Tag: Utter nonsense crossword clue

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Constructed by: Matthew Luter
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Pace Yourself

Themed answers are all things WITH STEPS:

• 20A Device with steps : FITNESS TRACKER
• 24A Activity with steps : BALLROOM DANCING
• 46A Structure with steps : SPIRAL STAIRCASE
• 52A Booklet with steps : IKEA DIRECTIONS

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

Bill’s time: 6m 44s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 Britcom starring Jennifer Saunders, to fans : ABFAB

Jennifer Saunders is a remarkable English comedian who is perhaps best known in North America as a lead in the Britcom “Absolutely Fabulous” (AbFab). She also made guest appearances on the American sitcoms “Roseanne” and “Friends”.

13 Meredith Grey’s mother : ELLIS

In the medical drama TV show “Grey’s Anatomy”, The main character is surgeon Meredith Grey, who is the daughter of famous general surgeon Ellis Grey. Meredith is played by Ellen Pompeo, and Ellis by Kate Burton.

22 Biblical craft of gopher wood : ARK

According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Noah was instructed to build an ark using “gofer” (sometimes “gopher wood”). There doesn’t seem to be a lot of agreement on what is actually meant by “gofer”.

33 Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space when his spacecraft Vostok I made a single orbit of the Earth in 1961. Sadly, Gagarin died only seven years later in a plane crash.

34 __ Hawkins dance : SADIE

Sadie Hawkins is a character in Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner”. Sadie was in search of a husband and so declared a “Sadie Hawkins Day” in which she chased the local men in a foot race, with marriage as the prize when one was caught. Starting in 1938, Sadie Hawkins Dances were introduced in schools across the US, to which the woman invited the man of her choosing.

37 Garb in sword-and-sandal pictures : TOGAS

A sword-and-sandal genre of film comprises Italian-made biblical costume dramas that were produced by the Italian movie industry in the late fifties and early sixties. Unlike Hollywood epics of the time like “Spartacus” and “The Ten Commandments”, the Italian versions were dubbed. The Italian film industry turned away from sword-and-sandal movies fairly decisively to spaghetti westerns.

40 El __: climate pattern : NINO

When the surface temperature of much of the Pacific Ocean rises more than half a degree celsius, then there is said to be an El Niño episode. That small temperature change in the Pacific has been associated with climatic changes that can stretch right across the globe. El Niño is Spanish for “the boy” and is a reference to the Christ child. The phenomenon was given this particular Spanish name because the warming is usually noticed near South America and around Christmas-time.

45 Composer Rorem : NED

American composer Ned Rorem is famous for his musical compositions, but also for his book “Paris Diary of Ned Rorem” that was published in 1966. Rorem talks openly about his sexuality in the book, and also about the sexual orientation of others including Noël Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber, much to some people’s chagrin.

59 Record of the year? : ANNAL

“Annal” is a rarely used word, and is the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

60 Minnesota home to the Mayo Clinic : ROCHESTER

The Mayo Clinic started out as a private practice run by Dr. William Mayo, an immigrant from the North of England who arrived in the US in 1846. Mayo’s first practice was with his two sons, which evolved into a clinic set up with six other doctors.

63 Maker of iComfort mattresses : SERTA

Serta was founded in 1931 when a group of 13 mattress manufacturers came together, essentially forming a cooperative. Today, the Serta company is owned by eight independent licensees in a similar arrangement. Serta advertisements feature the Serta Counting Sheep. Each numbered sheep has a different personality, such as:

• #1 The Leader of the Flock
• #½ The Tweener
• #13 Mr. Bad Luck
• #53 The Pessimist
• #86 Benedict Arnold

65 Yin-yang principle : TAO

The yin and yang can be illustrated using many different metaphors. In one, as the sun shines on a mountain, the side in the shade is the yin and the side in the light is the yang. The yin is also regarded as the feminine side, and the yang the masculine. The yin can also be associated with the moon, while the yang is associated with the sun.

Down

1 “Wellness you can trust” publication : SELF

“Self” is a women’s magazine that has been published since 1979. It is a publication that focuses on health, beauty, wellness and style.

2 Jai __ : ALAI

The essential equipment in the game of jai alai is the pelota (ball) and the cesta (wicker scoop).

4 Lighthouse output : SIGNAL

I’m guessing that one of the most famous names in the world of lighthouse construction is George Meade. Before General Meade led the Union soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lieutenant Meade worked in the US Army Corps of Engineers, and was responsible for the erection of several lighthouses along the east coast.

9 Data provider for retailers such as Barnes & Noble : BOOKSCAN

BookScan is a company, founded in 2001, that uses point of sales data to collate and publish book sales.

10 Ice sheet : FLOE

An ice floe is a sheet of ice that has separated from an ice field and is floating freely on the surface of the ocean.

