Tag: Spy-fi org. crossword clue

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Constructed by: Renee Thomason & Zhouqin Burnikel
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Back to the Future

Themed answers are phrases referencing THE FUTURE, but each is written BACKWARDS:

• 61A Classic film with a time-traveling DeLorean, and an apt description of 17-, 24-, 38-, and 52-Across : BACK TO THE FUTURE

• 17A On the horizon : AROUND THE CORNER
• 24A On the horizon : SOMEDAY SOON
• 38A On the horizon : YET TO COME
• 52A On the horizon : IN DUE COURSE

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

Bill’s time: 6m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 Lingerie purchases : BRAS
9 Lingerie purchase : SLIP

“Lingerie” is a French term. As used in France, it describes any underwear, worn by either males or females. In English we use “lingerie” to describe alluring underclothing worn by women. The term “lingerie” comes into English via the French word “linge” meaning “washables”, and ultimately from the Latin “linum”, meaning “linen”. We tend not to pronounce the word correctly in English, either here in the US or across the other side of the Atlantic. The French pronunciation is more like “lan-zher-ee”, as opposed to “lon-zher-ay” (American) and “lon-zher-ee” (British).

14 __ Raton, Florida : BOCA

The name of the city of Boca Raton in Florida translates from Spanish as “Mouse Mouth”. There doesn’t seem to be a definitive etymology of the name but one plausible explanation is a nautical one. “Boca”, as well as meaning “mouth” can mean “inlet”. “Ratón”, as well as meaning “mouse” was also used to describe rocks that chewed away at a ship’s anchor cable. So possibly Boca Raton was named for a rocky inlet.

15 Buenos __ : AIRES

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, and is located on the estuary of the Ria de la Plata. As it is a port city, the people of Buenos Aires are known as porteños (“people of the port”). The name “Buenos Aires” can be translated from Spanish as “fair winds”.

29 Counter attacker : ANT

When we sit at a counter (in a diner, say), there’s a connection with money lenders. Back in the mid-1300s, a counter was the table used by a money lender doing business. The term “counter” came into English from Latin via French, ultimately from “computare” meaning “to count”.

30 Oft-redacted fig. : SSN

Social Security number (SSN)

Our word “redact”, meaning to revise or edit, comes from the past participle of the Latin “redigere” meaning “to reduce”.

31 Burrito option : ASADA

The name of the dish called “carne asada” translates from Spanish as “roasted meat”.

37 Hosp. caregivers : LPNS

Licensed practical nurse (LPN)

41 Fish tacos fish, familiarly : MAHI

“Mahi-mahi” (meaning “very strong”) is the Hawaiian name for the dolphinfish, which is also known as the dorado. The mahi-mahi is an ugly looking creature if ever I saw one …

43 Foil kin : EPEE

There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, with each distinguished by the weapon used:

• Foil
• Épée
• Sabre

48 One of five competitive figure skating disciplines : PAIRS

Figure skating started out as a sport in which a skater demonstrated skill at carving out specific patterns into the ice (a figure-8, for example). Over time, the sport placed greater influence on free skating. Compulsory figures were dropped completely from most international competitions in the 1990s, but the name “figure” skating has been retained.

49 Grilled fish in kabayaki : EEL

“Unadon” is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. “Unadon” is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).

56 “Miracle Workers” channel : TBS

“Miracle Workers” is a comedy show based on a 2012 novel by Simon Rich titled “What in God’s Name”. Rich created the show, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as an angel whose job it is to handle all of the prayers of humanity. Steve Buscemi plays God. I haven’t seen this one yet, but it sounds intriguing …

57 Fed. health law : ACA

The correct name for what has been dubbed “Obamacare” is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ACA).

61 Classic film with a time-traveling DeLorean, and an apt description of 17-, 24-, 38-, and 52-Across : BACK TO THE FUTURE

In the fun 1985 movie “Back to the Future”, Marty McFly finds himself back in 1955, and is trying to get back to HIS future, 1985. But on the other hand, 1985 is really Marty’s present, before he went back in time. Why does time travel have to be so complicated …?

66 Cookies with a Sour Patch Kids flavor : OREOS

The soft and sour candy known as Sour Patch Kids were originally called Sour Group Kids. They were renamed to Mars Men in the 1970s, and again in 1985 to Sour Patch Kids, in order to capitalize on the popularity of Cabbage Patch Kids.

69 Mangyshlak Peninsula’s continent : ASIA

The Mangyshlak Peninsula in western Kazakhstan borders on the Caspian Sea to the west. The name “Mangyshlak” comes from the Turkic phrase “Ming Qishlaq” meaning “1,000 Winter Encampments”.

Down

1 Capital city with Bolívar Square : CARACAS

Caracas is the capital of Venezuela, and is located in the north of the country. The original settlement of Caracas was named by the Spanish using the name of a local indigenous tribe.

Bolívar Square is the historic center of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The middle of the square features a bronze equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar that was created by Italian sculptor Adamo Tadolini.

2 Botox target : AGE LINE

Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The toxin is a protein that can cause botulism, an extremely dangerous illness in humans and animals. Botulinum toxin is sold under the trade name “Botox”. Botox is used therapeutically and in cosmetic applications to weaken muscles, perhaps muscles that are in an uncontrollable spasm. The cosmetic application involves the paralyzing of facial muscles in order to eliminate or reduce wrinkles, at least for a few months.

