Tag: Schmaltzy crossword clue

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Constructed by: Kelly Richardson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: All Ball

Themed answers are phrases from the world of basketball, but reinterpreted to match the clues. Also, each includes a DOUBLE occurrence of DOUBLE letters (the same letters side by side):

• 105A Basketball stat, and what can be found in six of this puzzle’s long answers : DOUBLE-DOUBLE

• 22A Goal of a dog running an agility course? : GET TO THE HOOP
• 36A Arrive too late for the blanket giveaway? : MISS A FREE THROW
• 51A Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle? : DEEP THREE
• 61A Garden privacy border made of psychoactive plants? : ILLEGAL SCREEN
• 73A Gutter ball? : ALLEY OOPS
• 86A All of the reporters covering a trial? : FULL COURT PRESS

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

Bill’s time: 18m 21s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Microsoft’s 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.

19 “Fuller House” actor John : STAMOS

Actor John Stamos is best known as the star of the sitcom “Full House”, although he also played Dr. Tony Gates on the medical drama “ER”. Outside of acting, Stamos is quite the musician, playing drums and guitar. He has appeared in concerts and recorded with the Beach Boys several times.

“Full House” is a sitcom that originally aired from the late eighties through the mid-nineties. It’s all about two men helping a third man raise his three young daughters after his wife is killed by a drunk driver. Bob Saget plays the widowed father, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen play the youngest daughter. A sequel titled “Fuller House” started airing on Netflix in 2016.

21 “Flamin’ Hot” director Longoria : EVA

Eva Longoria is a fashion model and actress who had a regular role on TV’s “Desperate Housewives”, playing Gabrielle Solis. Her travel and food show “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico” premiered on CNN in 2023.

24 “__, Brute?” : ET TU

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the 15th (the ides) of March, 44 BC. He was attacked by a group of sixty people in the Roman Senate, and was stabbed 23 times. The first to strike a blow was Servilius Casca, who attacked Caesar from behind and stabbed him in the neck. In Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, Casca utters the words “Speak, hands, for me!” just before making the fatal blow. The following line, uttered by Caesar, is more famous though: “Et tu, Brute?”

25 Talk by a rev. : SER

Our word “sermon” comes from the Latin “sermonem” meaning “discourse, talk”. The literal translation of “sermonem” is “a stringing together of words”, from the Latin “serere” meaning “to join”, as in the related word “series”.

27 Mass x acceleration : FORCE

Newton’s second law of motion tells us that a body accelerates when a force is applied to it, and the greater the mass of the object, the greater the force required to cause that acceleration. Mathematically, the law can be written as Force = mass x acceleration (F=ma).

34 Betting setting : CASINO

The term “casino” originated in the 1700s, then describing a public room for music or dancing. “Casino” is a diminutive of “casa” meaning “house”.

35 Wildebeest : GNU

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch word meaning “wild beast”.

38 Chrysalides, e.g. : PUPAE

Strictly speaking, the term “cocoon” only applies to the tough outer casing created by moth caterpillars. Butterfly caterpillars protect themselves in a hard outer skin to form a pupa known as a chrysalis (plural “chrysalides”). But, butterfly caterpillars don’t go the extra step and a silky cocoon. Famously, silk thread comes from silk cocoons created by silkworms, which mature into silk moths.

43 Stringed instrument : HARP

The primary materials used to make a harp are wood for the frame, and gut or wire for the strings. The frame is triangular. The top of the triangle is the crossbar or neck, to which the strings are secured and can be adjusted in tension to fine-tune the pitch. The other end of the strings are held by the soundboard, the side of the triangular frame that is hollow, allowing the body of the harp to resonate when strings are plucked. The long side of the triangular frame is the column or pillar, the purpose of which is to hold up the neck under the tension of the strings.

44 World’s third-largest river, by volume : CONGO

The Congo River in Africa is the third-largest in the world in terms of volume of water discharged (after the Amazon and Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna), and the second longest river in Africa (after the Nile). It is also the deepest river in the world, with depths exceeding 700 feet. The name “Congo” comes from the ancient Kingdom of Kongo that was once located at the mouth of the river.

