Tag: Really stinky crossword clue

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Constructed by: Karen Lurie
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Just Take the L!

Themed answers are common phrases with a letter L TAKEN away at the beginning:

• 51A “Oh, admit defeat already!,” and advice that was followed to form the answers to the starred clues : JUST TAKE THE L!

• 20A *Research on the ampersand? : “AND” MARK STUDY (Just take the L from “landmark study”)
• 31A *Ambien, for one? : AID TO REST (Just take the L from “laid to rest”)
• 44A *Folds? : ENDS A HAND (Just take the L from “lends a hand”)

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

Bill’s time: 7m 59s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Karate match exchanges : BOWS

Karate is a martial art that originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, which is now part of Japan. A practitioner of karate is known as a karateka. The sport of karate was included as an Olympic sport starting with the 2020 Games.

5 Exams for coll. credit : APS

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers college-level courses to kids who are still in high school (HS). After being tested at the end of an AP course, successful students receive credits that count towards a college degree.

8 Hydro __: bottle brand : FLASK

Hydro Flask is a brand of water bottle that was introduced in 2009, but became very popular starting in 2019. The suggestion is that the brand’s surge in popularity was largely due to the bottle being used by celebrities in social media posts.

20 *Research on the ampersand? : “AND” MARK STUDY (Just take the L from “landmark study”)

Back in the day, when reciting the alphabet, it was common to emphasize that some letters could be used as a word in itself. One would say “A per se A, B, C, D … I per se I, J, K, L … denoting that the letters A and I are also their own words. It was common to add the & symbol at the end of the recitation, as if it were a 27th letter. So the alphabet ended with “X, Y, Z, & (and) per se and”. This “and per se and” statement was slurred to “ampersand”, giving the name that we use today for the & symbol.

23 Brief “If you ask me (and even if you didn’t)” : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

25 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.

31 *Ambien, for one? : AID TO REST (Just take the L from “laid to rest”)

Ambien is a brand name for the prescription drug zolpidem. I have a friend who used to swear by Ambien for helping cope with jet lag. I once had to deal with jet lag almost monthly and swear by the diet supplement melatonin, which you can buy over the counter here in the US. But, I am no doctor so don’t listen to anything I say …

34 Brazilian city : RIO

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo). “Rio de Janeiro” translates as “January River”. The name reflects the discovery of the bay on which Rio sits, on New Year’s Day in 1502.

37 World Heritage Site org. : UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is better known by the acronym “UNESCO”. UNESCO’s mission is to help build peace in the world using programs focused on education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The organization’s work is aimed in particular at Africa, and gender equalization. UNESCO also administers a World Heritage Site program that designates and helps conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to humanity across the world.

40 Chest of drawers : DRESSER

The item of bedroom furniture usually known as a dresser (or sometimes “bureau”) here in North America, is generally called a chest of drawers in Britain and Ireland. Whatever the name, the piece consists of a set of parallel drawers, mainly stacked one over the other.

48 Shares again, on Twitter : RTS

Retweet (RT)

49 Energy Star certifying org. : EPA

The Energy Star standard was created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) during the Clinton Administration. In general, an item marked with an Energy Star uses 20-30% less energy than that mandated by federal standards. Not too long ago, we put an Energy Star roof on our house, and noticed a remarkable difference in our energy bills.

50 Tammy Duckworth’s title, briefly : SEN

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.

51 “Oh, admit defeat already!,” and advice that was followed to form the answers to the starred clues : JUST TAKE THE L!

Just take the L, take the loss.

57 Shoyu __: noodle dish : RAMEN

Ramen is a noodle dish composed of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat or fish broth flavored with soy or miso sauce. Ramen is usually topped with sliced pork and dried seaweed. The term “ramen” is also used for precooked, instant noodles that come in single-serving, solid blocks.

Shoyu ramen is a noodle soup with a clear brown broth. “Shoyu” is Japanese for “soy sauce”.

60 Fallon’s predecessor : LENO

“The Tonight Show” has had six permanent hosts so far:

• Steve Allen (1954-57)
• Jack Paar (1957-62)
• Johnny Carson (1962–92)
• Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–14)
• Conan O’Brien (2009–10)
• Jimmy Fallon (2014–present)

62 Peabody, e.g. : AWARD

The Peabody Awards have been presented annually since 1941 to individuals and organizations for excellence in broadcasting. They are named for businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, who provided the funds to establish the awards program.

63 Shoots the breeze : YAKS

To shoot the breeze is to participate in casual inconsequential conversation. The idiom “shoot the breeze” arose in the US in the early- to mid-20th century. The phrase probably evolved from the use of “breeze” as a slang term meaning “rumor”.