12 “Queen __”: pop music icon with a “hive” of fans : BEY

Beyoncé Knowles established herself in the entertainment industry as the lead singer with the R&B group Destiny’s Child. She launched her solo singing career in 2002, after making her first appearance as an actor. In 2006 she played the lead in the very successful movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls”. Beyoncé is married to rap star Jay-Z. She is also referred to affectionately as “Queen Bey”, a play on the phrase “the queen bee”. Her fan base goes by the name “Beyhive”.

14 Port kin : SHERRY

Sherry is a fortified wine made using grapes from around the town of Jerez de la Frontera (formerly “Xerez” or “Xeres”) in the autonomous community of Andalusia in Spain. The word “sherry” is an anglicized form of the name “Jerez”.

21 Legendary coach Parseghian : ARA

Ara Parseghian coached the Notre Dame football team from 1964 to 1974, a period known alliteratively as “The Era of Ara”.

26 Téa of “Madam Secretary” : LEONI

Téa Leoni is an American actress. One of Leoni’s early parts was in the great film “A League of Their Own” (a minor role: Racine at first base). She also played the fiancée of Sam Malone from “Cheers” on the spin-off sitcom “Frasier”. A leading role on the big screen was opposite Adam Sandler in “Spanglish”. My favorite of her more prominent movie roles was as Jane in “Fun with Dick and Jane”. Leoni started playing the title role in the drama series “Madam Secretary” in 2014, and that’s a show I quite enjoy …

“Madam Secretary” is A TV show that first aired from 2014 to 2019. It is about an ex-CIA analyst who is appointed as US Secretary of State. Téa Leoni plays the title role, ably supported by a favorite actress of mine, Bebe Neuwirth. I like this show …

29 Menzel who was named a Disney Legend in 2022 : IDINA

Actress and singer Idina Menzel came to public attention when she was a member of the original Broadway cast of “Rent”. She is known on the small screen for playing Shelby Corcoran on the musical TV show “Glee”. On the big screen, her most noted performance was as the voice actor behind Queen Elsa in the Disney hit “Frozen”. It is Menzel who sings the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” in “Frozen”.

The Disney Legend Awards were established in 1987 to recognize individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the Walt Disney Company. The first recipient was actor Fred McMurray.

31 Crystalline stone : GEODE

A geode is a rock in which there is a cavity that is lined or filled with crystal formations. The crystals inside a geode form when mineral-rich water seeps into a cavity in a rock, leaving behind dissolved minerals that gradually build up over time. Some of the largest geodes ever discovered have been as big as a room and can take millions of years to form.

38 Tower dispatchers, often: Abbr. : AAA

The American Automobile Association (AAA) dispatches a lot of tow trucks.

42 Brand that “nobody doesn’t like” : SARA LEE

“Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee” is an advertising slogan used by Sara Lee.

47 Jack-in-the-box part : LID

A Jack-in-the-box is a child’s toy. It’s a box with a crank handle at the side. Turning the crank causes a tune to play (usually “Pop Goes the Weasel”), and at the right moment the lid pops open and a spring loaded clown character jumps up out of the box.

48 Budget airline with yellow planes : SPIRIT

Spirit Airlines is a low-cost carrier based in Miramar, Florida that was founded as Charter One in 1980. That said, the 1980 airline service was established as a branch of Clipper Trucking Company that dated back to 1964. Spirit started its low-fare service in 2007.

52 Historic Peruvian : INCA

The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Túpac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.

53 Gordian __: mythological conundrum : KNOT

In the legend of the Gordian Knot, a poor peasant named Gordian was made king and in gratitude dedicated his ox and cart to the god Zeus. He tied up the cart with a very intricate knot, and it was predicted that the person who untied the knot would rule all of Asia. Many tried and failed to release the knot, including Alexander the Great. Alexander eventually worked around the problem and sliced the knot in a half with his sword. Apparently the gods were pleased, and Alexander went onto great military success.

54 First name in civil rights history : ROSA

Rosa Parks was one of a cadre of brave women in days gone by who refused to give up their seats on a bus to white women. It was the stand taken by Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955 that sparked the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott. President Clinton presented Ms. Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. When she died in 2005, Rosa Parks became the first ever woman to have her body lie in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda.

58 Mmes., across the Pyrenees : SRAS

The Pyrenees is a mountain range that runs along the border between Spain and France. Nestled between the two countries, high in the mountains, is the lovely country of Andorra, an old haunt of my family during skiing season …

59 Communication method in “A Quiet Place,” briefly : ASL

American Sign Language (ASL)

“A Quiet Place” is a 2018 sci-fi horror film. It’s about a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. That struggle is mainly due to the blind extraterrestrials with an acute sense of hearing that have taken over the planet. I don’t do horror, and so I missed this one, despite Emily Blunt and John Krasinski leading the cast …

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