Tag: Use leaves for eaves say crossword clue

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Constructed by: August Miller
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: None

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

Bill’s time: 9m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Conventional leader? : ABBESS

A convent is a community devoted to religious life, and especially a community of nuns. The term “convent” ultimately comes from the Latin “com” (with, together) and “venire” (to come).

7 Option for table service : A LA RUSSE

When a meal is served “à la russe” (in the Russian style), courses are brought to the table sequentially. This contrasts with a meal served “à la française” (in the French style), in which all the courses are brought to the table at the same time.

17 “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” or “Friends” : SITCOM

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is a musical comedy TV series that follows Rebecca Bunch, a successful New York City lawyer. She moves across the country to California on a whim, in pursuit of her high school sweetheart Josh Chan.

The remarkably successful sitcom “Friends” was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. For the first season, the six lead characters were each paid $22,500 per episode. That salary had increased to $1 million per episode by the show’s last season.

21 Art patron Henry : TATE

Sir Henry Tate was a 19th-century English sugar magnate who revolutionized the sugar industry by introducing sugar cubes to the masses. A generous philanthropist, Tate is best known for his founding of the Tate Gallery in London in 1897. The Tate Gallery, now known as Tate Britain, has since expanded to become a network of four major art museums.

22 Some concert merch : EPS

An extended-play (EP) record, CD or download contains more music than a single, but less than a long-play (LP) record.

27 Foundation of many cultures : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

35 Plumeria arrangement : LEI

The plumeria genus of plants has the common name “frangipani”. The genus is named after French botanist Charles Plumier. The common name comes from an Italian noble family with roots in ancient Rome. Various species of plumeria are commonly used for making leis in several Pacific islands.

36 Takes back : RECANTS

Our term “to recant”, meaning “to retract, take back” comes directly from the Latin “recantare”, which has the same meaning. In turn, “recantare” derives from “re-” (back) and “cantare” (to chant).

39 African capital served by Kotoka International Airport : ACCRA

Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, Ghana serves as the country’s primary international airport and a major aviation hub in West Africa. It was named after Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in Ghana’s 1966 coup d’état. The facility dates back to World War II, when it was constructed as a military airfield by the UK’s Royal Air Force.

41 Leg exercise that mimics a ballet step : PLIE SQUAT

The plié squat, also known as the sumo squat, is a traditional squat, but with a wider stance. It is performed by standing with feet wider than shoulder-width apart and toes turned outward, then bending the knees and lowering the hips until the thighs are parallel to the floor.

43 “Moneyball” squad : THE A’S

Michael Lewis wrote his book “Moneyball” about the way Billy Beane built up the Oakland Athletics baseball team by bringing on board players who were “undervalued”, getting the maximum benefit from his limited payroll budget. I must admit I know nothing about baseball, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Moneyball”, as well as the film adaptation with Brad Pitt playing Beane.

44 “Flights” novelist Tokarczuk : OLGA

Olga Tokarczuk is a Polish author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2018. She also won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her novel “Flights”. Her epic historical novel “The Books of Jacob”, published in 2014, is generally regarded as Tokarczuk’s magnum opus.

45 Some links : URLS

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a uniform resource locator (URL).

46 Use leaves for eaves, say : THATCH

Thatch is a dried vegetation used as a roofing material. The choice of vegetation depends on what is growing locally. Common thatching materials are straw, rushes, heather and palm branches.

48 Big name in sealant : DAP

DAP Products is a manufacturer of sealants and adhesives. DAP was co-founded in 1865 by Robert H. Dicks, who supplied sealing wax for canning, working out of his garage in Dayton, Ohio. Dicks’ company went through several mergers and acquisitions over the years, resulting in the company name “Dicks-Armstrong-Pontius”, which the marketing guys shortened to “DAP”.

49 Event in which the best competitors are untouchable? : EPEE

The French word for sword is “épée”. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent’s body.

52 Underground feminist punk movement : RIOT GRRRL

Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that originated in the early 1990s in the US. It combines feminism with punk rock music and politics, and addresses issues such as sexism, domestic abuse, and rape culture.

55 Selena y __: American Tejano band : LOS DINOS

Selena y Los Dinos was an American Tejano band formed in 1981. Founded by Abraham Quintanilla Jr., Selena’s father, the band also included her siblings A.B. Quintanilla III and Suzette Quintanilla. Tragically, the band dissolved in 1995, the same year Selena was murdered

59 Critical moment at Wimbledon : SET POINT

The Wimbledon Championships of tennis are held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club located in Wimbledon, a district of London. The Wimbledon Championships started in 1877, and have been played on grass since day one.

60 Layette piece : ONESIE

A newborn baby’s collection of clothing and accessories is called a layette.

Down

1 Zedonk parent : ASS

There are seven living species of mammals in the genus Equus, each of which is referred to as “equine”. The seven species include all horses, asses and zebras. All equine species can crossbreed. For example, a mule is a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, a zorse is a cross between a zebra and a horse, and a zedonk is a cross between a zebra and a donkey.

