Tag: With little gusto crossword clue

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Constructed by: Emily Biegas & Sala Wanetick
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Pet Sounds

Themed answers each include a PET SOUND:

• 57A Beach Boys album that’s No. 2 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 34-, and 48-Across : PET SOUNDS

• 17A American government official accused of Soviet espionage in the McCarthy era : ALGER HISS
• 25A Arts and entertainment company known for large-scale interactive installations : MEOW WOLF
• 34A Traditional canoe material : BIRCH BARK
• 48A Kaleidoscope opening : PEEPHOLE

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

Bill’s time: 6m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Chatted privately online, for short : DM’ED

Direct message (DM)

9 College mil. unit : ROTC

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program for officers based in colleges all around the US. The program was established in 1862 when as a condition of receiving a land-grant to create colleges, the federal government required that military tactics be part of a new school’s curriculum.

13 Meaty red sauce : RAGU

A ragout is a dish from French cuisine, and is a highly-seasoned stew of either meat or fish. The name “ragout” comes from the verb “ragouter”, “to revive the taste”. The Italian “ragù” is a term borrowed from the French that describes a meat-based sauce served with pasta.

14 Musical finale : CODA

In music, a coda is primarily a passage that brings a movement to a conclusion. “Coda” is Italian for “tail”.

15 Belgian bills : EUROS

Before the euro became the sole legal tender in Belgium, the nation’s currency was the Belgian franc. The Belgian franc replaced the gulden in 1832, when the Kingdom of Belgium seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands following the Belgian Revolution.

17 American government official accused of Soviet espionage in the McCarthy era : ALGER HISS

Alger Hiss was a US government official involved in the establishment of the United Nations. Hiss was accused of being a spy in testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1948. Hiss vigorously denied and fought the accusation but eventually served over three years in jail on related charges. The consensus seems to be that Hiss was indeed a spy, but there may be new evidence available when the HUAC’s papers are unsealed in 2026.

19 Curry who was the NBA MVP in 2015 and 2016 : STEPH

Basketball great Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and former volleyball player Sonya Curry. Off the court, Curry is an avid golfer, playing off a low handicap. He regularly participates in celebrity golf tournaments, and has played alongside President Barack Obama.

23 Soccer star Hamm : MIA

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player. She played as a forward on the US national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm scored 158 international goals, which was more than any other player in the world, male or female, until the record was broken in 2013. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

25 Arts and entertainment company known for large-scale interactive installations : MEOW WOLF

Meow Wolf is an arts and entertainment company, based in Santa Fe, that creates enormous immersive and interactive art installations. The company’s exhibitions are often described as mind-bending, combining elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Examples of Meow Wolf installation are “House of Eternal Return” in Santa Fe, “Omega Mart” in Las Vegas, and “Convergence Station” in Denver. I dunno …

27 Class for some immigrants: Abbr. : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL)

28 Anaheim MLB team : ANGELS

The Anaheim Angels baseball team is today more correctly called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (LAA). The “Angels” name dates back to 1961 when the team was founded in the “City of Angels”, Los Angeles. When the franchise moved to Anaheim in 1965 they were known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and most recently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels are also known as “the Halos”.

31 Oscar winner Benicio __ Toro : DEL

Benicio Del Toro is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is an Academy Award winner, for the role he played in “Traffic”, released in 2000. He also played the title role in the 2008 movie “Che”.

32 Pre-Easter period : LENT

In Latin, the Christian season that is now called “Lent” was termed “quadragesima” (meaning “fortieth”), a reference to the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. When the church began its move in the Middle Ages towards using the vernacular, the term “Lent” was introduced. “Lent” comes from “lenz”, the German word for “spring”.

34 Traditional canoe material : BIRCHBARK

The bark of birch trees (known as “birchbark”) is a useful material that has been used since prehistoric times as a building, crafting and writing material. It is readily cut, bent and sewn and resembles cardboard, although unlike cardboard, it is also water-resistant. Birchbark was a popular material with Native Americans, used for making canoes, wigwams, scrolls and maps.

