Tag: Walk oafishly like the Jabberwock slayer crossword clue

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Constructed by: Erica Hsiung Wojcik
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: “IM” Down

Themed answers are all in the DOWN-direction, and each is a two-word phrase starting with the letters “IM”:

• 53A “Count me in!,” or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues : I’M DOWN! or “IM” DOWN

• 3A *”A Matter of Life and Death” heavy metal band : IRON MAIDEN
• 9A *Ralph Ellison novel about the Black American experience : INVISIBLE MAN
• 22A *Fencer seeking revenge in “The Princess Bride” : INIGO MONTOYA
• 32A *Noisy amenity in a motel hallway : ICE MACHINE

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

Bill’s time: 6m 52s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Afrobeat pioneer Fela __ : KUTI

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, a pioneer in the genre known as “Afrobeat”. Fela had an interesting relationship with women, and actually married twenty-seven different women in the same year, in 1978. He then slowed down a little and maintained a rotating roster of only twelve wives at any one time. Fela died from AIDS in 1997.

10 Atlas pages : MAPS

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, a pioneer in the genre known as “Afrobeat”. Fela had an interesting relationship with women, and actually married twenty-seven different women in the same year, in 1978. He then slowed down a little and maintained a rotating roster of only twelve wives at any one time. Fela died from AIDS in 1997.

17 Creamy dip for French fries : AIOLI

To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.

20 Anderson Cooper’s channel : CNN

Anderson Cooper is a respected news personality on CNN and on various shows around the dial. Among my favorite appearances of his, although he would call them trivial I am sure, was as host of a great reality game show called “The Mole” that aired in 2001. Cooper’s mother was fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt.

27 Genesis twin : ESAU

The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Some of the main figures in the book are Adam and Eve, Noah and Abraham. “Genesis” is a Greek word meaning “origin, creation”.

28 Many a Farsi speaker : IRANI

“Farsi” is one of the local names used for the Persian language.

31 Singer Simone : NINA

“Nina Simone” was the stage name of Eunice Waymon. Simone was very much associated with jazz music, although she really wanted to be a classical musician early in her career. She was inspired by a love for the music of Bach.

41 Safe to drink : POTABLE
43 Org. that ensures water is 41-Across : EPA

Something that is potable is fit to drink. The term “potable” derives from the Latin verb “potare” meaning “to drink”, which is also the root for our word “potion”.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

48 Singer Del Rey : LANA

“Lana Del Rey” is the stage name of singer/songwriter Elizabeth Grant. Del Rey calls herself a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Nice …

49 Greek theater : ODEUM

In ancient Greece, an odeon (also “odeum”) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

51 Scandinavian people : SAMI

Lapland is a geographic region in northern Scandinavia, largely found within the Arctic Circle. Parts of Lapland are in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The people who are native to the region are called the Sami people. The Sami don’t like to be referred to as “Lapps” and they regard the term as insulting.

54 “Encanto” songwriter __-Manuel Miranda : LIN

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer and playwright from New York City, and the creator and star of the hit Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights”. Miranda also co-wrote the songs for the 2016 Disney animated feature “Moana”. He started composing early, and wrote jingles as a child. One of those jingles was later used by Eliot Spitzer in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

“Encanto” is a 2021 animated Disney film. It is about a Colombian family, named the Madrigals, who have magical powers that provide assistance to the people in their community (Encanto).

62 Political org. with a donkey symbol : DNC

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) was set up way back in 1848, and governs the day-to-day affairs of the Democratic Party. Past chairpersons of the DNC include Howard Dean from Vermont, Chris Dodd from Connecticut and Tim Kaine from Virginia.

Thomas Nast was an American caricaturist and cartoonist. He was the creator of the Republican Party elephant, the Democratic Party donkey, Uncle Sam and the image of the plump and jocular Santa Claus that we use today.

66 __ acid : AMINO

Amino acids are essential to life in many ways, not least of which is their use as the building blocks of proteins. Nine amino acids are considered “essential” for humans. These nine must be included in the diet as they cannot be synthesized in the body.

69 Average gestation period for a dolphin : YEAR

Bottlenose dolphins have a very large brain to body mass ratio, second only to humans among mammals in general. Along with the brain-size comes high intelligence. Many dolphins have been trained to carry out military tasks. And then there is their acting ability, as exemplified by “Flipper”.

Down

1 People of the southern Great Plains : APACHE

The Apache are a group of Native American peoples originally from the Southwest US. The Navajo are a separate but related people, through culture and language, and are often described as “Apachean”.

3 *”A Matter of Life and Death” heavy metal band : IRON MAIDEN

“A Matter of Life and Death” is a 2006 album released by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. I hear that the themes of war and religion are shared by most of the tracks.

