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Constructed by: Jeffrey Wechsler
Edited by: Rich Norris
Today’s Theme (according to Bill): P-Puzzle
Themed answers are common two-word phrases, but with a letter P added at the front:
- 17A Gratitude for a well-played role? : PART APPRECIATION (P + art appreciation)
- 27A Crackin’, peelin’ and fadin’? : PAINT MISBEHAVIN’ (P + Ain’t Misbehavin’)
- 45A Couples therapist? : PAIR CONDITIONER (P + air conditioner)
- 55A Extreme example of layering for cold weather? : PANTS IN ONE’S PANTS (P + ants in one’s pants)
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 10m 42s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
5 ’90s trade pact : NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is between Canada, Mexico and the United States. When NAFTA came into force in 1994, it set up the largest free trade zone in the world.
14 Heart : CRUX
“Crux” is the Latin word for “cross”. The term came into English meaning “a central difficulty” in the early 1700s.
15 “… __ player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage”: Macbeth : A POOR
There is a famous soliloquy in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” that is spoken by the title character. It is usually referred to as “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”, from the second sentence:
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
— To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
16 Lake near Carson City : TAHOE
Lake Tahoe (often referred to simply as “Tahoe”) is up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and is located right on the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the country, and the largest lake in general, behind the five Great Lakes. It’s also the second deepest lake, with only the beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon being deeper. Given its location, there are tall casinos that sit right on the shore on the Nevada side of the state line where gambling is legal.
Carson City, Nevada was named for the Carson River. The river was named for Kit Carson, the scout who accompanied the team of European Americans who first arrived in the area in 1843. Carson City was designated state capital in 1864.
20 Papal messenger : LEGATE
A papal legate is a representative of the pope, usually to a foreign nation. The term “legate” comes from the Latin “legatus”, which was the name of a high-ranking officer in the Roman army.
A papal legate is a representative of the pope, usually to a foreign nation. The term “legate” comes from the Latin “legatus”, which was the name of a high-ranking officer in the Roman army.
21 On the other side of: Abbr. : ACR
Across (acr.)
22 Enzyme suffix : -ASE
The names of enzymes usually include the suffix “-ase”. Enzymes are basically catalysts, chemicals that act to increase the rate of a particular chemical reaction. For example, starches will break down into sugars over time, especially under the right conditions. However, in the presence of the enzyme amylase (found in saliva) this production of sugar happens very, very quickly.
23 Unscrupulous : AMORAL
A scruple is a moral consideration that inhibits certain actions. The term “scruple” comes from the Latin “scrupulus”, which has the same meaning, but is also the word for a small stone. The Latin word was first used in the figurative sense by Cicero to describe a source of uneasiness, most likely drawing on the notion of a pebble in one’s shoe.
25 Youthful maiden of myth : NYMPHET
In Greek and Roman mythology, nymphs were divine female spirits associated with a particular location or landform in nature.
27 Crackin’, peelin’ and fadin’? : PAINT MISBEHAVIN’ (P + Ain’t Misbehavin’)
“Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a song written in 1929 by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf. Waller was the first to record the song, quickly followed by six other artists that same year. The song also provided the title for a successful stage musical that premiered in 1978.
32 Newton honorific : SIR
English polymath Sir Isaac Newton was responsible for so many discoveries in science and philosophy, and is regarded as key to the scientific revolution that led to the birth of what we now call “modern science”. While most of Newton’s discoveries were undisputed, his introduction of the mathematical discipline of calculus was challenged by German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz. It seems that Newton and Leibniz discovered calculus simultaneously, but each claimed that other stile his work. That dispute persisted well past the death of both parties.
33 LGBT History Mo. : OCT
LGBT History Month has been celebrated annually since 1994. The month of October was chosen so that it coincided with the already-existing National Coming Out Day, which is observed annually on October 11th.
34 ’60s campus gp. : SDS
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was an activist group in the sixties. The SDS organized the largest student strike in the history of the United States on 26 April 1968, with about a million students staying away from class that day. The “Students for a Democratic Society” name was revived in 2006 with the foundation of a new US-based student organization with left wing beliefs. Today’s SDS was founded by a pair of high school students from Greenwich Village, New York.
40 Asian language : LAO
Lao, the language of Laos, does not use spaces between words (or periods!), although this is apparently changing. Spaces are used between sentences and clauses.
42 Hammer site : EAR
The middle ear is the portion of the ear immediately behind the eardrum. The middle ear contains three small bones called the ossicles, the three smallest bones in the human body. The ossicles’ job is to transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. The shape of the bones gives rise to their names: the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes).