37 Colorado spot for hitting the slopes : ASPEN

Aspen, Colorado used to be known as Ute City, with the name change taking place in 1880. Like many communities in the area, Aspen was a mining town, and in 1891 and 1892 it was at the center of the highest production of silver in the US. Nowadays, it’s all about skiing and movie stars.

40 Daytime TV host Kelly : RIPA

When Kelly Ripa secured the co-host spot on morning television with Regis Philbin, she was still acting in “All My Children” in a role she had been playing for over ten years. After a year of holding down two jobs, she eventually gave up the acting gig. Ripa has acted as spokeswoman for several brands over the years, including Electrolux and Rykä.

41 Indy 500 sponsor : STP

STP was founded in 1953 by racing enthusiast and businessman Andy Granatelli. The name “STP” stands for “Scientifically Treated Petroleum.”

44 Ballet class bend : PLIE

The French word for “bent” is “plié”. In the ballet move known as a plié, the knees are bent. A “demi-plié” is a similar move, but with less bending of the knees. A fondu is similar to a plié, except that only one leg remains on the ground.

47 Cartoon frame : CEL

Animation cels are transparent sheets made of celluloid acetate that were used in traditional hand-drawn animation to create animated films. They were first introduced in the 1930s and were widely used in animation production until the late 1990s, when digital animation techniques began to dominate the industry.

48 Kaleidoscope opening : PEEPHOLE

A kaleidoscope is an optical device that generates colorful patterns. Usually in the form of a tube, the patterns are the result of loose bits of colored material moving between two clear plates and viewed in two mirrors placed at an angle. “Kaleidoscope” was coined by Scottish scientist and inventor Sir David Brewster. The term comes from the Ancient Greek “kalos” meaning “beautiful”, “eidos” meaning “shape”, with the suffix “-scope” (as in “telescope”).

54 Latvia’s northern neighbor : ESTONIA

The European nation of Estonia has embraced the concept of electronic voting. Each citizen is issued an ID card that includes a chip. The ID card allows a citizen to cast a vote via the Internet using a computer with a card reader. One advantage of electronic voting in Estonia is that votes can be cast early, and can be changed right up to the end of election day.

57 Beach Boys album that’s No. 2 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 34-, and 48-Across : PET SOUNDS

“Pet Sounds” is a 1966 album recorded by the Beach Boys, with Brian Wilson being the creative force behind the album. Though not a commercial success at the time, Pet Sounds has since been recognized as one of the most influential albums in pop music history. The 2014 biopic “Love & Mercy” features Wilson’s production of “Pet Sounds” as one of the two main storylines. Good film …

60 Wild and crazy : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

61 Brazilian soccer legend : PELE

“Pelé” was the nickname of Edson de Nascimento, a soccer player who used the name “Pelé” for most of his life. For my money, Pelé was the world’s greatest ever player of the game. He was the only person to have been a member of three World Cup winning squads (1958, 1962 and 1970), and was a national treasure in his native Brazil. One of Pele’s nicknames was “O Rei do Futebol” (the King of Football).

63 Comedian Love : LONI

Loni Love is a comedian and TV personality from Detroit. She was the runner-up in 2003 on the relaunched “Star Search” show. In 2013, Love became one of the hosts of the daytime talk show “The Real”.

64 Ice cream brand : EDY’S

Edy’s is a brand of premium ice cream that was founded in 1928 in Oakland, California. The company’s two signature brands, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, are named after its founders, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

Down

2 Coming-down-with-a-cold feeling : MALAISE

A malaise is a general but undefined feeling of discomfort or illness. The term “malaise” ultimately comes from Old French with the prefix “mal-” meaning “bad” and “aise” meaning “ease”.

5 Fore-and-aft-rigged sailboat : SCHOONER

By definition, a schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts, but one on which the foremast is shorter than the rear mast(s).

