Tag: Tech expo presentations crossword clue

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Cinderella Story

Themed answers each start with an element found in the STORY of CINDERELLA:

• 62A Underdog’s feel-good narrative, and where to find the first words of the answers to the starred clues : CINDERELLA STORY

• 17A *Lead Belly song about a wee-hours train : MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
• 28A *Armless furniture that sits low to the ground : SLIPPER CHAIR
• 39A *Play area with plastic spheres : BALL PIT
• 47A *Flavor of many fall lattes : PUMPKIN SPICE

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

Bill’s time: 6m 17s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A Red emblem on the English flag : CROSS

The English flag comprises a red cross on a white background. It is known as the Cross of St. George, and has represented the nation since the late Middle Ages. St. George was likely a Roman soldier of Greek origin who never actually set foot in England, but he became England’s patron saint after his legend was popularized during the Crusades. The cross of St. George is also found in the UK’s national flag, the Union Jack, along with the crosses of St. Patrick (Northern Ireland) and St. Andrew (Scotland).

14A Org. concerned with forever chemicals : EPA

The term “forever chemicals” has been used to describe PFAs: per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These are man-made chemicals used widely in consumer goods, and which are extremely toxic at very low concentrations. The chemical structure of PFAs makes them difficult to break down, both in our bodies and in the environment, hence the moniker “forever chemicals”.

15A Trattoria course : PASTA

A trattoria is an Italian restaurant. In Italian, a “trattore” is the keeper of said eating house.

16A Flood barrier : LEVEE

A levee is an artificial bank, usually made of earth, that runs along the length of a river. It is designed to hold back river water at a time of potential flooding. “Levée” is the French word for “raised” and is an American term that originated in French-speaking New Orleans around 1720.

17A *Lead Belly song about a wee-hours train : MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

“Midnight Special” is a traditional folk song from the American South that was recorded by several artists, most notably Lead Belly Ledbetter (1934) and Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969). The title refers to a Midnight Special passenger train.

20A Blooming __: deep-fried appetizer : ONION

A blooming onion is a dish comprising an onion that has been cut open to resemble a flower, and then battered and deep-fried. It goes by the name “Awesome Blossom” in the Chili’s restaurant chain. In 2008, “Men’s Health” magazine named the Awesome Blossom the “Worst Appetizer in America”, largely because it clocked in at a not-so-awesome 2,710 calories, and with as much fat as 67 strips of bacon.

22A Broadband letters : DSL

In Internet terms, the word “broadband” is used to describe Internet access that is faster than dialup. In more broad (pun!) telecommunication terms, “broadband” is used to describe “bandwidth” data transmission that is “broad” enough to carry several signals and several different types of traffic at the same time.

23A Pico de gallo pepper : SERRANO

The serrano chili pepper is native to the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo. The name “serrano” comes from the Spanish “sierra” meaning “mountain”.

Pico de gallo is a condiment in Mexican cuisine made from tomato, onion and chili peppers. “Pico de gallo” is Spanish for “beak of rooster”. Apparently this name was given as eating of the condiment with the thumb and forefinger resembled the pecking of a rooster. An alternative name for pico de gallo is “salsa fresca”, which translates literally as “fresh sauce”.

28A *Armless furniture that sits low to the ground : SLIPPER CHAIR

A slipper chair is a low, armless upholstered chair that dates back to the 18th century. It was designed to help high-society women sit down to put on their shoes or “slippers”, a task that was extremely difficult while wearing the heavy petticoats and tightly laced corsets of the era. Also, the lack of arms accommodated the huge gowns that were worn.

38A GI show gp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

43A New Zealand native : MAORI

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are eastern Polynesian in origin and began arriving in New Zealand relatively recently, starting some time in the late 13th century. The word “māori” simply means “normal”, distinguishing mortal humans from spiritual entities. The Māori refer to New Zealand as “Aotearoa”.

46A Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, for short : TMNT

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)

47A *Flavor of many fall lattes : PUMPKIN SPICE

Pumpkin spice is a blend of spices that is a common ingredient in pumpkin pies. It is mainly found in American stores, and is roughly equivalent to the blend referred to as “mixed spice” in other English-speaking parts of the world. The main spices included are cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

56A One of the Manning brothers : ELI

Eli Manning is a retired footballer who played quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titled “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

61A Bit of mint : SPRIG

The mint plant is incredibly resilient and can take over a garden if not kept in check. Those in the know usually recommend planting it in its own container.

62A Underdog’s feel-good narrative, and where to find the first words of the answers to the starred clues : CINDERELLA STORY

In the world of sports, a Cinderella story is a situation in which a competitor or team is far more successful than is reasonably expected. The term is a reference to the “Cinderella” fairy tale.

The folktale usually known as “Cinderella” was first published by French author Charles Perrault in 1697, although it was later included by the Brothers Grimm in their famous 1812 collection. The storyline of the tale may date back as far as the days of ancient Greece. A common alternative title to the story is “The Little Glass Slipper”.