43 Kofi Annan’s birthplace : GHANA
The country name “Ghana” translates as “warrior king” in the local language. The British established a colony they called Gold Coast in 1874, later to become Ghana, as part of the scramble by Europeans to settle as much of Africa as they could. One of Ghana’s most famous sons is Kofi Annan, the diplomat who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007.
Kofi Annan was a diplomat from Ghana who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan was born into an aristocratic family, and had a twin sister named Efua Atta. Efua and Kofi shared the middle name “Atta”, which means “twin” in the Akan language of Ghana. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree.
49 Like Macbeth in “Macbeth” : TITULAR
There is a superstition in the theatrical world that uttering the name “Macbeth” in a theater will bring disaster of some sort. To avoid this, the euphemism “the Scottish Play” is used instead.
51 Jeff Lynne rock gp. : ELO
Jeff Lynne is a singer-songwriter who is best known as the leader of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Lynne went on to form the Traveling Wilburys supergroup, along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
52 HP product : INK
“Inkjet” is a very accurate and descriptive name for the type of printer. Printing is accomplished by shooting extremely fine jets of ink onto the page.
61 Poetry Muse : ERATO
In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.
62 Fruit with fuzz : KIWI
What we call kiwifruit today (and sometimes just “kiwi”) used to be called a Chinese gooseberry. Marketing folks in the fifties decided to call it a “melonette”, and then New Zealand producers adopted the name “kiwifruit”.
63 First name in Latin bands : DESI
Desi Arnaz has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One was placed to mark his contribution motion pictures, and the other for his work in television.
65 Venerable college that owns a river island : ETON
The town of Eton in Berkshire, England is home to the world-famous Eton College. The original settlement of Eton was located on an island surrounded by the River Thames, and the name “Eton” means “settlement on an island. A stream on one side of the island silted up almost 200 years ago, but it was cleared in 2019 so that Eton qualifies as an island once again.
Down
1 Angel dust, briefly : PCP
Phencyclidine is a recreational drug usually referred to on the street as “PCP” or “angel dust”.
2 Investment option, briefly : IRA
Individual retirement account (IRA)
4 Nonresident doctors : EXTERNS
In the field of medicine, an extern is usually a visiting physician who is not a member of the regular staff of a hospital.
5 Controversial combat material : NAPALM
Napalm is an incendiary compound used in weapons that is made from petroleum mixed with a thickening agent. Napalm was developed in a secret program at Harvard during WWII. It was initially used in incendiary bombs and flamethrowers. The thickening agent in napalm causes the burning material to stick to skin causing severe burns. Because of this, the UN declared the use of napalm in civilian areas a war crime in 1980.
6 Cal. entry : APPT
Appointment (appt.)
7 Golf alert : FORE!
No one seems to know for sure where the golfing term “fore!” comes from. It has been used at least as far back as 1881, and since then has been called out to warn other golfers that a wayward ball might be heading their way. My favorite possibility for its origin is that it is a contraction of the Gaelic warning cry “Faugh a Ballagh!” (clear the way!) which is still called out in the sport of road bowling. Road bowling is an Irish game where players bowl balls along roads between villages, trying to reach the end of the course in as few bowls as possible, just like in golf!
9 Understood by few : ARCANE
Something that is arcane is something that is understood by only a few, something that might be described as mysterious.
10 Seuss title top : HAT
“The Cat in the Hat” is a 1957 book penned by Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel). Written to teach young children how to read, Geisel stated in 1983, “It is the book I’m proudest of because it had something to do with the death of the “Dick and Jane” primers.”
11 “Aloha __”: Hawaiian “Good evening” that sounds like a repeated fish : AHIAHI
Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.
13 Principle : TENET
A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he holds”.
16 Lighting area? : TARMAC
The terms “tarmac” and “macadam” are short for “tarmacadam”. In the 1800s, Scotsman John Loudon McAdam developed a style of road known as “macadam”. Macadam had a top-layer of crushed stone and gravel laid over larger stones. The macadam also had a convex cross-section so that water tended to drain to the sides. In 1901, a significant improvement was made by English engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley who introduced tar into the macadam, improving the resistance to water damage and practically eliminating dust. The “tar-penetration macadam” is the basis of what we now call tarmac.
18 Patterned mineral : AGATE
Agate is a micro-crystalline form of quartz (and so is related to sand/silica). Some agate samples have deposited layers that give a striped appearance, and these are called “banded agate”.