45 Thanksgiving Day Parade sponsor : MACY’S

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City has been held every year since 1924, with a brief suspension from 1942-1944. The parade was halted during WWII as there was a need for rubber and helium to support the war effort. The 2020 parade was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so was a broadcast-only event.

51 Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle? : DEEP THREE

In ancient Greece, Socrates was a respected thinker of his day. One of Socrates’ most clever students was Plato, who spent much of life espousing the work and thinking of his mentor and teacher. In later life, Plato himself had a student who built on the work of both Socrates and Plato. That second-generation student was Aristotle. Socrates fell out of favor with the political leaders in Athens who put him on trial on trumped-up charges. He was found guilty of corrupting the youth of the city-state and of not believing in the gods of the state. The sentence levied was death by drinking hemlock.

In basketball, a “deep three” refers to a three-point shot taken from a significantly farther distance than a regular three-pointer. While there’s no exact measurement for how deep a “deep three” is, it generally refers to shots taken from well beyond the three-point line, often closer to the half-court logo.

53 Hajj destination : MECCA

Mecca is in the Makkah province of Saudi Arabia. It was the birthplace of Muhammad and is the holiest city in Islam. Every year, several million Muslims perform the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

55 Branch of Islam : SHIA

The Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia Muslims differ in the belief of who should have taken over leadership of the Muslim faithful after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of the Sunni tradition agree with the decision that the Prophet Muhammad’s confidante Abu Bakr was the right choice to become the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Followers of the Shia tradition believe that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet Muhammad’s own family, and favored the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali.

56 Two-tone bear : PANDA

Taxonomic classification of the giant panda has been a subject of great debate for years, the main question being whether it belongs to the bear or raccoon family. The accepted opinion these days, based on molecular studies, seems to be that the panda is in fact a true bear.

58 Saint-Tropez sea : MER

Saint-Tropez is a town in southeastern France on the French Riviera. These days, Saint-Tropez is very much associated with the European and American jet set. The town is named for a legendary martyr named Saint Torpes of Pisa. Torpes was supposedly executed on the orders of the Roman Emperor Nero. Having been beheaded, his head was tossed into the river Arno, and his body placed in a boat along with a cock and a dog who were to eat the body. The boat came ashore at the present-day location of Saint-Tropez, with the body untouched by the cock and the dog. The local people named their village in honor of Saint Torpes.

65 Part of REM : EYE

“REM” is an acronym standing for “rapid eye movement”. REM sleep takes up 20-25% of the sleeping hours and is the period associated with one’s most vivid dreams.

69 Sch. between Mex. and N. Mex. : UTEP

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was founded in 1914 as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. To this day, there is a mine shaft on the campus. The mascot of the school’s sports teams is Paydirt Pete, a prospector from the mining industry. The teams are also known as the UTEP Miners and Lady Miners.

71 Nom de plume : ALIAS

“Nom de plume” translates from French simply as “pen name”.

72 HS assessments : PSATS

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)

73 Gutter ball? : ALLEY OOPS

In ten-pin bowling, a gutterball is one that ends up in one of the gutters (channels) on either side of each lane.

An alley-oop is a play in basketball in which one player lobs the ball close to the basket for a teammate who usually scores with a slam dunk.

79 Los Angeles art museum : GETTY

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is one of the most-visited museums in the country. Like many museums in developed countries these days, the Getty has been embroiled in disputes about ownership of artifacts. The curators of the Getty have gone so far as to repatriate some items in recent years, especially to Greece and Italy. The J. Paul Getty Museum has two locations. The Getty Center is the primary location, and houses art from the Middle Ages to the present. The associated (and beautiful) Getty Villa displays art from ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

82 Big name in tractors : DEERE

John Deere invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837. Prior to Deere’s invention, farmers used an iron or wooden plow that constantly had to be cleaned as rich soil stuck to its surfaces. The cast-steel plow was revolutionary as its smooth sides solved the problem of “stickiness”. The Deere company that John founded uses the slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”, and has a leaping deer as its logo.

84 Pam of “Jackie Brown” : GRIER

Pam Grier is an actress whose most acclaimed performance was in the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film “Jackie Brown”, in which she played the title role.

