Tag: “Toss a can my way” crossword clue

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Constructed by: Rich Norris
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 22m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16 Observation when Porky leaves : PIG TAIL

Porky Pig was the first of the characters created by Warner Bros. to become a hit with audiences. Porky Pig is the guy with the line at the end of each cartoon, “Th-th-th-that’s all folks!” If you don’t mind a little adult language, there’s a very funny 11-second Porky Pig clip that the studio released on a blooper reel in 1938. Porky Pig stutters out “Son of g-g-gun”, only he doesn’t say “gun” …

21 “Street Scene” playwright Rice : ELMER

Elmer Rice was a playwright from New York City. Rice’s most famous play is “Street Scene”, a work that won the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

23 D.C. United’s first home : RFK

Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium opened in 1961 as the District of Columbia Stadium, and is actually owned by the District of Columbia. The stadium was renamed in 1969, a few months after Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy had been instrumental in the racial integration of the Washington Redskins who played in the stadium for 36 seasons. As Attorney General, Kennedy threatened to oust the Redskins from the federally-owned stadium unless the team agreed to sign African-American players.

D.C. United is a professional soccer team based in the nation’s capital. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) and plays home games at the Audi Field, moving from Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2017.

28 Belinda Carlisle album with French songs and Irish musicians : VOILA

Belinda Carlisle is a singer from Hollywood who first achieved success as the lead singer of the all-female rock band the Go-Go’s. Carlisle went solo when the Go-Go’s disbanded in 1985. She is married to Morgan Mason, the son of famed actor James Mason.

“Voila” is a 2007 studio album released by Belinda Carlisle. The French title is quite apt, as the songs are either classic or pop standards from France, and sung by Carlisle in French. Despite the French theme, most of the musicians featured are from Ireland.

30 Corkers : BEAUTS

A “corker” is something astonishing, and also something that settles a debate or discussion. The term probably comes from putting a cork in a bottle, an act of finality.

31 Pub freebie : BAR NUT

“Beer Nuts” is the brand name for a snack consisting of peanuts in a sweet-and-salty glaze. There’s no beer in the recipe, just the suggestion that the snack goes well with beer.

32 Confection that reportedly improves heart health : DARK CHOCOLATE

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. The seeds are very bitter and the traditional drink made with the seed was called “xocolatl” by the Aztecs, meaning “bitter water”. Our word “chocolate” comes from “xocolatl”.

34 Small tower : TURRET

A turret is a small tower, with the word “turret” coming to us from Latin via French. The French word is “tourette” meaning “small tower” (small “tour”).

35 Lots : DOZENS

Our word “dozen” is used for a group of twelve. We imported it into English from Old French. The modern French word for “twelve” is “douze”, and for “dozen” is “douzaine”.

36 Companion of Dionysus : SATYR

The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

Dionysus was the party animal of Greek mythology. Dionysus was the god of wine, ritual madness and ecstasy! His Roman equivalent was Bacchus.

38 TY preceder, maybe : PLS

A texter might type PLS (please) and TY (thank you).

40 Scoring instructions : TEMPI

The tempo (plural “tempi”) of a piece of music is usually designated with an Italian word on the score. For example, “grave” is slow and solemn, “andante” is at a walking pace, “scherzo” is fast and light-hearted, and “allegro” is fast, quickly and bright.

44 Saved for later, in a way : TIVOED

TiVo was introduced in 1999 and was the world’s first commercially successful digital video recorder (DVR).

47 One of the Istari, in Middle-earth : WIZARD

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, the Wizards resemble Men, but have great physical and mental power. The Elves refer to the Wizards as “Istari”.

48 Tinkerer : AMATEUR

To tinker with something is to adjust or experiment with it. Back in the late 1500’s, “to tinker” was “to work as a tinker”. In those days, a tinker was someone who mended pots and pans.

50 Disinfectant distilled from needles : PINE OIL

Pine oil is an essential oil extracted from several species of pine tree. Natural pine oil is usually steam distilled from parts of the tree that are not used for lumber.

51 Humdinger : RARE GEM

A humdinger or pip is someone or something outstanding. “Humdinger” is American slang dating back to the early 1900s, and was originally used to describe a particularly attractive woman.

53 On point : GERMANE

Something that is germane is relevant. “Germane” originally meant “having the same parents”, but the term was used more figuratively to mean “on topic” by William Shakespeare in “Hamlet”. That’s the way we’ve been using the word since “Hamlet” was first performed in the 1600s.

54 Scottish dogs : WESTIES

The West Highland White Terrier is a cute-looking, little white dog from Scotland. The “Westie” looks very much like a related breed, the little black Scottish Terrier. The two breeds can be seen sitting side-by-side on the famous label of Black & White Scotch whisky.

Down

2 __ artery : RENAL

The renal arteries feed blood into the kidneys. About one third of the total output of the heart goes directly through the renal arteries to be filtered by the kidneys.

4 “Bruised” director : HALLE BERRY

Actress Halle Berry was the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, which she received for her performance in the 2001 movie “Monster’s Ball”. Berry also won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 2005 for playing the title role in “Catwoman”, and she very graciously accepted that award in person. Good for her!

“Bruised” is a 2020 sports film directed and produced by, and starring Halle Berry. It’s about MMA fighting …

9 Piñata feature : TILDE

The tilde diacritical mark (~) is very much associated with the Spanish language. We use the name “tilde” in English, taking that name from Spanish. Confusingly, the word “tilde” in Spanish is used more generally to mean “accent mark, diacritic”, of which a “~” is just one. What we call a “tilde” in English is usually referred to as a “virgulilla” or “tilde de la eñe” in Spanish.