19 Lidocaine brand endorsed by Shaq : ICY HOT
Icy Hot is a topical heat rub that is used to relieve muscular discomfort and pain from arthritis and rheumatism. The active ingredient doesn’t provide any heat or cold, but it does stimulate nerve receptors in the skin causing the user to experience a cool sensation followed by warmth.
Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal now appears regularly as an analyst on the NBA TV show “Inside the NBA”. Shaq has quite a career in the entertainment world. His first rap album, called “Shaq Diesel”, went platinum. He also starred in two of his own reality shows: “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Shaq Vs.”
23 Car loan nos. : APRS
Annual percentage rate (APR)
26 Mil. rank : PVT
The lowest military rank of soldier is often called “private” (pvt.). The term comes from the Middle Ages when “private soldiers” were hired or conscripted by noblemen to form a private army. The more generic usage of “private” started in the 1700s.
28 Comcast, e.g.: Abbr. : ISP
Internet service provider (ISP)
Comcast is the largest cable company in the United States. Comcast was founded in 1963 as American Cable systems. The company provides many of its services under the brand name “Xfinity”.
36 Ocean State sch. : URI
The University of Rhode Island (URI) was chartered as an agricultural school back in 1888. Rhody the Ram was chosen as the school’s mascot in 1923, a nod to URI’s agricultural past. As a result, the school’s sports teams are known as the Rams. URI’s main campus is located in the village of Kingston.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, and is the second most densely populated. (after New Jersey). Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State, largely because about 14% of the state’s area is made up of ocean bays and inlets. Exactly how Rhode Island got its name is a little unclear. What is known is that way back in 1524, long before the Pilgrims came to New England, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano likened an island in the area to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. There were subsequent references to “Rhode Island” in English publications, before the colonists arrived.
37 Like some homemade sweaters : HAND-KNIT
Until the early 1880s, the word “sweater” applied to clothing worn specifically for weight reduction by “sweating”.
38 Rare blood type, briefly : A-NEG
Here is an approximate distribution of blood types across the US population:
- O-positive: 38 percent
- O-negative: 7 percent
- A-positive: 34 percent
- A-negative: 6 percent
- B-positive: 9 percent
- B-negative: 2 percent
- AB-positive: 3 percent
- AB-negative: 1 percent
40 Lucy of “Elementary” : LIU
Lucy Liu is an actress from Queens, New York. Liu’s big break came when she was chosen to play the Ling Woo character in “Ally McBeal”. I liked her in the 2000 film “Charlie’s Angels” but as I am no fan of Quentin Tarantino, I did not enjoy the movie “Kill Bill”. I am having fun watching one of Liu’s more recent projects, in which she plays Jane Watson, one of the two lead characters in the TV crime drama “Elementary”.
If you’ve seen the American television show “Elementary”, you will know that it is an adaptation of the classic tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that are set in the present day. “Elementary” is similar in look and feel to the excellent BBC series “Sherlock”, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a modern-day Holmes. We can pick up “Sherlock” in some parts of the country as part of “Masterpiece Mystery” on PBS.
41 Bygone HBO series about a sports agent : ARLISS
“Arli$$” is an HBO sitcom about sports agent Arliss Michaels, played by Robert Wuhl. Nearly every episode of the show features a guest appearance by some real personality from the world of sports. The most frequent guest to make an appearance is broadcaster Bob Costas (5 times) and fellow sportscaster Van Earl Wright (4 times).
43 Generate : GIN UP
“To gin up” is slang meaning “to enliven, excite”. The term probably derives from the older “to ginger up”. Gingering up was the rather nasty practice of putting ginger up inside a horse to make it lively and move with a high tail.
44 Southern cornmeal fare : HOECAKE
Johnnycake (also “hoecake”) is a flatbread made from cornmeal that is associated with the Atlantic coast. There are claims that johnnycake originated in Rhode Island.
45 “Ecce homo” speaker : PILATE
Pontius Pilate was the judge at the trial of Jesus Christ and the man who authorized his crucifixion. Over the years, many scholars have suggested that Pilate was a mythical character. However, a block of limestone was found in 1961 in the modern-day city of Caesarea in Israel, and in the block was an inscription that included the name of Pontius Pilate, citing him as Prefect of Judea.
According to the Gospel of John, when Pilate presented a scourged and beaten Jesus to the crowd he used the words “Ecce homo”, Latin for “Behold the man”.
47 Scottish archipelago : ORKNEY
Orkney (also called “The Orkney Islands”) is a group of about 70 islands in the very north of Scotland. When locals who inhabit the archipelago refer to the Mainland, they aren’t talking about Scotland that is just ten miles away. Instead, the Mainland in Orkney is the name of the largest of all the islands.