“Jackie Brown” is a 1997 Quentin Tarantino film that is based on a 1992 Elmore Leonard novel titled “Rum Punch”. Pam Grier plays the title role, a flight attendant smuggling money from Mexico into the US. The list of supporting actors is impressive, including Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro. Even Tony Curtis shows up, playing himself.

85 Petrichor, e.g. : SCENT

You know that earthy scent that manifests itself when rain falls on dry soil? That scent is known as petrichor, from the Greek “petra” meaning “rock” and “ikhor”, the name given to the mythical fluid that makes up the blood of gods and immortals.

86 All of the reporters covering a trial? : FULL COURT PRESS

“Full-court press” is a basketball term describing the tactic of pressuring the offensive team along the entire length of the court.

91 Brains behind a tech startup? : CPU

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main component on the motherboard of a computer. The CPU is the part of the computer that carries out most of the functions required by a program. Nowadays you can get CPUs in everything from cars to telephones.

92 Ed who plays Donald Sterling in the miniseries “Clipped” : O’NEILL

Ed O’Neill made it big on television playing Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married … with Children”, not a show I ever cared for. However, O’Neill is in the cast of a great show, namely “Modern Family”. Off screen, O’Neill is a very proficient practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his black belt in 2007.

“Clipped” is a sports drama miniseries that tells the story of the downfall of Donald Sterling, the onetime owner of the LA Clippers basketball team. It is based on ESPN’s “30 for 30” season of episodes called “The Sterling Affairs”. Ed O’Neill portrays Sterling, and Laurence Fishburne plays Clippers coach Doc Rivers.

94 New Hampshire state flower : LILAC

The ornamental flowering plant known as lilac is native to the Balkans, and is a member of the olive family. The name “lilac” comes from the Persian word “lilaq,” which means “flower.”

New Hampshire adopted the purple lilac as state flower in 1919. The pink lady’s slipper was named the state wildflower in 1991.

97 Tehran resident : IRANI

Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of about 8.5 million. Iran has been around a really long time and Tehran is actually the country’s 31st national capital.

102 “Sneakers” actor Kingsley : BEN

English actor Ben Kingsley won his Best Actor Oscar for playing the title role in the 1982 epic biographical film “Gandhi”. Kingsley was knighted in 2002, so if you meet him you should address him as “Sir Ben” …

“Sneakers” is an entertaining 1992 movie that might be described as a lighthearted heist film. It has a great cast that includes Robert Redford, Dan Akroyd, Ben Kingsley, River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier.

103 Lowly worker : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

105 Basketball stat, and what can be found in six of this puzzle’s long answers : DOUBLE-DOUBLE

In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates a total of 10 or more in two of the five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

111 __ Loops : FROOT

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 …?

112 “Rockaria!” rock gp. : ELO

If you listen carefully to the song “Rockaria” on the 1976 ELO album “A New World Record”, you’ll hear an “oops”. The introduction to the track features an opera singer who starts the vocals too early in the first take. The band decided to use that first take anyway, complete with the singer saying “oops”.

115 Forest fronds : FERNS

Ferns are unlike mosses in that they have xylem and phloem, making them vascular plants. They also have stems, leaves and roots, but they do not have seeds and flowers, and reproduce using spores. Spores differ from seeds in that they have very little stored food.

Down

3 Petrol unit : LITRE

“Petrol” is the chiefly British-English term used for gasoline. “Petrol” comes via French from the Latin “petroleum”, itself derived from “petra” meaning “rock” and “oleum” meaning “oil”.

5 Ice-and-syrup treat : SNO-CONE

A sno-cone (also “snow cone”) is just a paper cone filled with crushed ice and topped with flavored water. Italian ice is similar, but different. Whereas the flavoring is added on top of the ice to make a sno-cone, Italian ice is made with water that is flavored before it is frozen.

6 Some Numic speakers : UTES

Numic languages are spoken by indigenous peoples across the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and parts of the Great Plains. These languages include Shoshoni, Comanche, Timbisha, Mono, and several Paiute varieties.

