Tag: Rodent proof crossword clue

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Constructed by: Joseph A. Gangi

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Pressing Matters

Themed clues look like news headlines, and themed answers are news-industry phrases:

• 17A “Local Couple Makes a Commitment,” e.g. : EXCLUSIVE REPORT
• 27A “China Falls From Top Spot,” e.g. : BREAKING NEWS
• 48A “Final Finalist Finally Arrives,” e.g. : LATEST UPDATE
• 63A “Photographer Embraces Traditional Darkroom Techniques,” e.g. : DEVELOPING STORY

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

Bill’s time: 8m 00s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Gimli’s weapon in “The Lord of the Rings” : AXE

Gimli is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. He is one of the Dwarves of Middle-Earth and is chosen as the Dwarves’ representative in the Fellowship of the Ring.

9A Healthy side : SALAD

Our word “salad” comes from the Latin “salare” meaning “to salt”. The Latin “herba salata” translates as “salted vegetables”, which I guess could be a salad …

15A Peninsular Arab state : QATAR

Qatar is a sovereign state in the Middle East occupying the Qatar Peninsula, itself located in the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies on the Persian Gulf and shares one land border, with Saudi Arabia to the south. In 2010, Qatar had the fastest growing economy in the world, driven by the petrochemical industry.

20A Nephew of Donald Duck : LOUIE

Donald Duck’s nephews are identical triplets named Huey, Dewey and Louie, and they first appeared on the screen in 1938. Once in a while, due to errors in production, a fourth duck can be seen in the background. This little “mistake” is affectionately called “Phooey Duck” by folks in the industry.

21A Word with tea and toast : TEXAS …

“Texas tea” is a familiar term for oil drilled from the earth.

Texas toast is made from toasted, sliced bread that is about double the usual thickness of sliced, packaged bread. It is prepared by simply spreading butter onto both sides and grilling until golden brown. Variants might include garlic in the butter, or the addition of cheese to one or both sides.

23A Meat product with a museum in Minnesota : SPAM

The Spam Museum is located in downtown Austin, Minnesota, the city that is home to the headquarters of Hormel Foods. Visitors to the facility are greeted by “Spambassadors”, are offered tiny samples on crackers, known as “Spamplings”.

25A July’s namesake : CAESAR

Our month of July used to be called “Quintilis” in ancient Rome. “Quintilis” is Latin for “fifth”, and it was the fifth month of the year back then. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Roman Senate renamed Quintilis to Julius, in his honor, which evolved into our “July”. The month of August, originally called “Sextilis” in Latin, was renamed in honor of Augustus.

27A “China Falls From Top Spot,” e.g. : BREAKING NEWS

The ceramic known as “porcelain” can be referred to as “china” or “fine china”, as porcelain was developed in China.

32A Civil rights leader Wilkins : ROY

Roy Wilkins earned the moniker “Mr. Civil Rights” during his 22 years with the NAACP. He served as the organization’s Executive Secretary for eight years before becoming Executive Director in 1964, a position he held until 1977.

34A Olympic skater Cohen : SASHA

Sasha Cohen is an American figure skater from Westwood, California. Cohen’s mother is a former ballet dancer who immigrated here from Ukraine. “Sasha” is a Russian diminutive of Cohen’s birth name of “Alexandra”.

40A Carriers powered by pantographs and overhead lines : TRAMS

In the world of transportation, a pantograph is a diamond-shaped folding frame that sits atop an electric train or tram that draws power from overhead wires. The term “pantograph” was coined to describe a mechanical device used to copy drawings and handwriting, from the Greek “pan” (all) and “graphein” (to write). The transportation device resembles the writing device, hence the usage. The train’s pantograph maintains contact with overhead lines, channeling electricity to the motor, with the rails serving as the grounding return path.

42A Early operating system : UNIX

Unix is a computer operating system that was developed at Bell Labs in 1969. The initial name for the project was Uniplexed Information and Computing Service (Unics), and this evolved over time into “Unix”.

55A Prefix with meter : ODO-

An odometer measures distance traveled. “Odometer” comes from the Greek “hodos” meaning “path” and “metron” meaning “measure”.

56A “The Three-Body Problem” genre : SCI-FI

“The Three-Body Problem” is a 2008 science-fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin. An English translation by Chinese-born American author Ken Liu was published in 2014. It became the first translated work to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

66A Flared dress style : A-LINE

An A-line skirt is one that fits snugly at the hips and flares towards the hem. The term “A-line” was first used in fashion by French designer Christian Dior in his 1955 spring collection.

69A Disreputable : SEEDY

We use the word “seedy” to mean “shabby”. The usage probably arose from the appearance of a flowering plant that has gone to seed.

70A Tandem pair : SEATS

Back in the mid- to late-1700s, a tandem was a horse-drawn carriage, one with the two horses harnessed one behind the other. A century later, we applied the term “tandem” to a bicycle with two seats, and the two riders one behind the other.