66A Mombasa’s country : KENYA

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya (after the capital, Nairobi). Mombasa is located on the east coast of the country, on the Indian Ocean.

67A JPEG, e.g. : IMAGE

The JPEG image file format (also “.jpg”) was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), hence the name.

71A Pres. before DDE : HST

The letter “S” in the middle of the name Harry S. Truman (HST) doesn’t stand for anything. The future-president was named “Harry” in honor of his mother’s brother Harrison “Harry” Young. The initial “S” was chosen in honor of young Harry’s two grandfathers: Anderson S-hipp Truman and S-olomon Young.

Down

3D Lowest point : NADIR

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

7D Gospel great James : ETTA

“Etta James” was the stage name of celebrated blues and soul singer Jamesetta Hawkins. James’ most famous recording was her 1960 hit “At Last”, which made it into the pop charts. James performed “At Last” at the age of 71 in 2009 on the reality show “Dancing with the Stars”, which was to be her final television appearance. She passed away in 2012.

10D “Parks and __” : REC

“Parks and Recreation” (sometimes just “Parks and Rec”) is a sitcom that started airing on NBC in 2009, and is a show that has grown on me. It stars the “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler. The creators of “Parks and Recreation” are part of the team responsible for the American version of “The Office”, so you’ll notice some similarities in the style of the two shows, and some actors that have appeared in both.

11D Poet of ancient Rome : OVID

For some reason, the Roman poet Ovid fell into disfavor with Emperor Augustus. As a result, Ovid was banished to the island of Tomis in the Black Sea, where he spent the last years of his life. While in exile, Ovid wrote a large collection of poetic letters known as the “Tristia” (also “Sorrows” or “Lamentations”). In the work, Ovid is basically lamenting his situation in exile.

18D Like myths about Asgard : NORSE

Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds of Norse religions. It is where the Norse gods live, and is also home to Valhalla, the enormous hall ruled over by the god Odin.

24D Girl, in Guatemala : NINA

Guatemala in Central America became independent from Spain in 1821, first becoming part of the Mexican Empire, and then becoming completely independent two years later.

25D Autobahn auto : OPEL

Adam Opel founded his company in 1863, first making sewing machines in a cowshed. Commercial success brought new premises and a new product line in 1886, namely penny-farthing bicycles. Adam Opel died in 1895, leaving his two sons with a company that made more penny-farthings and sewing machines than any other company in the world. In 1899 the two sons partnered with a locksmith and started to make cars, but not very successfully. Two years later, the locksmith was dropped in favor of a licensing arrangement with a French car company. By 1914, Opel was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in Germany. My Dad had an Opel in the seventies, a station wagon (we’d say “estate car” in Ireland) called an Opel Kadett.

27D FedEx alternative : DHL

Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn). DHL was acquired by Germany’s Deutsche Post in 2002.

33D Camel feature : HUMP

Camels are well adapted to the desert, most notably perhaps having a fatty hump that acts as a reservoir of water. They also have long eyelashes and ear hairs, as well as nostrils that can close, all of which act as barriers to blown sand. They even have a third eyelid, which dislodges any sand that gets lodged in the eye.

40D Opens, as a trunk : POPS

In North America we use the word “trunk” for the storage space in the back of a vehicle as that space is reminiscent of the large traveling chest called a “trunk”. Such trunks used to be lashed onto the back of automobiles before storage was integrated. On the other side of the Atlantic, a trunk is known as a “boot”. The original boot was a built-in storage compartment on a horse-drawn carriage on which a coachman would sit.

44D LP fig. : RPM

The first vinyl records designed to play at 33⅓ rpm were introduced by RCA Victor in 1931, but were discontinued due to quality problems. The first long play (LP) 33⅓ rpm disc was introduced by Columbia Records many years later in 1948, with RCA Victor following up with a 45 rpm “single” the following year, in 1949.

48D Classical composer Stravinsky : IGOR

Composer Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works were completed relatively early in his career, when he was quite young. His three ballets “The Firebird”, “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” were published in 1910-1913, when Stravinsky was in his early thirties.

54D Turkish coins : LIRAS

The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira, which is divided into 100 kuruş. In 1927, the Turkish lira replaced the Ottoman lira, which had been in use since 1844.

55D Red Sea nation : EGYPT

The Red Sea (sometimes “Arabian Gulf”) is a stretch of water lying between Africa and Asia. The Gulf of Suez (and the Suez Canal) lies to the north, and the Gulf of Aden to the south. According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, God parted the Red Sea to allow Moses lead the Israelites from Egypt.

56D Fashion designer Marc : ECKO

Marc Ecko is a fashion designer from New Jersey. He was born Marc Milecofsky. In college, he became a fan of graffiti and used the name “Ecko” to tag his drawings.

60D Red friend of Grover : ELMO

Grover is a character on the TV show “Sesame Street”. A blue monster, he is a muppet who was performed originally by Frank Oz.

63D Henna, for one : DYE

Henna has been used for centuries as a dye, for leather and wool as well as hair and skin. In modern days, henna is often used for temporary tattoos.