8 Gentle shade : PASTEL

A “pastel” is a crayon made from a “paste” containing a powdered pigment in a binder. The term “pastel” can also be used to describe a work created using pastels.

11 Vibrating effect, in music : TREMOLO

The tremolo effect was invented by Claudio Monteverdi in the 16th century, and was first applied to the violin (by rapid bowing). Tremolo is a trembling effect that can be achieved in two ways:

• On stringed instruments, by rapidly reiterating the same note by bowing or plucking.
• On keyboard instruments, by rapidly reiterating two notes or chords in alternation.

12 Cockpit partner : COPILOT

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original “cockpit” was a “pit” used for fighting “cocks”. The term was then applied nautically, as the name for the compartment below decks used as living quarters by midshipmen. The cockpit of a boat today, usually on a smaller vessel, is a sunken area towards the stern in which sits the helmsman and others (who can fit!). The usage extended to aircraft in the 1910s and to cars in the 1930s.

18 ADHD medication : RITALIN

Ritalin is a trade name for the drug methylphenidate that is used for treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy. Methylphenidate has a similar structure and similar properties to the drug cocaine, although it is less potent.

22 Lip balm brand : EOS

eos Products is a company that was founded in 2006 in New York City. eoS sells beauty products such as lotions and creams, and is most famous for its lip balm. The initials “eos” stand for “Evolution of Smooth”.

29 “Live Well” supplements retailer : GNC

General Nutrition Centers (GNC) is a retailer of health and nutrition supplements based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1935 as a small health food store in downtown Pittsburgh. There are now about 5,000 stores in the US. The GNC slogan is “Live Well”.

34 Microwave alert : BEEP

The first household microwave oven was introduced to the market in 1955, by the Tappan Stove Company in Ohio.

35 Smidgen : BIT

Our word “smidgen” (sometimes shortened to “smidge”) is used to describe a small amount. The term might come from the Scots word “smitch” that means the same thing or “a small insignificant person”.

36 Relaxing time after hitting the slopes : APRES-SKI

“Après-ski” is a French term meaning “after skiing”. It refers to the good times to be had after coming off the slopes.

39 Polish dumplings : PIEROGI

Pierogi are stuffed dumplings made using unleavened dough, and are a traditional dish from Poland. The term “pierogi” is the Polish name for any filled dumplings.

41 Read a barcode : SCANNED

There are two types of barcode widely used today:

1. Linear, or one-dimensional, barcodes usually comprise vertical black and white lines (“bars”) of varying thickness.
2. Matrix, or two-dimensional, evolved from linear barcodes. They are often square in shape, and are usually made up of an array of rectangles, dots, hexagons and other shapes. A common example is a QR code.

42 With little gusto : TEPIDLY

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in English in the phrase “with gusto” meaning “with great enjoyment”.

51 Sporty car : COUPE

The type of car known as a “coupe” or “coupé” is a closed automobile with two doors. The name comes from the French word “couper” meaning “to cut”. In most parts of the English-speaking world the pronunciation adheres to the original French, but here in most of North America we go with “coop”. The original coupé was a horse-drawn carriage that was cut (coupé) to eliminate the rear-facing passenger seats. That left just a driver and two front-facing passengers. If the driver was left without a roof and out in the open, then the carriage was known as a “coupé de-ville”.

54 British boarding school : ETON

London’s Eton College has three academic terms, although those three terms are known as “halves”. That name dates back to when the school year was split into two halves. The current terms are:

• The Michaelmas Half (early September to mid-December)
• The Lent Half (mid-January to late March)
• The Summer Half (late April to late-June/early-July)

56 “Black and Yellow” rapper __ Khalifa : WIZ

Wiz Khalifa’s breakout hit “Black and Yellow” was deeply intertwined with his Pittsburgh roots. The title references the black and yellow colors of his Dodge Challenger, which are also the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team.