Tag: Result of a successful collaboration crossword clue

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Constructed by: Ricky Sirois
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13 Giant automaton of Greek mythology : TALOS

Jason and the Argonauts sailed on the Argo of Greek mythology. After obtaining the Golden Fleece, the Argo approached the island of Crete, which was guarded by Talos, a giant man of bronze. Talos repulsed the Argonauts by hurling boulders at them. Eventually Talos was slain, by removing the bronze nail that sealed the one vein that ran the length of his body.

17 Lingo : ARGOT

“Argot” is a French term. It is the name given in the 17th century to “the jargon of the Paris underworld”. Nowadays argot is a set of idioms used by any particular group, the “lingo” of that group.

Lingo is specialized vocabulary. Journalese and legalese would be good examples.

18 Animal in the creation myth of the Achomawi people of Northern California : SILVER FOX

In the creation myth of the Achomawi people, Silver Fox is portrayed as a wise and deliberate creator figure. Alongside Coyote, Silver Fox emerges from the primordial waters, and together they navigate the vast expanse in a canoe. Silver Fox’s patience and ingenuity lead to the creation of land, plants, and animals, shaping the world as the Achomawi know it.

20 Hybrid pastries : CRONUTS

A cronut is a pastry that resembles a doughnut but is made using a croissant-like dough. It is filled with cream and deep-fried in grapeseed oil. It is a relatively new pastry, having been invented by New York bakery owner Dominique Ansel in 2013. The term “cronut” is a portmanteau of “croissant” and “doughnut”.

22 Hazelnut : FILBERT

The hazelnut is the nut of the hazel tree. The nuts from some hazel species are referred to as cobnuts or filbert nuts.

24 Coastal birds : HERONS

Herons are birds with long legs that inhabit freshwater and coastal locales. Some herons are routinely referred to as egrets, and others as bitterns. Herons look a lot like storks and cranes, but differ in their appearance in flight. Herons fly with their necks retracted in an S-shape, whereas storks and cranes have their necks extended.

26 Stable diet : HAY

Hay is dried grass that is stored for use as animal fodder. Straw consists of the dried stalks of cereal plants, the residue left after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw can also be used as animal fodder, as well as fuel, bedding and thatch.

29 Sheepherder in a 1995 Oscar-nominated film : BABE

The hit 1995 film “Babe” was produced and filmed in Australia. The movie is an adaptation of a 1983 novel called “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith. “Babe” was a smash hit at the box office and was extremely well received by the critics. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to “Braveheart”. However, it did win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects by beating out “Apollo 13”, which was an amazing feat, I’d say…

39 Like a roller derby track : OVAL

The sport of roller derby has an international footprint, with almost half the world’s teams being located outside of the US. Most of the teams playing the sport are all-female.

40 Cellular messenger : RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA. An added complication is that small changes in the sequence of amino acids specified by DNA sometimes takes place in a process known as RNA editing. This RNA editing occurs after the nucleotide sequence has been transcribed from DNA, but before it is translated into protein.

41 Letter abbr. : ENC

A letter (ltr.) might include an enclosure (encl.).

42 Shape-shifting prefix : WERE-

The prefix “were-” as in “werewolf” derives from an old word “wer” meaning “man”. Hence a werewolf is a “man-wolf”.

A wolf man is better known perhaps as a werewolf. A werewolf morphs from human form into that of a wolf man when there is a full moon.

48 Demonstrate one’s humanity : ERR

According to the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, “Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum”. This translates literally as “To err is human, to persist (in committing such errors) is of the devil”.

51 Comedian Trevor : NOAH

Trevor Noah is an outstanding comedian from Johannesburg, South Africa. Noah took over as host of the Comedy Channel’s “The Daily Show” after Jon Stewart retired. Noah can speak several languages, including English, Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans, and German.

56 Conan O’Brien’s first talk show : LATE NIGHT

Before Conan O’Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host, he was a writer. He wrote for both “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons”. While attending Harvard, O’Brien was president of “The Harvard Lampoon”.

60 Gin berry : SLOE

The sloe is the fruit of the blackthorn bush, and the main flavoring ingredient in sloe gin. A sloe looks like a small plum, but is usually much more tart in taste.

61 Root used in perfumery : ORRIS

Orris root is a basic ingredient in many perfumes, one providing a so-called “base note”. It is also an ingredient in some brands of gin.

62 Wicker man, for one : PYRE

A wicker man was a large effigy made from wicker that druids used to sacrifice humans and animals by burning.

Down

1 Soup strainer, informally : STACHE

“Stache” is slang for “mustache/moustache”.

