Tag: Choice of juice? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 8m 57s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5. Cloned machine of old : IBM PC

In the early days of desktop computing, an IBM clone (also “PC clone”) was a computer built by an IBM competitor that was designed to function just like an IBM, but without using any copyrighted material or trade secrets that were the intellectual property of IBM. Clones were always a competitive issue for IBM, and perhaps were part of the reason that IBM doesn’t make desktop computers today …

10. Something to hold near a skunk : NOSE

Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

14. Matty who once had a National League batting title : ALOU

Matty Alou played major league baseball, as did his brothers Jesus and Felipe, and as did Felipe’s son Moises.

20. “Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions” author : STEINEM

Gloria Steinem is a journalist whose name is very much associated with the feminist movement of the late sixties and early seventies. Steinem co-founded “Ms.” magazine with fellow-feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes.

23. One of the Kennedys : TED

Ted Kennedy was the youngest boy in a family that included older brothers Joseph Jr. (killed in action in WWII), John (assassinated) and Robert (assassinated). Ted went into the US Senate in 1962 in a special election held after his brother became US President. He remained in the Senate until he passed away in 2009, making Ted Kennedy the fourth-longest-serving Senator in history. The 2017 movie “Chappaquiddick” gives some insight, albeit somewhat speculative, about the darker side of Ted Kennedy’s life. It focuses on events surrounding the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in which Kennedy drove off a bridge, resulting in the death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.

24. Zeno’s birthplace : ELEA

Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher who lived in Elea, a Greek colony in Southern Italy. Zeno is famous for his paradoxes, a set of problems that really make you think! In the problem known as “Achilles and the Tortoise”, Zeno tells us that Achilles races a tortoise, giving the tortoise a head start (of say 100 meters). By the time Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, the tortoise will have moved on, albeit only a small distance. Achilles then sets his sights on the tortoise’s new position and runs to it. Again the tortoise has moved ahead a little. Achilles keeps on moving to the tortoise’s new position but can never actually catch his slower rival. Or can he …?

26. ___ anglais (English horn) : COR

The English horn is also known by its French name “cor anglais”. It is a double-reed woodwind instrument.

33. Comic strip reporter Brenda : STARR

“Brenda Starr” is a comic strip created by Dale Messick. The strip is somewhat unique in the world of syndicated comics in that it was created by a woman, and has been drawn by women ever since Messick retired in 1980. The storyline features Brenda Starr who lives through exciting and exotic adventures and romances.

38. Strike zones? : LANES

In bowling, a spare is recorded on a score sheet with a forward slash mark. A strike is recorded with a large letter X.

40. Invective, e.g. : ABUSE

Invective is abusive language.

41. Choice of juice? : AC/DC

Anyone with a laptop with an external power supply has an AC/DC converter, that big “block” in the power cord. It converts the AC current from a wall socket into the DC current that is used by the laptop.

44. Catchphrase for Moe Howard : WHY, I OUGHTA

“Moe Howard” was the stage name of Moses Harry Horwitz. Howard was one of the Three Stooges. In 1925, he married Helen Schonberger, who was a cousin of Harry Houdini.

46. 1990s game disk : POG

The game of pogs was originally played with bottle caps from POG fruit juice. The juice was named for its constituents, passion fruit, orange and guava.

47. Plethora : SEA

“Plethora” is such a lovely word, I think. It means “a lot of”, and usually in the sense of “too much”. This usage dates back to about 1700, and before that “plethora” was a word used in the medical field to describe an “excess of bodily fluid”.

48. Reindeer in “Frozen” : SVEN

“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. Spoiler alert: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seems to be a good guy for most of the film, but turns out to be a baddie in the end. And, a snowman named Olaf provides some comic relief.

50. Texting qualifier : IMO

In my opinion (IMO)

57. Hit 1992 film with a 2019 live-action remake : ALADDIN

The Disney animated feature “Aladdin” was released in 1992 and is one of the best movies to come out of the studio, in my opinion, largely due to the great performance by Robin Williams who voiced the Genie. “Aladdin” was the most successful film of 1992, earning over $500 million worldwide, an unusual feat for an animated movie.

59. Wind in a pit : OBOE

When you hear an orchestra tuning before a performance, you’ll note (pun!) that the oboe starts off the process by playing an “A”. The rest of the musicians in turn tune to that oboe’s “A”.

62. Bawl (out) : REAM

I must admit that I find the slang term “to ream out”, with its meaning “to scold harshly”, to be quite distasteful. The usage of the word as a reprimand dates back to about 1950.

63. Going green? : ENVIOUS

William Shakespeare was one of the first to associate the color green with envy. He called jealousy the “green-eyed monster” in his play “Othello”.

64. What you might call a Friend : THEE

Members of the Religious Society of Friends are known as Friends or Quakers. The Christian sect started in England in the 1640s, led by George Fox. The principal tenet at that point was that Christians could have direct experience of Jesus Christ without the mediation of clergy, a reflection of the increasing dissatisfaction with the established church at that time. The term “Quaker” is thought to have been used earlier in reference to foreign religious sects whose followers were given to fits of shaking during religious fervor. Somehow that term became used for members of the Religious Society of Friends.