4 Knee part, for short : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

5 Mint leaf used as a sushi garnish : SHISO

Shiso, the Japanese name, is a herb in the mint family. Some English speakers use the name “beefsteak plant”, a reference to the blood-red color of varieties with purple leaves. Shiso is used extensively in Japanese cuisine.

7 Prefix with cycle : UNI-

In 2007, a student rode a unicycle for 24 hours around the athletic track at Aberystwyth University. In so doing, the young man broke the record for the longest ride on a unicycle without feet touching the ground, a distance of 105.57 miles. He also covered a total distance of 282 miles over the full 24-hour period.

9 *Ralph Ellison novel about the Black American experience : INVISIBLE MAN

Author Ralph Ellison’s most famous book is the novel “Invisible Man”, which won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison’s full name is Ralph Waldo Ellison, as he was named for Ralph Waldo Emerson.

10 “Dirty” cocktail : MARTINI

A dirty martini is a regular martini with a splash of olive juice, and served with an olive garnish.

11 Automaker __ Romeo : ALFA

The “Alfa” in “Alfa Romeo” is actually an acronym, one standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

12 Shoddy : POOR

Something described as shoddy is of inferior quality, especially if it has a delusive appearance of high quality.

13 Erotic : SEXY

The name of Eros, the Greek god of love, gives rise to our word “erotic” meaning “arousing sexual desire”. Eros was referred to in Latin as both “Amor” (meaning “love”) and “Cupid” (meaning “desire”).

22 *Fencer seeking revenge in “The Princess Bride” : INIGO MONTOYA

In the William Goldsmith novel “The Princess Bride”, the title character is kidnapped by a trio of outlaws that includes fencing master Inigo Montoya. In the 1987 film adaptation, Montoya is played by Mandy Patinkin.

30 Quill tip : NIB

Quills have been used as writing implements since the 6th century. Historically, goose, swan and turkey feathers have been the quills of choice. A bird’s feather is well suited for writing, as the hollow shaft acts as a reservoir for ink which then flows to the tip due to capillary action. Choice of feather is important. Right-handed writers are best served by feathers from the left wing, as the feather curves away from the palm of the hand when writing. The tip of the quill is sharpened using a “quill knife”. This quill knife is the ancestor of what we know today as a “penknife”.

33 Siesta : NAP

We use the word “siesta” to describe a short nap in the early afternoon, and imported the word into English from Spanish. In turn, the Spanish word is derived from the Latin “hora sexta” meaning “the sixth hour”. The idea is that the nap is taken at the sixth hour after dawn.

36 Bitter brew, briefly : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

38 Supervillain Luthor : LEX

Lex Luthor is the nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.

39 Georgia airport: Abbr. : ATL

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the world’s busiest airport, as measured by passenger traffic. Atlanta has had that distinction since 1998, and was the world’s busiest in terms of take-offs and landings from 2005 until 2013. Over 50% of Atlanta’s traffic comes from Delta Air Lines.

40 Part of una semana : DIA

In Spanish, an “año” (year) comprises 52 “semanas” (weeks), and a week comprises 7 “dias” (days).

42 Actor Danson : TED

Actor Ted Danson is noted in particular for three successful roles that he has played on television. He played Sam Malone on the sitcom “Cheers”, the title role on the sitcom “Becker”, and eventually led the cast on the drama series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Danson has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.

45 Walk oafishly, like the Jabberwock slayer : GALUMPH

To galumph is to prance about, somewhat smugly. The word is an invention of Lewis Carroll and he used it in his famous nonsense poem “Jabberwocky”. Apparently he arrived at “galumph” by blending the words “gallop” and “triumph”.

52 Pine Tree State resident : MAINER

Maine is the least-densely populated state east of the Mississippi, with almost 90% of its land covered with forests. Perhaps that’s why the state’s nickname is “The Pine Tree State” …

58 Norway’s capital : OSLO

Oslo, the capital of Norway, is an ancient city that was founded around 1048. The medieval city was destroyed by fire in 1624 and was rebuilt by the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV and renamed to Christiana. In 1877 there was an official change of the spelling of the city’s name to “Kristiana”, and then more recently in 1925 the name was restored to the original Oslo. Things have almost gone full circle and now the center of Oslo, the area that would have been contained by the original medieval walls, has apparently been renamed to Christiana.

59 __ seeds: smoothie choice : CHIA

Chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. Chia seeds are an excellent food source and are often added to breakfast cereals and energy bars. There is also the famous Chia Pet, an invention of a San Francisco company. Chia Pets are terra-cotta figurines to which moistened chia seeds are applied. The seeds sprout and the seedlings become the “fur” of the Chia Pet.

61 Small bills : ONES

Conspiracy theorists love to point out “suspicious” symbols on the one-dollar bill. The pyramid on the bill is unfinished, with 13 steps. The number 13 has been associated with the occult, but it is also the number of original colonies that declared independence from Britain forming the United States. Not so suspicious after all …

65 __ tai: cocktail : MAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.