2 “Dumb and Dumber” star : CARREY

Jim Carrey is a comedian and actor from Newmarket, Ontario. Carrey’s big break in films came with the title role in the first “Ace Ventura” film, in 1994. My favorite of his big screen performances is in the fascinating film “The Truman Show”, released in 1998.

“Dumb and Dumber” is a 1994 comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two pretty dumb guys, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. There was a prequel released in 2003 titled “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd”, and a sequel in 2011 called “Dumb and Dumber To”.

3 “An Inconvenient Truth” writer : AL GORE

Former Vice President Al Gore was a joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 in recognition for his work in climate change activism. He also won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for his book on climate change called “An Inconvenient Truth”. The documentary of the same name that was spawned by the book won an Academy Award. In addition, Gore won an Emmy as co-owner of Current TV, an independent news network.

4 Wasteful project : BOONDOGGLE

A boondoggle is a wasteful and unnecessary project, often one involving a dishonest use of funds. The original meaning of “boondoggle” still applies today, describing a braided cord used by scouts to hold their neckerchief in place. In the 1930s, there was a New Deal project that involved men making boondoggles all day. Some journalists started using “boondoggle” contemptuously, to describe busy work given to the unemployed.

8 Flightless bird in “Up” : KEVIN

“Up” was the tenth movie released by Pixar studios, and features the wonderful animation that we have come to expect from Pixar. The film earned itself two Academy Awards. The main voice actor is Ed Asner, whose animated persona as Carl Fredricksen was created to resemble Spencer Tracy, as Tracy appeared in his last film, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

9 Low-__ diet : CARB

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

10 Shortcut, of sorts : LIFE HACK

A life hack is a technique that makes a routine task easier or more efficient. The term “life hack” was coined in 2004 by journalist Danny O’Brien when describing less-than-elegant shortcuts used by IT professionals.

12 Foo Fighters power ballad that was the theme song for the NBC sitcom “Ed” : NEXT YEAR

“Next Year” is a song released in 2000 by Foo Fighters. It was used as the theme song for the TV comedy-drama series “Ed”.

19 Raised trains : ELS

Elevated railroad (El)

21 Legal exam, familiarly : THE BAR

“The bar” is a term often used for “the legal profession”. It is a reference to the “bar” that separates spectators from participants in a courtroom.

28 Tuba sound : PAH

The tuba is the lowest-pitched of all brass instruments, and one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra (usually there is just one tuba included in an orchestral line-up). “Tuba” is the Latin word for “trumpet, horn”. Oom-pah-pah …

29 Brady bunch, once : BUCCANEERS

Quarterback Tom Brady signed up with the New England Patriots in 2000, and led the team to more Super Bowl appearances than any other player in history. He signed up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, and led them to win the Super Bowl in his first season. Brady is from San Mateo, California, which isn’t very far from here. He dated actress Bridget Moynahan for a couple of years, and the pair have a child together. Brady was also married to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, for thirteen years.

32 Like Midas : GREEDY

King Midas of Greek mythology might be termed an alchemist as he had the power to turn everything he touched into gold i.e. the Midas touch. That power became a curse, as everything he touched turned to gold, including his food and drink, and even his children.

36 David Attenborough, for one : NARRATOR

The fascinating Sir David Attenborough is a British broadcaster and naturalist, and the younger brother of actor Richard Attenborough. I’ve known him from British television for almost all of my life, but he has become recognizable over here in the US more recently due to his appearance and narration in the television series’ “Life On Earth”, “The Living Planet”, “The Blue Planet”, “Life” and “Planet Earth”. However, US versions of David Attenborough shows tend to be voiced-over by American personalities, so some recordings of “Planet Earth” feature the voice of Sigourney Weaver”, and “Life” features the voice of Oprah Winfrey.

45 1957 Jimmy Dorsey hit : SO RARE

“So Rare” is a song that first became popular with a recording by Guy Lombardo in 1937. It was also a major hit for Jimmy Dorsey twenty years later, in 1957.

49 “Marrakesh Express” band, for short : CSN

“Marrakesh Express” is a 1969 song released by Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN), and written by band member Graham Nash. Nash actually wrote the song while he was with the Hollies, but they rejected it. His inspiration for “Marrakesh Express” was a train journey that he took from Casablanca to Marrakesh while on vacation in Morocco.

53 Football : juke :: hockey : __ : DEKE

A deke, also known as a dangle, is a technique used to get past an opponent in ice hockey. “Deke” is a colloquial shortening of the word “decoy”.

55 Many a PX shopper : NCO

A PX is a Post Exchange, a retail store operating on a US Army Base. The equivalent store on an Air Force Base is called a Base Exchange (BX).

57 Residential community org. : HOA

Homeowner’s association (HOA)