8 Letters introducing a judgment : IMO …

In my opinion (IMO)

10 Evita, to Juan Perón : ESPOSA

“Esposa” is Spanish for “wife”.

Nowadays, President Juan Perón of Argentina is perhaps less well-known than his second wife, Eva Perón of “Evita” fame. Juan and Eva Perón were overthrown in a military coup in 1955, although Juan Perón was returned to power in 1973 after which he served for only nine months before he passed away. Juan was succeeded in office by his third wife, Isabel Perón.

11 Lyriq or Leaf : ELECTRIC CAR

The Lyriq is the first electric vehicle sold by General Motors under the Cadillac marque. It is a luxury, midsize crossover SUV that was introduced in 2023.

The Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan that was introduced in 2010. The model name is an acronym standing for “leading environmentally-friendly affordable car”.

12 Coddle, with “on” : DOTE …

The word “coddle” means to boil gently, as in “coddle an egg”. “Coddle” was first used to mean “treat tenderly” by Jane Austen. She introduced the extended usage in her masterpiece “Emma”.

16 Skin care brand whose name comes from the Latin for “oats” : AVEENO

Aveeno is a manufacturer of skincare and haircare products that was founded in 1945. The name Aveeno comes from the Latin name for the common oat, i.e. Avena sativa.

19 “__ Used To Be Mine”: Sara Bareilles song : SHE

“She Used to Be Mine” is a song that Sara Bareilles wrote for her 2015 musical adaptation of the 2007 film “Waitress”.

30 Plant with helicopter seeds : ASH TREE

The wood of the ash tree is hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

33 Sylvan __: “Hey Mami” folktronica duo : ESSO

Sylvan Esso is a duo comprising singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn. Together, they produce music that falls into the electropop genre.

37 Artist who has recorded in Tolkien’s fictional language : ENYA

Enya co-wrote and performed a song titled “Aníron” for “The Lord of the Rings” series of films. The song’s lyrics are written in the Elvish language of Sindarin, a fictional language that was created by author J.R.R. Tolkien.

39 Fed. next to Oman : UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

41 Undersea colony creator : CORAL

Polyps are tiny sea creatures that are found attached to underwater structures or to other polyps. Polyps have a mouth at one end of a cylindrical “body” that is surrounded by tentacles. Some polyps cluster into groups called stony corals, with stony corals being the building blocks of coral reefs. The structure of the reef comprises calcium carbonate exoskeletons secreted by the coral polyps.

44 Cook-off bowlful : CHILI

The full name of the dish that is often called simply “chili” is “chili con carne”, Spanish for “peppers with meat”. The dish was created by immigrants from the Spanish Canary Islands in the city of San Antonio, Texas (a city which the islanders founded). The San Antonio Chili Stand was a popular attraction at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and that stand introduced the dish to the rest of America and to the world.

45 Smart society : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

46 “Hells Bells” band : AC/DC

“Hells Bells” is a 1987 song released by AC/DC. It is remarkable in that it opens with the tolling of a huge bronze bell weighing over 2,200 pounds with a diameter of 48 inches. The band commissioned the manufacture of the bell, just for use in the song.

53 Soda fountain drinks : MALTS

Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, back in 1922.

58 “__, this is a Wendy’s” : MA’AM

The phrase “Sir (or Ma’am), this is a Wendy’s” has been used in recent years in response to long-winded and perhaps overbearing rant. The intent is to dismiss irrelevant or nonsensical speech.

59 Romance novelist Kennedy : ELLE

Elle Kennedy is a romance novelist from Canada who also authors romantic suspense novels. Her most popular books are known as the “Off Campus” series.

63 Farm animal in some yoga classes : GOAT

Believe it or not, goat yoga is a thing, a thing that has been around since 2016. It’s doing yoga on a farm with goats around you.

64 Mathematician who wrote the first theorem of graph theory : EULER

Leonhard Euler was a brilliant Swiss mathematician and physicist, and a pioneer in the fields of logarithms and graph theory. Euler’s eyesight deteriorated during his working life, and he eventually became almost totally blind.

