Tag: Tropical talker crossword clue

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Constructed by: Doug Peterson
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 11m 30s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Namesake of a Queens venue : ASHE

Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York opened in 1997, and is the largest outdoor, tennis-only venue in the world. The stadium was often criticized for not having a retractable dome to protect the playing surface from inclement weather. Well, that changed in 2016 when the stadium debuted its new retractable roof, a $150 million investment in the facility.

15 One-named singer whose surname is Adkins : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US. “30” followed in 2021.

17 Grappling style : GRECO-ROMAN

Greco-Roman wrestling was contested at the first modern Olympic Games, back in 1896. Back then there was relatively little regulation of the sport and Greco-Roman contests were noted for their brutality. Bouts also took a long time to finish, often lasting hours. In fact, two competitors in the final round of the event at the 1912 Olympic Games fought a match that lasted 11 hours and 40 minutes. The victor was so exhausted after the contest that he was unable to compete in the final bout.

23 First woman to win a Best Director Oscar : KATHRYN BIGELOW

Kathryn Bigelow is a movie director and writer. Bigelow became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar, for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker”. James Cameron was also nominated as Best Director that year, for “Avatar”. Bigelow and Cameron were a married couple from 1989 to 1991.

25 “Malcolm in the Middle” dad : HAL

I’ve never actually sat down and watched the TV comedy “Malcolm in the Middle”. It ran on Fox from 2000 to 2006. Malcolm was played by Frankie Muniz, who gave up acting to pursue a career in motor racing.

26 “Barney Miller” actor : SOO

Jack Soo was a Japanese-American actor noted for playing Detective Nick Yemana on the sitcom “Barney Miller” in the seventies and eighties.

“Barney Miller” is a sitcom set in a Greenwich Village, New York police station. All of the action takes place actually within the station house, except for a once-a-year “special” that follows one of the detectives on a stakeout or in their home. The title character is the captain of the precinct, and is played by Hal Linden.

27 Strategic match game : NIM

Nim is a simple mathematical game of strategy, and an ancient entertainment. Nim involves removing items from distinct piles (say matchsticks). Each player must remove at least one item per turn, and the last person to remove an item is the loser.

28 Saudi, usually : ARAB

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East and is the world’s largest oil producer, home to the world’s largest oil reserves. The Saudi dynasty started in central Arabia in 1744 when the secular leader Muhammad ibn Saud joined forces with the Islamic scholar and Imam, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. At the time, Saud was a ruler of a town near Riyadh and he was determined to bring “true” Islam to the Arabian peninsula. Since 1744 the fortunes of the Saudi family have risen and fallen, but it is that same family who rules what we know today as Saudi Arabia.

30 Michael’s “Space Jam” teammate : BUGS

Cartoon legend Bugs Bunny owes a couple of the iconic elements of his persona to the superb 1934 film “It Happened One Night”. In the movie, Clark Gable has a celebrated scene in which his character munches on raw carrots. He also utters the lines “I, uh, didn’t mean anything, Doc.”and “No offense, Doc.” When Bugs made his debut in the 1940 cartoon “A Wild Hare”, he was munching on carrots, and spouting the line “What’s up, Doc?”

“Space Jam” is a 1996 movie that is a fictional account of the retirement of Michael Jordan from the NBA. Jordan himself stars in the film, along with a whole host of “Looney Tunes” cartoon characters.

37 “Time Quintet” novelist : MADELEINE L’ENGLE

“Time Quintet” is a series of five novels for young adults penned by Madeleine L’Engle. The titles in the series are:

“A Wrinkle in Time” (1962)

“A Wind in the Door” (1963)

“A Swiftly Tilting Planet” (1978)

“Many Waters” (1986)

“An Acceptable Time” (1989)

41 Au naturel : NUDE

“Au naturel” is a French phrase, one simply meaning “in a natural state”. We use the term in English in the same sense, and also to mean “nude”.

42 Flowering succulent : ALOE

Succulent plants are those with thickened stems and/or leaves that have evolved to retain water. As such, succulents are often found where the climate is particularly dry. The term “succulent” comes from the Latin “sucus” meaning “juice, sap”.

43 Kids’ hangout : LEA

Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.

45 Ortiz of 34-Down : ANA
[34D Former ABC series based on a telenovela : UGLY BETTY]

Ana Ortiz played the title character’s older sister in the TV series “Ugly Betty”.

47 Runway letters : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

48 Paper featured in “Spotlight” : THE BOSTON GLOBE

“The Boston Globe” is a daily newspaper that was founded in 1872 as a morning daily. “The Boston Evening Globe” followed a few years later, although it ceased publication in 1979. Today you can read the online version of “The Globe” at Boston.com.

“Spotlight” is a marvelous biographical drama released in 2015 that deals with “The Boston Globe” investigation into child sex abuse in the city by Roman Catholic priests. The film’s title refers to the paper’s “Spotlight” team of investigative journalists. “Spotlight” very much reminded me of another of my favorite movies, “All the President’s Men”. I really, really rue the demise of investigative journalism in the world …

56 Not bamboozled by : ONTO

It’s thought that the lovely word “bamboozle” came into English from the Scottish “bombaze” meaning “perplex”. We’ve been using “bamboozle” since the very early 1700s.

61 Right-thinking Brit? : TORY

“Tory” comes from the Irish word “tóraí” meaning “outlaw, robber”. The term “tory” was originally used for an Irish outlaw and later became a term of abuse for Irish rebels. At the end of the reign of King Charles II in Britain, there was a political divide with one side being called “Whigs” and the other “Tories”. Historically, the term “Tory” evolved to basically mean a supporter of the British monarchy, and indeed was used to describe those who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. Today, “Tory” is used for a member of the British Conservative Party.

