “école” (school).

36 Scottish cap : TAM

A tam o’shanter is a man’s cap worn traditionally by Scotsmen. “Tams” were originally all blue (and called “blue bonnets”) but as more dyes became readily available they became more colorful. The name of the cap comes from the title character of the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’ Shanter”. A pom-pom adorning a tam is known as a toorie.

41 Pt. of OED : ENG

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

45 Lunar New Year : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

47 Dog in a classic drawing game? : PICTIONARY (with “CHIEN” twisted in)

The marvelous game Pictionary was introduced in 1985. It’s a word-guessing game that’s played in teams. Pictionary is a big hit in our house with family and friends. It must be said, a glass of wine does help boost the level of enthusiasm of all concerned …

In French, one might have a pet “chien” (dog) or “chat” (cat).

50 When repeated, “Great speech!” : HEAR!

The phrase “Hear! Hear!” is an expression of support that is perhaps more commonly used in the UK than on this side of the Atlantic. It evolved from “Hear him! Hear him!”, which was the original utterance used in the UK parliament in the 17th century.

55 CBS Sports NFL analyst Tony : ROMO

Tony Romo is a former quarterback who spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. Romo is also an avid amateur golfer and has even tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to qualify for the US Open golf championship.

56 Hayworth of the silver screen : RITA

Rita Hayworth was born in Brooklyn as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her father was a flamenco dancer from Spain and so his daughter fell naturally into dancing. The family moved to Hollywood where Hayworth’s father set up a dance studio, and there worked with the likes of James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The young Hayworth had a slow start in movies, finding herself typecast because of her Mediterranean features. When she underwent extensive electrolysis to change her forehead and dyed her hair red, she started to get more work (how sad is that?). In 1941 she posed for that famous pin-up picture which accompanied GIs all over the world.

The screen on which one projects a movie is often referred to as a silver screen. The term “silver screen” has evolved to describe the film industry in general. The original silver screen was invented in the early days of motion pictures by a projectionist named Harry Coulter Williams. It comprises a tightly woven fabric on which was applied a silver layer (hence the name). The silvery surface provided a brighter picture from all viewing angles.

61 Josh Gad’s “Frozen” voice role : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

Josh Gad is an actor and comedian who was born in Hollywood, although that would be Hollywood, Florida. Gads big break came on the stage, when he originated the role of Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon”. On the big screen Gad played Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak in “Jobs” and Hector McQueen in the 2017 adaptation of “Murder on the Orient Express”. Gad also voiced Olaf in the “Frozen” films.

62 Yang partner : YIN

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

63 Elegant hairstyle, and what the circled letters give to 17-, 30-, and 47-Across? : FRENCH TWIST

“French twist” is the name of that updo hairstyle where a ponytail is twisted and lifted up to the top of the head and secured with pins or a clip. Not my forte …

67 L.L. Bean rival : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

L.L.Bean (note the lack of spaces in the company name) was founded back in 1912 in Freeport, Maine as a company selling its own line of waterproof boots. The founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, gave his name to the enterprise. Right from the start, L.L.Bean focused on mail-order and sold from a circular he distributed and then from a catalog. Defects in the initial design led to 90% of the first boots sold being returned, and the company made good on its guarantee to replace them or give back the money paid.

68 __ chain : FOOD

A food chain is a series of organisms, the smallest of which gets eaten by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc. Food chains are considered part of a food web.

69 Detritus from the Digital Revolution : E-WASTE

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”.

72 Instrument near the end of the dictionary : ZITHER

The zither is a stringed instrument, one in which the strings do not extend beyond the bounds of the sounding box. That means that the instrument has no neck, unlike a guitar.

Down

2 Touring technician : ROADIE

A “roadie” is someone who loads, unloads and sets up equipment for musicians on tour, on the “road”.

5 Sonnet preposition : ERE

A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific structure and rhyming scheme. A popular rhyming scheme for what is known as the Italian sonnet is ABBA, ABBA, CDECDE. Compare this with the Shakespearean sonnet which rhymes as ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG.

7 Hieroglyph critter : SCARAB

Scarabs were amulets in ancient Egypt. They were modeled on the dung beetle, as it was viewed as a symbol of the cycle of life.