48 Ancient statuary fragments : TORSOS
“Torso” (plural “torsi”) is an Italian word meaning the “trunk of a statue”, and is a term that we imported into English.
53 Cinch : SNAP
The term “cinch” was absorbed into American English from Spanish in the mid-1800s, when it was used to mean a “saddle-girth”. “Cincha” is the Spanish for “girdle”. In the late 1800s, “cinch” came to mean a ‘sure thing”, in the sense that a saddle-girth can provide a “sure hold”.
54 Parisian bean? : TETE
In French, the “tête” (head) is the top of “le corps” (the body).
56 “That’s quite enough” : TMI
Too much information (TMI)
58 What a V-sign probably means in a restaurant : TWO
One has to be careful making that V-sign depending where you are in the world. Where I came from, the V-for-victory (or peace) sign has to be made with the palm facing outwards. If the sign is made with the palm facing inwards, it can be interpreted as a very obscene gesture.
59 Envy, say : SIN
The cardinal sins of Christian ethics are also known as the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are:
- Wrath
- Greed
- Sloth
- Pride
- Lust
- Envy
- Gluttony
Read on, or …
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Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1 Irrigation need : PIPE
5 ’90s trade pact : NAFTA
10 “Go no further!” : HALT!
14 Heart : CRUX
15 “… __ player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage”: Macbeth : A POOR
16 Lake near Carson City : TAHOE
17 Gratitude for a well-played role? : PART APPRECIATION (P + art appreciation)
20 Papal messenger : LEGATE
21 On the other side of: Abbr. : ACR
22 Enzyme suffix : -ASE
23 Unscrupulous : AMORAL
25 Youthful maiden of myth : NYMPHET
27 Crackin’, peelin’ and fadin’? : PAINT MISBEHAVIN’ (P + Ain’t Misbehavin’)
31 Clean, as greens : RINSE
32 Newton honorific : SIR
33 LGBT History Mo. : OCT
34 ’60s campus gp. : SDS
35 Start growing : SPROUT
37 Hem partner : HAW
40 Asian language : LAO
42 Hammer site : EAR
43 Kofi Annan’s birthplace : GHANA
45 Couples therapist? : PAIR CONDITIONER (P + air conditioner)
49 Like Macbeth in “Macbeth” : TITULAR
50 Jumpy : ON EDGE
51 Jeff Lynne rock gp. : ELO
52 HP product : INK
53 Hit : STRUCK
55 Extreme example of layering for cold weather? : PANTS IN ONE’S PANTS (P + ants in one’s pants)
60 Discrete things : ITEMS
61 Poetry Muse : ERATO
62 Fruit with fuzz : KIWI
63 First name in Latin bands : DESI
64 “Holy cow!” : YIPES!
65 Venerable college that owns a river island : ETON
Down
1 Angel dust, briefly : PCP
2 Investment option, briefly : IRA
3 Misappropriates : PURLOINS
4 Nonresident doctors : EXTERNS
5 Controversial combat material : NAPALM
6 Cal. entry : APPT
7 Golf alert : FORE!
8 Golf club part : TOE
9 Understood by few : ARCANE
10 Seuss title top : HAT
11 “Aloha __”: Hawaiian “Good evening” that sounds like a repeated fish : AHIAHI
12 Ease : LOOSEN
13 Principle : TENET
16 Lighting area? : TARMAC
18 Patterned mineral : AGATE
19 Lidocaine brand endorsed by Shaq : ICY HOT
23 Car loan nos. : APRS
24 Hotel employee : MAID
26 Mil. rank : PVT
28 Comcast, e.g.: Abbr. : ISP
29 Warning sound : SIREN
30 Wide-ranging : BROAD
35 “You’re not the only one!” : SO CAN I!
36 Ocean State sch. : URI
37 Like some homemade sweaters : HAND-KNIT
38 Rare blood type, briefly : A-NEG
39 Word with hard or soft : -WARE
40 Lucy of “Elementary” : LIU
41 Bygone HBO series about a sports agent : ARLISS
43 Generate : GIN UP
44 Southern cornmeal fare : HOECAKE
45 “Ecce homo” speaker : PILATE
46 Makes up (for) : ATONES
47 Scottish archipelago : ORKNEY
48 Ancient statuary fragments : TORSOS
49 Unenthusiastic : TEPID
53 Cinch : SNAP
54 Parisian bean? : TETE
56 “That’s quite enough” : TMI
57 “Do it, __ will!” : OR I
58 What a V-sign probably means in a restaurant : TWO
59 Envy, say : SIN
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