71A Start of a giant recital? : FEE-

The line “fee-fi-fo-fum” (with various spellings) comes from the famous English fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Within the story, the giant at the top of the beanstalk utters a little poem when he detects the presence of Jack:

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

Down

2D Love letters? : XOXO

In the letter sequence “X-O-X”, the X represents a kiss, and the O a hug. “O-O-O” is a string of hugs, and “X-X-X” a string of kisses. Hugs and kisses …

8D Predatory dino : T-REX

The Tyrannosaurus rex (usually written “T-rex”) was a spectacular looking dinosaur. “Tyrannosaurus” comes from the Greek words “tyrannos” (tyrant) and “sauros” (lizard) and “rex” the Latin for “king”. They were big beasts, measuring 42 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hips, and weighing 7.5 tons.

11D Cereal shapes : LOOPS

Froot Loops (ugh!) is a breakfast cereal from Kellogg’s that has been around since 1963. The little loops come in different colors, originally red, orange and yellow, but now there are green, purple and blue loops as well. Notice I said “different colors” not “different flavors”. Each loop tastes the same, so I wonder where the color comes from …?

18D “Radical Optimism” singer Dua : LIPA

“Radical Optimism” is a 2024 album released by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was the singer’s third album, and was supported by her third concert tour: the Radical Optimism Tour.

27D Some undergarments : BRAS

The first modern bra was invented by a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob in 1913. She was looking for a more comfortable and fashionable alternative to the corsets that were then commonly worn, and she fashioned a bra using two handkerchiefs and some ribbon. She later patented her invention, which she called the “Backless Brassiere.”

28D $2 worth of nickels, e.g. : ROLL

The 5-cent American coin known as a nickel is actually made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The first nickel was introduced in 1866, and was named the Shield nickel due to the shield design on the front of the coin. The current design is the Jefferson nickel, which was introduced in 1938.

29D Like Vikings : NORSE

Norse explorers, often referred to as Vikings, were remarkable for their long-distance voyages. Around 1000 CE, they established a settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, making them the first Europeans known to have reached North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

31D Citi Field MLBer : NY MET

Citi Field is a relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets (NYM) that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. The new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

39D Dashiell contemporary : ERLE

I must have read all of the “Perry Mason” books when I was in college. I think they kept me sane when I was facing the pressure of exams. Author Erle Stanley Gardner was himself a lawyer, although he didn’t get into the profession the easy way. Gardner went to law school, but got himself suspended after a month. So, he became a self-taught attorney and opened his own law office in Merced, California. Understandably perhaps, Gardner gave up the law once his novels became successful.

Dashiell Hammett was an American author known for his detective fiction. Hammett was the creator of such enduring characters as Sam Spade from “The Maltese Falcon” as well as Nick and Nora Charles from “The Thin Man”. Outside of writing, Hammett was also politically active and served as the president of a group the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) after WWII. The CRC was deemed to be a Communist front group and was listed as a subversive organization by the US government. At one point, he even served time in jail for contempt of court, after refusing to answer some questions in a trial in which the CRC was involved.

44D Pesto option : PARSLEY

Parsley serves as the base herb in “pesto di prezzemolo”, an alternative to the basil-centric “pesto alla Genovese”, with which we are most familiar.

51D Musical endings : CODAS

In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

52D One-named singer whose surname is Adkins : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US. “30” followed in 2021.

57D NYSE investment opportunities : IPOS

An initial public offering (IPO) is a significant event for a company as it marks the first time it becomes a publicly traded company. IPOs are often accompanied by a so-called “lock-up period.” This is a period of time, typically 90 to 180 days after the IPO, during which company insiders, such as executives and early investors, are not allowed to sell their shares on the open market. The purpose of the lock-up period is to prevent a flood of shares from hitting the market and potentially driving down the price of the stock.

59D Highlander of ancient Peru : INCA

The Inca Empire was known as the Tawantinsuyu, which translates as “land of the four quarters”. It was a federal organization with a central government that sat above four “suyu” or “quarters”, four administrative regions.

61D Cleveland’s lake : ERIE

Cleveland, Ohio was named for the man who led the team that surveyed the area prior to the founding of the city. General Moses Cleaveland did his work in 1796 and then left Ohio, never to return again.

62D Brontë governess : EYRE

“Jane Eyre” is a classic 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë, published under the pseudonym “Currer Bell”. It’s a coming-of-age tale in which the title character endures a harsh childhood and education before becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane falls in love with her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester, but there’s a rocky road to travel before the couple finally get to the altar.

64D Frame : bowling :: __ : curling : END

I think curling is such a cool (pun!) game. It’s somewhat like bowls, but played on a sheet of ice. The sport was supposedly invented in medieval Scotland, and is called curling because of the action of the granite stone as it moves across the ice. A player can make the stone take a curved path (“curl”) by causing it to slowly rotate as it slides.

65D Tear down to the studs : GUT

In home construction, a wall stud is a vertical member providing support inside a wall.