8 Snookums : HON

The term of endearment “snookums” comes from the family name “Snooks”. Snooks was a name used in Britain in the 1800s for some hypothetical, unknown individual (as we would use the name “Joe Blow” today).

18 __ Alto, California : PALO

The city of Palo Alto, California takes its name from a specific redwood tree called El Palo Alto (Spanish for “the tall stick”) that is located within the bounds of the city. The tree is 110 feet tall and over a thousand years old.

23 Ibuprofen target : ACHE

“Ibuprofen” is a shortened version of the drug’s name: Iso-BUtyl-PROpanoic-PHENolic acid. Ibuprofen is primarily an anti-inflammatory, but apparently it is good for headaches too.

30 Streaker in the sky : METEOR

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body traveling through space. Once in the atmosphere, the meteoroid is referred to as a “meteor” or “shooting star”. Almost all meteoroids burn up, but if one is large enough to survive and reach the ground then we call it a meteorite. The word “meteor” comes from the Greek “meteōros” meaning “high in the air”.

32 Denver-to-Wichita dir. : ESE

Denver, Colorado is nicknamed “Mile-High City” because its official elevation is listed as exactly one mile. Denver City was founded in 1858 as a mining town. The name was chosen in honor of the Kansas Territorial Governor at the time, James W. Denver.

Wichita, Kansas started out as a trading post established by Jesse Chisholm in the 1860s, a stopover on the famous Chisholm Trail. Wichita became one of the railheads on the Chisholm Trail, the end point of many cattle drives from Texas. As such, Wichita earned the nickname “Cowtown”.

37 Where busy bees buzz : APIARIES

Bumblebees aren’t very aggressive, but they can sting if they deem it necessary. Unlike honey bees, bumblebees survive the stinging action as their stinger has no barb. There are a few misconceptions about bumblebees. One is that a bumblebee should be incapable of flight based on the laws of aerodynamics, but this isn’t true. Another misconception is that the bee’s buzzing sound is caused by the beating of its wings. In fact, the sound comes from the vibration of its flight muscles. The bee can decouple those muscles from its wings, and so can make a buzzing sound without the wings moving at all.

40 Cube creator Rubik : ERNO

What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as “Rubik’s Cube”, and was named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

46 Try to bean : THROW AT

To bean someone is to hit them on the head (on the “bean”).

48 Makes right : AMENDS

The verb “to amend” means “to change for the better, put right, alter by adding”. The related verb “to emend” is used more rarely, and mainly in reference to the editing of professional writing. Both terms are derived from the Latin “emendare” meaning “to remove fault”.

49 College military org. : ROTC

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program for officers based in colleges all around the US. The ROTC program was established in 1862 when as a condition of receiving a land-grant to create colleges, the federal government required that military tactics be part of a new school’s curriculum.

51 “What Was I Made For?” singer Billie : EILISH

“What Was I Made For?” is a 2023 song co-written and recorded by Billie Eilish. It was written for, and used in, the soundtrack of the hit movie “Barbie”. For the song’s music video, Eilish wears clothes and a wig that resemble the appearance of the original 1959 Barbia doll. In a clever twist, Eilish suits at a school disk examining clothing for a doll. These aren’t Barbie outfits, and instead are styled like clothes that Eilish has worn in public in the past.

53 Roof timber : RAFTER

Rafters are the beams that slope from the ridge of a roof down to the tops of the supporting walls.

57 “Reader, I married him” governess : EYRE

“Jane Eyre” is a celebrated novel written by Charlotte Brontë, under the pen name Currer Bell. The love story is perhaps represented by the oft-quoted opening lines of the last chapter, “Reader, I married him”. There is a wonderful 4-hour television adaptation made by the BBC that I highly recommend to fans of the novel …

60 Bistro awning word : CHEZ

“Chez” is a French term meaning “at the house of”, which comes from the Latin word “casa” meaning “cottage” or “hut”.

64 Youngster in the Hundred Acre Wood : ROO

Hundred Acre Wood is where Winnie-the-Pooh lives with his friends. According to a map illustrating the books by A. A. Milne, Hundred Acre Wood is part of a larger forest, with Owl’s house sitting right at the center. Piglet also lives in the Hundred Acre Wood, in a beech tree next to a sign that says “TRESPASSERS W”. Piglet says this is short for Trespassers William, which is his grandfather’s name.