2 Chum, e.g. : BAIT

The word “chum” meaning “fish bait”, is perhaps derived from the Scottish word “chum” meaning food.

3 Divisive way to sell pizza? : BY THE SLICE

Pizza was invented in Naples, where it has a long tradition that goes back to ancient Rome. During an 1889 visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Savoy was served a special pizza that was created with toppings designed to mimic the colors of the Italian flag. The ingredients of tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) can still be found together on menus today, on a pie usually named Pizza Margherita after the queen. I do love basil on my pizza …

5 Vaccinations : SHOTS

A vaccine used to be exclusively a modified virus administered to an individual to stimulate the immune system into developing immunity, until mRNA vaccines were introduced to combat COVID-19. British physician Edward Jenner came up with the first vaccine, injecting people with the cowpox virus in order to prevent smallpox. The term “vaccination” comes from the Latin “vaccinus” meaning “from cows”, with “vacca” translating as “cow”.

6 Members of a virtual community : SIMS

SimCity is a very clever computer game. Players build and grow cities and societies by creating the conditions necessary for people (the Sims) to move in and thrive. SimCity was launched in 1989, and to this day it is consistently ranked as one of the greatest computer games of all time.

10 Gulf structure : RIG

The Gulf of Mexico is a notorious site for oil exploration. There are about 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on the Gulf’s seabed.

11 Private performances? : USO TOUR

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.

12 Second-largest branch of the second-largest religion : SHIA

Over 50% of the world’s population consider themselves to be adherents of the “big three” Abrahamic religions: Christianity (2-2.2 billion), Islam (1.6-1.7 billion) and Judaism (14-18 million).

20 Elixirs : MAGIC POTIONS

An elixir is a solution of alcohol and water that is used to deliver a medicine. The term “elixir” can also be used to mean a medicine that has the power to cure all ills.

25 Showiness : ECLAT

“Éclat” can describe a brilliant show of success, as well as the applause or accolade that one receives for that success. The word “éclat” derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

27 “The Land Is Inhospitable and So __ We”: 2023 Mitski album : ARE

Mitski, full name Mitski Miyawaki, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter. Her first two albums, “Lush” and “Retired from Sad, New Career in Business”, were actually her senior project while studying studio composition at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music.

31 Terrarium pets : NEWTS

A terrarium (plural “terraria”) is a contained environment used to house land animals. The term “terrarium“ comes from the equivalent “aquarium”, a tank for holding mainly fish. In general, a contained environment for keeping live animals or plants is known as a “vivarium”

37 Assam export : TEA

Assam, located in northeastern India, is the largest tea-producing state in the country. It is also famous for its silk production, particularly the golden muga silk.

40 Fairly tame, per the MPA : RATED PG

The Motion Picture Association’s (MPA) film-rating system (PG-13, R, etc.) is purely voluntary and is not backed by any law. Movie theaters agree to abide by the rules that come with the MPA ratings in exchange for access to new movies.

47 Golfer Palmer, to fans : ARNIE

Arnold Palmer was one of the greats of the world of golf. He was very popular with many fans of the game, and his followers were usually referred to as “Arnie’s Army”. Off the course, Palmer was an avid pilot until his latter years. He resided in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for much of the year and the local airport is named in his honor: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

48 Bee that doesn’t sting : DRONE

Drone bees (and ants) are fertile males of the species, whose sole role in life seems to be to mate with a queen. Given that drone bees make no honey, we sometimes use the term “drone” figuratively, to describe a lazy worker, or someone who lives on the labors of others.

49 Animated ice queen : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

50 Ada Limón, for one : POET

Ada Limón was named US Poet Laureate in 2022, making her the first Latina to be so honored. One of her more notable works is the poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa”, which was commissioned by NASA. It is engraved, in her own handwriting, on a metal plate attached to the Europa Clipper spacecraft that will fly by Jupiter’s Galilean moon Europa in 2030.

51 “__ bien!” : ESTA

“Este bien” is Spanish for “it’s okay”.

53 Latch (onto) : GLOM

“Glom” is a slang term meaning “steal”, although it can also be used to mean “latch onto” when used as “glom onto”. The term probably comes from the Scots word “glam” meaning “to snatch at”.

54 Lane in Metropolis : LOIS

Lois Lane has been the love interest of Superman/Clark Kent since the comic series was first published in 1938. Lois and Clark both work for the big newspaper in the city of Metropolis called “The Daily Planet”. The couple finally got hitched in the comics (and on television’s “Lois and Clark”) in 1996. One has to wonder how challenging the crossword is in “The Daily Planet” …

In the world of DC Comics, Metropolis is a city-state in America that is inspired by real-life New York City that is home to Superman, the Man of Steel. And, while New York City is nicknamed “the Big Apple”, fictional Metropolis is nicknamed “the Big Apricot”.

58 Lets hit it : NET

In some racket sports, a let is a shot or point that does not count, and instead is replayed.