Tag: Styling combs crossword clue

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Constructed by: Kyle Dolan
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 15m 49s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Stock option in a seafood business? : BISQUE

A traditional bisque is a creamy soup made from crustaceans such as lobster, crab or shrimp. The term “bisque” probably comes from the Bay of “Biscay” off the west coast of France, a nod to the French origin of the soup and its seafood content. So, if you see a vegetable “bisque” in a restaurant, you’ll know that the term is being misused …

7 Works for literati : HIGH ART

Literati are men and women of letters, learned people. The Latin “literatus” means “lettered”.

15 Waterway dividing two sides of a college football rivalry : RED RIVER

The Red River (sometimes “Red River of the South”) runs for almost 1,400 miles, and for much of its length serves as the border between Texas and Oklahoma. It is a saltwater river, with the salt coming from vast deposits buried in the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries. Almost 3,500 tons of salt flows down the Red River every day.

In college football, the rivalry between the Oklahoma Sooners (University of Oklahoma) and the Texas Longhorns (University of Texas) is sometimes referred to as the Red River Shootout. The Red River forms part of the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma, and has been the subject of conflict between the two states in the past. And so, the moniker “Red River Shootout” is used for the rivalry between the two schools.

16 Knesset country : ISRAEL

The Knesset is the legislative branch of the Israeli government, and does its business in the Givat Ram neighborhood of central Jerusalem.

17 Digits in parentheses : AREA CODE

Area codes were introduced in the 1940s. Back then, the “clicks” one heard when dialing a number led to mechanical wear on various pieces of equipment. In order to minimize overall mechanical wear, areas with high call volumes were given the most efficient area codes (lowest number of clicks). That led to New York getting the area code 212, Los Angeles 213 and Chicago 313.

19 Signer of the first of the Oslo Accords : ABBAS

Mahmoud Abbas took over as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2004 after the death of Yasser Arafat. Abbas is also the President of the Palestinian National Authority, a position equivalent to head of state.

The Oslo Accords grew out of secret negotiations between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in a residence in Oslo in the early nineties. The delegates shared the same house while they conducted 14 meetings. While eating all their meals together at the same table, the negotiators came to respect one another and apparently, friendships developed.

20 Pad kee mao pan : WOK

“Wok” is a Cantonese word, and is the name for the frying pan now used in many Asian cuisines.

Drunken noodles is a Thai dish also known as “phat khi mao”. “Khi mao” translates from Thai as “drinkard”. Paradoxically, there is no alcohol in the list of ingredients for drunken noodles. There are suggestions that the meal’s name arose because rice used to be an ingredient, or because whoever created the dish did so when drunk!

22 One of many on Massachusetts Avenue in D.C. : EMBASSY

Most of the embassies and diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. are located in a section of Massachusetts Avenue. As a result, that section of the thoroughfare earned the nickname “Embassy Row”. Some embassies and diplomatic buildings occupy buildings in nearby streets, and so the term “Embassy Row” can be extended to include a whole neighborhood.

26 Dappled horses : ROANS

A roan horse has an even mixture of white and colored hairs on the body with the head, lower legs, mane and tail having a more solid color.

30 Chat : SCHMOOZE

To schmooze is to chat intimately. “Schmooze” is a word that comes from the Yiddish “schmusen” meaning “to chat” .

32 Washington’s Grand __ Dam : COULEE

The Grand Coulee Dam sits on the Columbia river in Washington state. It went into operation in 1942, after nine years of construction. The dam creates a reservoir that is called Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake.

33 Webinar’s first slide, often : OUTLINE

“Webinar” is short for “Web-based seminar”, i.e. a presentation, lecture or similar event held online. In a Webinar, there is two-way interaction, with the audience able to ask questions of the presenter.

34 Treat traditionally paired with RC Cola in the South : MOON PIE

Marshmallow cream was developed in 1927. Soon after, workers in the coal mines around Chattanooga, Tennessee started dipping graham crackers in marshmallow cream as a snack. Then a local baker jumped on the idea, and came up with a sandwich made with a marshmallow filling between two round graham crackers. His young grandson remarked that the popped bubbles in the marshmallow (from baking) looked like moon craters, and the Moon Pie was born. I used to love them as a kid, although we called them “Wagon Wheels” in our part of the world.

35 Like Robert Johnson’s music : BLUESY

Robert Johnson was a blues musician who is today associated with the Delta blues genre. The legend of Robert Johnson holds that he met the Devil one night at a crossroads near Dockery, Mississippi. There, the Devil took Johnson’s guitar, tuned it and played a few tunes. Johnson then made a deal with Devil, exchanging his soul in return for mastering the guitar.

36 Styling combs : RATTAILS

A rat’s tail (also “rattail”) is a hairstyle with a tail-like, thin tuft of hair growing down the back of the neck.

37 Fifth-century bishop in Ire. : ST PAT

There is a fair amount known about Saint Patrick, some of which comes from two letters written in his own hand. St. Patrick lived in the fifth century, but was not born in Ireland. He was first brought to Ireland at about 16 years of age from his native Britain, by Irish raiders who made him a slave for six years. Patrick managed to escape and returned to his homeland where he studied and entered the Church. He went back to Ireland as a bishop and a missionary and there lived out the rest of his life. There seems to be good evidence that he died on March 17th (now celebrated annually as Saint Patrick’s Day), although the year is less clear. The stories about shamrock and snakes, I am afraid they are the stuff of legend.

