Tag: Spares no effort crossword clue

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Constructed by: Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 10m 02s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Sweet drink with a velvety texture : MANGO LASSI

Lassi is a yogurt-based drink from India. Popular variants are namkeen lassi (which is salty), sweet lassi and mango lassi. There is even a bhang lassi, which is infused with a liquid derivative of cannabis.

11 Go-to docs : PCPS

Primary care physician (PCP)

17 Walk of Style locale : RODEO DRIVE

The Rodeo Drive Walk of Style in Beverly HIlls is similar to its more famous cousin, the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is a stretch of Rodeo Drive that has bronze plaques set into the sidewalk honoring people who have made important contributions to fashion and design.

18 One on Charon’s ferry : SOUL

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

23 Long-running CBS drama : CSI

I quite enjoy the “CSI” franchise of television shows, all except “CSI: Miami”. I find the character played by David Caruso to be extremely annoying. “CSI: Miami” was canceled in 2012. No loss …

27 Banks at Wrigley Field : ERNIE

Ernie Banks, also known as “Mr. Cub,” was the first African-American player for the Chicago Cubs and one of the greatest shortstops in baseball history. He was known for his famous catchphrase “Let’s play two,” expressing his willingness to play a doubleheader any day of the week. Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 by President Obama, shortly before his death.

The famous ballpark that is home to the Chicago Cubs was built in 1914. Back then it was known as Weeghman Park, before becoming Cubs Park when the Cubs arrived in 1920. It was given the name Wrigley Field in 1926, after the owner William Wrigley, Jr. of chewing gum fame. Wrigley Field is noted as the only professional ballpark that has ivy covering the outfield walls. The ivy is a combination of Boston Ivy and Japanese Bittersweet, both of which can survive the harsh winters in Chicago.

32 Versailles figure : ROI

Versailles is a city located just 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is famous as home to the magnificent Palace of Versailles. The palace started out as a hunting lodge built in the village of Versailles in 1624, built for Louis XIII. Louis XIII extended the lodge into a full-blown château, but it was Louis XIV who expanded it into one of the largest palaces on the planet. Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris to Versailles starting in 1678.

35 Jules who pioneered the art of trapeze : LEOTARD

The garment known as a leotard was named for French trapeze artist Jules Léotard. Léotard wore such a garment when he was performing.

37 Language close to portugués : ESPANOL

In Spanish, the languages of “portugués” (Portuguese) and “español” (Spanish) are close to each other.

39 Liberal follower : ARTS

The term “liberal arts” dates back to classical antiquity. The liberal arts were those subjects deemed essential to master for a citizen to take an active part in civil life. “Citizens” were “free people”, hence the use of the term “liberal arts”. The list of subjects studied in olden times were generally sevenfold: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy/astrology.

43 Canyonlands formations : MESAS

Canyonlands is a magnificent national park in southeast Utah not far from Moab. The canyons in the park, and the associated mesas and buttes, were formed mainly by the Colorado and Green Rivers.

45 Country with a red dragon on its flag : WALES

I’ve always thought the Welsh flag to be a magnificent design. At the center of the flag is a red dragon, which was the emblem of Cadwaladr. Cadwaladr was the king of much of what today is known as Wales, from 655 to 682.

47 Salk contemporary : SABIN

Albert Sabin developed the oral polio vaccine. Sabin’s vaccine was a “live” controlled vaccine. The equally famous Salk vaccine was a “killed” vaccine.

49 Guitar legend Paul : LES

Les Paul was a guitarist, songwriter and inventor. When he was 33 years old, Paul was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left his right arm and elbow shattered. Surgeons offered him the choice of amputation or a rebuilding of the limb that would leave him unable to bend his elbow. He told them to set his arm at just under 90 degrees so that he could at least hold his guitar and perhaps play it.

54 Souvenirs caught by fans : FOUL BALLS

A souvenir is a memento, a token of remembrance. We imported “souvenir” from French, in which language it has the same meaning. The term comes from the Latin “subvenire” meaning “to come to mind”, or literally “to come up”.

56 Actress Ringwald : MOLLY

Actress Molly Ringwald is best known for her roles in 1980s teen films. She rose to fame through her collaborations with director John Hughes, starring in classics like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Pretty in Pink.” Ringwald is fluent in French, and moved to Paris in the mid-1990s. There, she starred in several French movies, and was married to French author Valéry Lameignère from 1999 to 2002.

57 Mammal on the Vancouver Canucks logo : ORCA

The Canucks are Vancouver’s professional hockey team, a franchise that joined the National Hockey League in 1970 as an expansion team. “Canuck” is a slang term for “Canadian”.

58 Mollusk native to the northwest Atlantic : SEA SCALLOP

Scallops are marine mollusks that are served as seafood. They are often served baked in milk, and as a result this method of preparation has become known as “scalloping”. So, scalloped potatoes are potatoes baked in milk.

60 Mount Olympus figure : ARES

Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Greece. In Greek mythology, it was home to the gods, and in particular home to the principal gods known as the Twelve Olympians.

62 Video game whose fifth and final sequel was End of Ages : MYST

In the days when I played the occasional video game, the best of the bunch was undoubtedly Myst. It is a game full of puzzles with the player wandering through a beautifully-designed (for its day) interactive world.

63 Nesting Russian figurine : MATRYOSHKA

Matryoshka dolls are those wooden nesting dolls that are on sale at every tourist trap across Russia. “Matryoshka” is Russian for “little matron”.

Down

5 Woodwind with a Viennese variety : OBOE

The Wiener oboe, also known as the Viennese oboe, is a historical instrument primarily used in Vienna. It has a distinct design and sound that sets it apart from the more common French oboe, and was developed in the late 19th century by Josef Hajek.