4 Root in the Hawaiian dessert kulolo : TARO

Kūlolo is a Hawaiian pudding made with taro and coconut milk.

5 Television network created by royal charter : BBC

The marvelous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is mainly funded by the UK government through a television “licence” (British spelling, as opposed to “license”!) fee that is levied annually on all households watching TV transmissions.

8 Thai skewers : SATAY

The dish known as “satay” originated in Java, Indonesia and is marinated pieces of meat served on a skewer in a sauce, often a spicy peanut sauce. “Satay” is the Indonesian spelling, and “sate” is the Malay spelling.

9 Japanese title of respect : SAN

The Japanese honorific “-san” is added to the end of names as a title of respect, and can be translated as “Mr.” or “Ms.” The usage is wider than it is in English, though. Sometimes “-san” is added to the name of a company, for example.

10 Actor Simu : LIU

Simu Liu is a Chinese-born Canadian actor. One of his more famous roles was the title character in the Marvel Comics 2021 superhero movie “Shang-Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings”.

16 Burrito option : SALSA

A burrito is a common dish served in Mexican cuisine. It is a flour tortilla filled with all sorts of good stuff. The term “burrito” is Spanish for “little donkey”, the diminutive of “burro” meaning “donkey”. It’s thought that the name was applied as a burrito looks like a bedroll or pack that might be carried by a donkey.

19 “Radical Optimism” singer __ Lipa : DUA

“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.

25 Northern European capital : OSLO

The Norwegian capital of Oslo is located at the northern end of a fjord known as Oslofjord. The fjord is home to 40 islands that lie within the city’s limits. Oslo also has 343 lakes.

28 Best Upset and Best Moment : ESPYS

The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes. The acronym “ESPY” stands for “Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly”.

33 Indira Gandhi’s father : NEHRU

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India, serving from 1947-64. Nehru was basically the heir to his mentor Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru’s only daughter Indira, also became prime minister (known as Indira Gandhi through marriage, though she was not related to Mahatma).

Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India. Indira herself became prime minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by two of her own bodyguards as she was walking to meet Peter Ustinov, who was about to interview her for Irish television.

40 Suffix with ump- : TEEN

The word “umpty” was introduced as slang for a Morse code dash. In the early 1900’s, the same term came to mean “of an indefinite number”, and was associated with the numerals divisible by ten, i.e. twenty, thirty, forty, etc. The extended adjective “umpteen” began to appear during WWI as army slang.

41 Lash lengthener : MASCARA

Variants of mascara have been around a long time, and certainly there was a similar substance in use in ancient Egypt. “Mascara” is a Spanish word meaning “stain, mask”.

42 Decorated fighter pilots : AIR ACES

A flying ace (also “air ace”) is an aviator who has shot down a number of enemy planes during combat. The qualifying number of kills seems to vary, but five is common. The first use of “ace” was during WWI, when the French newspapers dubbed pilot Adolphe Pegoud “l’as” (French for “the ace”) when he shot down his fifth German plane.

45 Form-fitting garment : CATSUIT

A catsuit is a form-fitting garment that covers most, if not all, of the body.

46 Columbia Icefield province : ALBERTA

The Columbia Icefield, lying on the border between British Columbia and Alberta, is the largest icefield in North America’s Rocky Mountains. About 125 square miles in area, it is located partly in Jasper National Park and partly in Banff National Park.

47 Angela of “9-1-1” : BASSETT

Angela Bassett is an actress from New York whose breakthrough role was playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film about the pop icon’s life “What’s Love Got to Do with It”. Bassett married fellow actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997, having first met him while both were studying at Yale School of Drama.

“9-1-1” is a TV series that features the lives of first responders in Los Angeles. Star of the show is Angela Bassett, who plays patrol sergeant Athena Grant.

48 Soul singer Bryson : PEABO

Peabo Bryson is a singer from Greenville, South Carolina. Bryson is noted for singing hits on Disney film soundtracks, often duets. Examples are “Beauty and the Beast” with Céline Dion, and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme) with Regina Bella.

53 Comedian Margaret : CHO

Margaret Cho is a Korean-American comedian and actress who was born in San Francisco in 1968. As well as performing as a comedian, Cho has also had a successful acting career, appearing in films such as “Face/Off,” “Bam Bam and Celeste,” and “All About Steve,” as well as TV shows such as “Drop Dead Diva” and “30 Rock.”

62 Fish in an ornamental pond : KOI

Koi are fish that are also known as Japanese carp. Koi have been bred for decorative purposes and there are now some very brightly colored examples found in Japanese water gardens.

63 LAX safety team : TSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Los Angeles International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest here on the West Coast of the US. The airport was opened in 1930 as Mines Field and was renamed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941. On the airport property is the iconic white structure that resembles a flying saucer. This is called the Theme Building and I believe it is mainly used as a restaurant and observation deck for the public. The airport used to be identified by the letters “LA”, but when the aviation industry went to a three-letter standard for airport identification, this was changed to “LAX”. Apparently, the “X” has no significant meaning.