62 Button material : NACRE

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is the strong iridescent material laid down by some mollusks on the inside of their shells, and it’s also what makes up pearls. The creature lays down nacre as a defensive mechanism, protecting the soft tissue of its body from the rough surface of the outer shell. Similarly, it uses nacre to encapsulate harmful debris or a parasite that penetrates the shell, and that’s how a pearl is formed. Cultured pearls are made by inserting a tissue graft from a donor oyster, around which the nacre is laid down.

64 “__ Tu”: 1974 hit : ERES

We have a big event across Europe every year called the Eurovision Song Contest. Each nation enters one song in competition with each other, and then voters across the whole continent decide on the winner. That’s how ABBA got their big break when they won in 1974 with “Waterloo”. In 1973, Spain’s entry was “Eres tú” (“It’s You”, literally “You Are”) sung by the band Mocedades. “Eres tú” came second in the competition, but should have won in my humble opinion.

66 Tropical talker : MYNA

Some species of myna (also “mynah”) birds are known for their ability to imitate sounds.

Down

2 Eilat’s nat. : ISR

Eilat (sometimes “Elat”) the most southerly city in Israel. It sits right at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba.

3 Tom Jones hit with the line “Always treat her with respect” : SHE’S A LADY

“She’s a Lady” is a 1971 song composed by Paul Anka and released by Tom Jones that same year. It was destined to become the highest-charting single for Jones in the US.

Tom Jones … someone with a real voice and a great showman. I saw him in Las Vegas many, many moons ago, and it was one of the best Vegas shows I’ve ever attended. Although “Tom Jones” is a carefully selected stage name (he was born Thomas Woodward) the name isn’t too far from reality as Jones is his mother’s maiden name. The stage name was chosen by his manager to capitalize on the appeal of “Tom Jones”, a filmed version of the Henry Fielding novel that was having a successful run at the time. The name also emphasized Tom’s Welsh roots, as Jones is a very common name in Wales.

4 1968 Pulitzer-winning poet Anthony : HECHT

Anthony Hecht was an American poet who served in the army during World War II and was stationed in Europe. He is best known for his poems about the Holocaust, such as “The Spoils of War” and “The Darkness and the Light.” Hecht was a witness to the liberation of the Flossenburg concentration camp in Bavaria, which had a profound impact on his life and work.

5 Magical portal to Narnia : WARDROBE

In the C.S. Lewis novel “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, four siblings visit the magical land of Narnia via a wardrobe in the spare room of the house in which they are living while evacuated during WWII. The children are Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie.

10 Shakespearean woman who says, “A guiltless death I die” : DESDEMONA

Desdemona is one of the main characters in William Shakespeare’s play “Othello”. She is the daughter of a Venetian senator called Brabantio whom she vexes by eloping with Othello, a man not of her race and several years older.

In William Shakespeare’s play “Othello”, the title character smothers his wife Desdemona after accusing her of adultery. Soon after Desdemona takes her last breath, Othello realizes that the accusation was unfounded. Because she was innocent, Desdemona’s final words include “A guiltless death I die.”

23 Gold unit : KARAT

A karat (also “carat”, the spelling outside of North America) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys, with 24-karat representing pure gold.

25 Radio hobbyists : HAMS

Amateur radio enthusiasts were first called “ham operators” by professional telegraph operators, and the term was intended to be insulting. It came from the similar term “ham actor”, describing a person who is less than effective on the stage. But amateur operators eventually embraced the moniker, and so it stuck.

31 Horned ungulate native to Africa : GNU

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch word meaning “wild beast”.

Ungulates are hoofed animals. “Ungulate” comes from the Latin “ungula” meaning “hoof” or “claw”, which in turn comes from “unguis” meaning “nail”.

32 Rental option : SEDAN

The American sedan car is the equivalent of the British and Irish saloon car. By definition, a sedan car has two rows of seating and a separate trunk (boot in Britain and Ireland), although in some models the engine can be at the rear of the car.

34 Former ABC series based on a telenovela : UGLY BETTY

“Ugly Betty” is a drama-comedy show that originally aired on television from 2006 to 2010. The show is based on a telenovela soap opera from Colombia called “Yo soy Betty, la fea”. The title role of Betty Suarez is played by America Ferrera.

A telenovela is a “television novel”, a form of programming that is very popular in Latin America. A telenovela is somewhat like a soap opera that has an end in sight, and that runs for less than a year. I like this quote from an executive at Telemundo:

A telenovela is all about a couple who wants to kiss and a scriptwriter who stands in their way for 150 episodes.

44 Most people : ASIANS

Most of the world’s population lives in Asia (60%), and Asia is the largest continent in terms of landmass (30% of the world). Asia also has the highest population density (246 people per square mile), and the most populous city on the continent is Shanghai, China.

48 Govt. bill : T-NOTE

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

50 __ nous : ENTRE

In French, something might perhaps be discussed “entre deux” (between two) or “entre nous” (between us).

51 Holy scroll : TORAH

A Torah scroll (also “Sefer Torah”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

58 A quarter of dodici : TRE

In Italian, a quarter of “dodici” (twelve) is “tre” (three).

59 Cyclotron particle : ION

A cyclotron accelerates charged particles (ions) using a magnetic field, usually directing the particles round and round a huge underground circular structure.

60 Pro with brackets : CPA

Certified public accountant (CPA)