Piñatas originated in Mexico, probably among the Aztecs or Mayans. Today’s piñatas are usually made from cardboard that is brightly decorated with papier-mâché. Traditionally a piñata was made out of a clay pot, adorned with feathers and ribbons and filled with small treasures. During religious ceremonies the clay pots would be suspended and broken open so that the contents would spill out onto the ground at the feet of a god as an offering.

11 Member of the Siouan family : OTOE

The Otoe (also “Oto”) Native American tribe originated in the Great Lakes region as part of the Winnebago or Siouan tribes. The group that would become the Otoe broke away from the Winnebago and migrated southwestward, ending up in the Great Plains. In the plains the Otoe adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle dependent on the horse, with the American bison becoming central to their diet.

12 Images on Clemson Tigers merchandise : PAW PRINTS

Clemson University was founded in 1889. The school takes its name from the town in which it is located: Clemson, South Carolina. The athletic teams of Clemson University have been called the Tigers since 1896 when football coach Walter Riggs arrived from Auburn University. Riggs was an admirer of the Princeton Tigers, so he gave his new school the tiger mascot.

13 Cook with a lot of Apples? : TIM

Tim Cook was appointed as Apple’s CEO in 2011, when he succeeded Steve Jobs. Cook had joined the company back in 1998 as senior vice president in charge of worldwide operations. He came out as gay in October of 2014, making Cook the first openly gay CEO of a company on the Fortune 500 list.

24 Furnace part : FLUE

The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that its opening is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition.

25 Dennings of “2 Broke Girls” : KAT

Kat Dennings is the stage name of actress Katherine Litwack, who is noted today for her co-starring role on CBS’s sitcom “2 Broke Girls”. Dennings is an avid blogger, and you can check out her video blog on YouTube.

“2 Broke Girls” is a sitcom about two young ladies sharing an apartment in Brooklyn, and their attempts to launch a cupcake business. The title characters are played by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs.

28 Midwinter honorees : VALENTINES

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

29 Grated ingredient in cranberry relish, often : ORANGE ZEST

When early European settlers came across red berries growing in the bogs of the northern part of America, they felt that the plant’s flower and stem resembled the head and bill of a crane. As such, they called the plant “craneberry”, which evolved into “cranberry”.

30 MVP of the first two Super Bowls : BART STARR

Bart Starr was a football player and coach who spent his whole career with the Green Bay Packers, playing quarterback for the Packers from 1956 to 1971. Starr was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the first two Super Bowls.

31 Clown whose voice inspired Krusty of “The Simpsons” : BOZO

Bozo the Clown is a character created in 1946 by Alan Livingston. Bozo was introduced in the first ever “record reader”, a children’s illustrated read-along book that came with a vinyl recording of the story. The book/record was so successful that Bozo moved to television, and he has been around ever since.

Krusty the Clown is a character on the TV show “The Simpsons”, one voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Krusty has a sidekick named Sideshow Mel, also voiced by Castellaneta.

34 One of six in a fl. oz. : TSP

There are six teaspoons (tsps.) in an ounce (oz.), and eight ounces (oz.) in a cup.

39 City on the Seine : ROUEN

Rouen is the major city in Normandy in northern France. During the days of Norman Britain, Rouen was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties. It was also where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.

The Seine is the river that flows through Paris. It empties into the English Channel to the north, at the port city of Le Havre.

41 Don DeLillo title inspired by an Andy Warhol print series : MAO II

“Mao II” is a 1991 novel by author Don DeLillo. The central character is a novelist who works to keep his writing pure by living as a recluse. Apparently, the book’s title is doubly symbolic. The “Mao” is a reference to the Warhol series of paintings of Mao Zedong. The “II” symbolizes the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Don DeLillo is a novelist and playwright from New York City. DeLillo first came to public attention with his 1985 novel “White Noise”. He followed that with a 1988 novel titled “Libra” that gives a fictional account of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with a focus on Lee Harvey Oswald.

45 Market unit : ITEM

I say avoid any express checkout lane in a market that is labeled “10 items or less”. It should be “10 items or fewer”. I know, I know … I should calm down … and get a life …

46 Singer-songwriter Suzanne : VEGA

Suzanne Vega is a singer-songwriter from Santa Monica, California. Her two most famous songs are “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner”, both released in the eighties.

47 “Sideways” subject : WINE

“Sideways” is a marvelous 2004 film that is an adaptation of a 2004 novel of the same name. In fact, “Sideways” is the first in a trilogy of comedic wine-themed novels by Rex Pickett, and was followed by “Vertical” (2010) and “Sideways 3 Chile” (2015). The “Sideways” movie stars Paul Giamatti as a depressed teacher and writer accompanying his friend on a trip through wine country prior to that friend’s upcoming wedding. Great stuff …

48 S.A. country bordering five others : ARG

Argentina is the second largest country in South America (after Brazil), and the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation. The name “Argentina” comes from the Latin “argentum”, the word for “silver”. It is thought that the name was given by the early Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who also named the Rio de la Plata (the “Silver River”). Those early explorers got hold of lots of silver objects that they found among the native population.

49 Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE

Rita Mae Brown is an American author who is best known for her 1973 novel “Rubyfruit Jungle”. Brown was the domestic partner of tennis champion Martina Navratilova in the late seventies and early eighties.