44 Help for a broken-hearted BFF : TLC

Tender loving care (TLC)

Best friend forever (BFF)

47 Some IRAs : ROTHS

Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs) were introduced in 1997 under a bill sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, hence the name.

48 Bass kin : CELLO

The word “cello” (plural “celli” or “cellos”) is an abbreviation for “violoncello”, an Italian word for “little violone”, referring to a group of stringed instruments that were popular up to the end of the 17th century. The name violoncello persisted for the instrument that we know today, although the abbreviation “‘cello” was often used. Nowadays, we just drop the apostrophe.

52 Diet option in black cans : COKE ZERO

Coca-Cola Zero was launched in 2005, and marketed as a drink that tasted exactly like Coca-Cola even though it contained no sugar. “Coke Zero” was reformulated in 2017 and rebranded as “Coca-Cola Zero Sugar”.

54 Zen harmony : ONENESS

Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. Zen is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

Down

2 Playwright called “The Father of Realism” : IBSEN

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen is the second-most frequently performed dramatist in the world, with only the works of William Shakespeare staged more often. As he was a pioneer in the genre, he is often referred to as “the father of realism”.

4 Dramatic advance : QUANTUM LEAP

In the world of quantum theory, a quantum jump is the abrupt transition, of say an atom, from one quantum state to another. The concept was introduced by Niels Bohr, and the term “quantum jump” was coined around 1920. The use of “quantum leap” appears around 1930, in the same context of quantum theory. Today, “quantum jump” is used exclusively in the world of physics, whereas “quantum leap” is used figuratively to describe any abrupt change.

6 London’s __ Pie Island : EEL

Eel Pie Island is in the River Thames, on the western side of Greater London. The island is privately owned, and is home to about 50 houses and a few small businesses. It can only be accessed by footbridge or boat. Peter Townshend of The Who had a recording studio nearby on the mainland, one that he called Eel Pie Studios.

8 Bean sprouts? : IDEAS

Slang terms for “head” are “bean”, “coconut”, “gourd”, “noodle” and “noggin”.

10 “__ sunt dracones”: line on an ancient globe : HIC

Medieval maps frequently included images of monsters, almost invariably sea monsters. Some experts believe that these sea monsters were representations of what the cartographer actually believed was living in the oceans. Maps often featured the Latin phrase “Hic sunt dracones” meaning “Here be dragons”.

15 Raucous crowd : RABBLE

Something described as raucous can be hoarse, as in “raucous voices”. Something raucous can also be disorderly and boisterous, as in “raucous frat house”. The term “raucous” comes from the Latin “raucus” meaning “hoarse”.

22 Magazine whose archive was purchased by a consortium that includes the Smithsonian : EBONY

“Ebony” is a lifestyle magazine founded in 1945 that is marketed towards the African-American community. Way back in 1957/58, “Ebony” was home to a monthly advice column penned by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Titled “Advice for Living”, he used the column to answer many of the letters that the magazine received that were addressed to Dr. King personally. Having read a few of those columns, I must say that they provide some fascinating insight into race relations in the 1950s …

27 Yellowstone, for one : ALPINE LAKE

Yellowstone Lake In Yellowstone National Park sits at an altitude of about 7,800 feet. It is the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet in North America.

Lakes found above an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level are classified as alpine lakes. Because such a lake usually has colder water, they are often clearer than lakes at lower altitudes, having less growth of moss and algae.

28 Good name for a knight? : NEIL

Kneel, and a monarch might “dub thee a knight” if you’re lucky. “Dub” is a specific term derived from Old English that was used to mean “make a knight”. As the knight was also given a knightly name at the same time, “dub” came to mean “give someone a name”.

32 Pigeon holes : COTES

The Old English word “cote” was used for a small house. Our modern word “cottage” comes from “cote”. We now use “cote” to describe a small shelter on a farm for sheep or birds.

38 Shampoo buys : LITERS

Back in the 1760s, the verb “to shampoo” was an Anglo-Indian word meaning “to massage”. A century later we started to shampoo our hair.

44 Onetime producer of Magna Doodle : TYCO

Magna Doodle is a magnetic drawing toy that was invented in 1974. It is similar to the more famous Etch A Sketch, although the two toys operate differently.

45 “Sex on Fire” Grammy winners Kings of __ : LEON

Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band members are all related to each other and chose the group’s name in honor of their common grandfather, whose given name is “Leon”.

48 Pyrite crystal, at times : CUBE

Pyrite is a mineral also known as iron pyrite. Famously, it has an appearance very similar to gold, so has the nickname “fool’s gold”. Pyrite does find its way into some baubles, which go by the name of marcasite jewelry.

50 Female lobster : HEN

A male lobster is called a cock, and a female a hen. A lobster weighing less than a pound is called a chicken.

51 Abbey’s husband on “The West Wing” : JED

In the excellent television show “The West Wing”, President Jed Bartlet is played by Martin Sheen. Sheen also played real-life President John F. Kennedy in the miniseries “Kennedy: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy”.

In the political drama show “The West Wing”, Stockard Channing plays First Lady Abbey Bartlet.