67 Schmaltzy : MAUDLIN

“Schmaltz” is an informal term used to describe things that are excessively sentimental. The word comes from the Yiddish “shmalts”, which means “melted fat”. Indeed, the modern German word for fat or grease is Schmaltz, and it can be used in the same figurative way in that language.

70 References in some crossword clues : POP CULTURE

Not my strength, not even close …

72 Machu Picchu country : PERU

Machu Picchu is known as “The Lost City of the Incas”, and it can be visited on a mountain ridge in Peru, 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco in the southeast of the country. The name Machu Picchu means “old peak”. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu originates about 50 miles from Cusco on the Urubamba River in Peru. It can take travelers about 5 days to trek the full length of the trail, passing through many Incan ruins before reaching the Sun Gate on Machu Picchu mountain. The trail was becoming greatly overused, forcing the Peruvian government to limit the number of people on the trail each day to 500. Book early …

79 Subj. of John McPhee’s “Annals of the Former World” : GEOL

“Annals of the Former World” is a 1998, Pulitzer-winning book by nonfiction author John McPhee. It is a book about geology, and presents a geological history of the North American continent.

80 Guitar component : FRET

A fret is a metal strip embedded in the neck of a stringed instrument, a guitar perhaps. The fingers press on the frets, shortening a string and hence changing the note played. The note increases by one semitone as a finger shortens a string by one fret.

83 Celestial obscuration : ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth from the light of the Sun, in other words when the Earth is positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. The more spectacular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, so that the Earth falls into the shadow cast by the Moon.

84 Yogurt topping : GRANOLA

The names “Granola” and “Granula” were trademarked back in the late 1800s for whole-grain foods that were crumbled and baked until crisp. Granola was created in Dansville, New York in 1894.

Yogurt (also “yoghurt”) is produced by fermenting milk using bacteria known as yogurt cultures. The bacteria act on the sugars in the milk, producing lactic acid. The lactic acid acts on the proteins in the milk to give the characteristic texture and acidity of yogurt.

86 Quirk : FOIBLE

Originally, a foible was the weak point of a sword’s blade. Over time, “foible” came to be used for a weak point in a person’s character.

88 Shanty : LEAN-TO

Our word “shanty” is used for a rough cabin. It comes from the Canadian French word “chantier”, which is a “lumberjack’s headquarters”.

89 Hanoi holiday : 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.

98 Flock flat : COOP

The Old English word “cypa”, meaning “basket”, evolved in the 14th century to the word “coop” to describe a small cage for poultry. We still use “coop” today.

99 __ market : FLEA

Flea markets are known by various names around the world. In Australia, the term “trash and treasure market” is used. Such outdoor events are called car boot sales in Britain and Ireland, whereas indoor versions might be jumble sales or bring-and-buy sales.

100 Vermilion : RED

Vermilion is a bright shade of red. Ultimately, the name “vermilion” comes from the Latin “vermis” meaning “worm”. Back in the day, some crimson and scarlet dyes were made from the crushed scales of a worm-like bug.

104 Dawn goddess : EOS

In Greek mythology, Eos was the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. The Roman equivalent of Eos was Aurora. Rather delightfully, Homer referred to Eos as “rosy-fingered dawn” in both “Iliad” and “Odyssey”.

106 LUV competitor : UAL

United Airlines (UAL) has a complicated history, but can trace its roots back to Aviation Enterprises, founded in 1944 and later called Texas International. The first use of the “United” name in the company’s history was when airplane pioneer William Boeing merged his Boeing Air Transport with Pratt & Whitney to form the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. The Air Mail Act of 1934 required that UATC be broken up into United Aircraft (which became United Technologies), the Boeing Aircraft Company and United Air Lines.

The headquarters for Southwest Airlines is on the grounds of Dallas Love Field in Texas. The marketing folks had adopted the “LUV” moniker in some of the company’s advertising. On the New York Stock Exchange, the ticker symbol for Southwest is “LUV”.

107 “Boy With Luv” band : BTS

“Boy With Luv” is a 2019 song released by South Korean Boy Band BTS. It is a little different from prior BTS hits as the track features American singer Halsey. One record that “Boy With Luv” broke is the most-viewed online music video within 24 hours. In the video’s first day of release, it attracted almost 75 million views.