6 Old Ford : LTD

There has been a lot of speculation about what the abbreviation “LTD” stands for in the car model known as “Ford LTD”. Many say it is an initialism standing for “Luxury Trim Decor”, and others say that it is short for “limited”. Although the car was produced in Australia with the initialism meaning “Lincoln Type Design”, it seems that “LTD” was originally chosen as just three meaningless letters that sound well together.

7 Phrase in Newton’s first law : AT REST

Newton’s first law of motion states that a body that is moving maintains the same velocity unless it is acted upon by an external force. That resistance to changing velocity is known as inertia. Johann Kepler introduced the Latin word “inertia” to describe the physical phenomenon in the 17th century. The Latin term translates as “apathy, inactiveness”. We started using the Latin “inertia” in English to mean the same thing only in the 19th century, after the term had bopped around in science texts for a couple of centuries.

10 Agenda bullets : ITEMS

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

11 “Doctor Zhivago” author : PASTERNAK

Boris Pasternak was a renowned Russian author, poet, and literary translator. He was born in Moscow in 1890 and is best known for his novel “Doctor Zhivago,” an epic story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Though celebrated for his poetry in Russia, “Doctor Zhivago” brought him international acclaim, albeit controversially. The novel, critical of the Soviet regime, was banned in the USSR, forcing Pasternak to decline the Nobel Prize in Literature he was awarded in 1958.

“Doctor Zhivago” is an epic novel by Boris Pasternak that was first published in 1957. I haven’t tried to read the book, but the 1965 film version is a must-see, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif in the title role. The story centers on Yuri Zhivago, a doctor and poet, and how he is affected by the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War.

12 Seventh heaven : CLOUD NINE

I don’t think that anyone is really certain of the etymology of the term “on cloud nine” meaning “elated”, but I do like the following explanation. The 1896 “International Cloud-Atlas” was a long-standing reference used to define cloud shapes that was based on a classification created by amateur meteorologist Luke Howard some decades earlier. The biggest and fluffiest of all cloud shapes (and most comfortable-looking to lie on) is cumulonimbus. And you guessed it, of the ten cloud shapes defined in the atlas, cumulonimbus was cloud nine …

In cosmology associated with some religious traditions, the universe is said to be made up of Seven Heavens. The highest of these is the “seventh heaven”.

21 “Way Up” host Angela : YEE

Angela Yee is a prominent American radio personality who is probably best known for her role as co-host of the nationally syndicated morning show “The Breakfast Club” alongside DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. Since 2022, she’s hosted her own syndicated radio show, “Way Up with Angela Yee.”

25 Gasteyer of “Mean Girls” : ANA

Ana Gasteyer is an actress best known for being a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) from 1996 to 2002. Gasteyer was famous on SNL for playing Martha Stewart … topless!

“Mean Girls” is a teen comedy movie released in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan. Tina Fey also puts in an appearance, which really isn’t surprising as Fey wrote the screenplay.

26 Eggs on top of toast Skagen : ROE

Toast Skagen is a dish from Swedish cuisine, even though it is named for Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark. The dish is also popular in Denmark, but goes under the name “Skagenssalat”. Both recipes call for prawn salad served with toasted bread.

28 Fish in unagi musubi : EEL

Unagi musubi is a popular snack or lunch food in Hawaii. It consists of grilled freshwater eel (unagi) glazed with a sweet and savory sauce, placed atop a block of rice and wrapped with nori (dried seaweed).

35 On the __ : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, scram”.

38 Film noir figures, briefly : PIS

Private investigator (PI)

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

41 Chivalrous : GALLANT

The ideal qualities found in a knight are collectively described as chivalry, and include courtesy, generosity, valor and skill with a sword. The term “chivalry” comes into English via the Old French “chevalier” meaning “knight”.

48 “Chad” star Pedrad : NASIM

Nasim Pedrad is an Iranian-American actress and comedian who first gained widespread recognition for her five seasons on “Saturday Night Live” (2009-2014). She’s known for her impressions of the likes of Kim Kardashian and Arianna Huffington, and for creating and starring in the sitcom “Chad”.

“Chad” is a sitcom created by and starring “Saturday Night Live” alum Nasim Pedrad. Pedrad, a 40-year-old woman, plays the title character, a 14-year-old boy. That must be a challenge for an actor …

50 Ends of the earth : POLES

The geographic North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, although there is almost always a covering of sea ice at that location. The geographic South Pole is located on land, on the continent of Antarctica.

51 The Almighty, to most Uyghurs : ALLAH

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group primarily residing in Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China. In recent years, the Uyghurs have faced severe persecution and human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese government.

53 Strong personality : TYPE-A

The Type-A and Type-B personality theory originated in the fifties. Back then, individuals were labeled as Type A in order to emphasize a perceived increased risk of heart disease. Type-A personality types are so-called “stress junkies”, whereas Type Bs are relaxed and laid back. But there doesn’t seem to be much scientific evidence to support the linkage between the Type-A personality and heart problems.

55 Headey of “White House Plumbers” : LENA

English actress Lena Headey is best known for playing Cersei Lannister on the fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Headey was born in Bermuda, where her father was stationed as a police officer.

“White House Plumbers” is a 5-part miniseries that tells the story of the Watergate scandal, and the activities of the White House Special Investigations Unit (“plumbers”) in particular. Woody Harrelson leads the cast, playing CIA officer E. Howard Hunt. I tried to enjoy this series, but gave up after a couple of episodes …

56 __ tofu: spicy Sichuan dish : MAPO

Mapo tofu is a dish from Sichuan cuisine comprising tofu served in a spicy-hot red sauce along with minced meat.