65 Insurance spokeslizard : GECKO

The word “gecko” comes from an Indonesian/Javanese word “tokek”, which is imitative of the reptile’s chirping sound. In making such a sound, geckos are unique in the world of lizards. More interesting to me than a gecko’s chirping is its ability to cling to walls and other vertical surfaces. Their feet are specially adapted with “toes” that make extremely intimate, close contact to a surface. The toes have millions of hairs called setae that enable the clinging. It isn’t suction that supports them, but rather van der Waals forces (weak “gravitational” attractions). Fascinating stuff …

Gecko is the “spokes-lizard” for GEICO. When Gecko was introduced in 1999, he was voiced by actor Kelsey Grammer of “Cheers” and “Frasier” fame. Since then, Gecko has been voiced by British radio presenter Dave Kelly and most recently by actor Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning on the British soap opera “EastEnders”.

67 “To Kill a Mockingbird” star : PECK

Gregory Peck was an iconic Hollywood actor, who hailed from La Jolla, California. Peck was recognized as a great actor as soon as he started acting in films in 1944. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), “The Yearling” (1946), “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949). Peck finally won his Academy Award with the fifth nomination, for playing Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962).

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a 1962 big-screen adaptation of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel of the same name. The lead roles are played by Gregory Peck (as Atticus Finch) and Mary Badham (as Scout). Robert Duvall plays Boo Radley, in his movie debut.

Down

2 Asgard god : ODIN

In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. He is usually depicted as having one eye, reflecting the story of how he gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds of Norse religions. It is where the Norse gods live, and is also home to Valhalla, the enormous hall ruled over by the god Odin.

4 Buffalo : STYMIE

The word “stymie” comes from golf, and is a situation in which one’s approach to the hole is blocked by an opponent’s ball. We use the term more broadly as a verb to describe standing in the way of something.

To buffalo is to bewilder, baffle. The verb probably comes from the animal’s name, as back in the early 1900s, “to buffalo” was “to alarm, overawe”. This meaning likely originated with the tendency for a herd of buffalo to mass panic in the face of danger.

9 “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator : LEVY

Eugene Levy is a Canadian actor. He is the only actor to have appeared in all of the “American Pie” movies. Levy plays the clueless, but loving, Dad. Eugene also co-created, and starred in, the Canadian sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” with his son Dan Levy.

11 Lancelot or Mix-a-Lot : SIR

Sir Lancelot is one of the knights in the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table. Lancelot is the most trusted of Arthur’s knights when it comes to battle, but off the field he has a poorer reputation. Famously, Lancelot had an affair with Guinevere, Arthur’s wife.

“Sir Mix-a-Lot” is the stage name used by record producer and rap artist Anthony Ray.

21 Unrealistically common affliction in soap operas : AMNESIA

“Amnesia, meaning “loss of memory”, is a Greek word that we imported into English in the 17th century. The Greek term comes from combining the prefixes “a-” meaning “not” and “mnesi-” meaning “remembering”.

25 Scottish monster, affectionately : NESSIE

Scotland’s Loch Ness is famous for its fabled “monster”, referred to affectionately as “Nessie”. The loch is the second-largest lake in the country (Loch Lomond is the largest). Loch Ness takes its name from the River Ness that flows from the loch’s northern end.

27 Baby birds? : STORKS

In German and Dutch society, storks resting on the roof of a house were considered a sign of good luck. This tradition led to nursery stories that babies were brought to families by storks.

28 Sagittarius symbol : ARCHER

Sagittarius is the ninth sign of the zodiac, with “sagittarius” being the Latin for “archer”. The related constellation is usually represented by a centaur (half-bull, half-man) with a bow.

29 Mum : SILENT

The phrase “mum’s the word” has been around since the early 1700s. “Mum” has been used to mean “silent” for centuries, the idea being that “mum” is the sound made when the lips are tightly sealed.

31 Beast of burden in many fables : ASS

Aesop used an ass in at least four of his fables:

• The Ass and his Masters
• The Ass and the Pig
• The Ass Carrying an Image
• The Ass in the Lion’s Skin

36 Tres __ cake: dairy-soaked dessert : LECHES

A tres leches cake is a type of sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk, in heavy cream, condensed milk and evaporated milk.

39 Sea plea, briefly : SOS

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are back-formations that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

50 Smidge : SKOSH

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

51 Weightlifting move : JERK

There are two weightlifting events in the Olympics. One is the “snatch” in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the platform over his or head in one continuous movement. The “clean and jerk” is a two-part lift. The “clean” brings the barbell off the platform mainly using the knees. The “jerk” brings the barbell over the head to complete the lift.

53 “Eso Beso” singer : ANKA

“Eso Beso” is Spanish for “That Kiss”, and is the title of a 1962 hit song recorded by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka.

59 Big name in laptops and lipstick : MAC

Macintosh (also “Mac”, since 1998) is a line of computers from Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced in 1984, and I remember someone showing me one at work in those early days of personal computing. There was a piece of white plastic connected to the main computer by a cord, and I was amazed when the guy showed me that it controlled where the cursor was on the screen. My colleague told me that this lump of plastic was called “a mouse” …

MAC Cosmetics is a manufacturer of cosmetics that was founded in Toronto in 1984. The name “MAC” is an acronym standing for Make-Up Art Cosmetics.