65. $$$ holders : ATMS

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)

66. Martini & ___ (vermouth) : ROSSI

The company that is today known as Martini & Rossi was started in the mid-1800s in Italy, by Alessandro Martini and Luigi Rossi (and a third partner who sold out years later). From day one it was focused on bottling the fortified wine known as vermouth. Nowadays, the company is also famous for its sparkling wines, and its sponsorship of Grand Prix racing teams. And yes, the famous cocktail is probably named for Mr. Martini.

67. Word processing function : SORT

Microsoft Word was introduced in 1981 as Multi-Tool Word for Xenix (Xenix is a discontinued version of the Unix operating system). I used to be a power user of Word, but now use Google Drive for all of my word processing needs.

Down

2. Wash out with a solvent : ELUTE

Elution is a technique that I used to employ many years ago when I worked as a biochemist. Elution is the extraction of one material from a mixture by washing it out with a solvent. Often this is done with the help of solid substance that adsorbs one material in the mixture so that the second, unadsorbed material can easily be dissolved and collected.

3. Like Druids : ROBED

Druids were priests of Celtic Europe during the Iron Age.

4. “Certainement!” : OUI OUI!

In French, an emphatic “oui” (yes) might be said as “certainement!” (certainly!).

5. What the Genius Bar provides : IT HELP

The technical support desk found in Apple Retail Stores is rather inventively called the Genius Bar. The certified support technicians are known as “Geniuses”. The trainees are called GYOs: Grow-Your-Own-Geniuses.

6. Wetland or rain forest : BIOME

I tend to think of “biome” as another word for “ecosystem”.

7. “Holy Toledo!” : MAN!

The origin of the term “Holy Toledo!” is much debated. My favorite story is that it comes from the days of Vaudeville. Back then the week before Easter, known as Holy Week, was the worst week at the box office. Old Vaudeville entertainers used to quip that any week in Toledo was Holy Week, that ticket sales were always bad there. They referred to the city as “Holy Toledo”.

8. Party that often has an after-party : PROM

A prom is a formal dance held upon graduation from high school (we call them “formals” over in Ireland). The term “prom” is short for “promenade”, the name given to a type of dance or ball.

9. Santiago de León de ___ (formal name of a world capital) : CARACAS

Caracas is the capital of Venezuela, and is located in the north of the country. The original settlement of Caracas was named by the Spanish using the name of a local indigenous tribe.

10. Noted artist on Bad Boy Records, with “the” : NOTORIOUS BIG

“The Notorious B.I.G.” was the stage name of rap star Christopher Wallace, who also went by the names “Biggie Smalls” and “Biggie”. While at the height of his fame Wallace was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, a murder case that has never been solved. The 2009 movie “Notorious” is about Wallace’s life and stars fellow rap artist Jamal Woolard (aka Gravy) in the title role.

11. Take too much of, in brief : OD ON

Overdose (OD)

12. Winnebago, for one : SIOUAN

The Winnebago people of Nebraska takes their name from the Fox River that flows below what is now called Lake Winnebago in eastern Wisconsin. The muddy water of the river led to the people nearby being named “winepyekoha” in the Potawatomi language, which translates as “person of the dirty water”.

13. “Cómo ___ usted?” : ESTA

“¿Cómo está usted?” is the more formal way of asking, “How are you?” in Spanish.

22. E.N.T., e.g. : DOC

Ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT)

25. Well-run meetings have them : AGENDAS

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

29. 1970s N.L. powerhouse : REDS

The Red Scare (i.e. anti-communist sentiment) following WWII had such an effect on the populace that it even caused the Cincinnati baseball team to change its name from the Reds. The team was called the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953-1958, as the management was fearful of losing money due to public distrust of any association with “Reds”.

33. Deli dish : SLAW

The term “coleslaw” is an Anglicized version of the Dutch name “koolsla”, which in itself is a shortened form of “Koolsalade” meaning “cabbage salad”.

34. Instrument with a needle, for short : TACH

The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer in a car measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).

35. First name in pop art : ANDY

American artist Andy Warhol was a leader in the pop art movement that emerged in the mid-1950s. Many of his works became the most expensive paintings ever sold. A 1963 Warhol canvas titled “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” fetched over 100 million dollars in 2013.

36. Bowling a 300, e.g. : FEAT

Bowling has been around for an awfully long time. The oldest known reference to the game is in Egypt, where pins and balls were found in an ancient tomb that is over 5,000 years old. The first form of the game to come to America was nine-pin bowling, which had been very popular in Europe for centuries. In 1841 in Connecticut, nine-pin bowling was banned due to its association with gambling. Supposedly, an additional pin was added to get around the ban, and ten-pin bowling was born.

46. House speaker after Hastert : PELOSI

Nancy Pelosi is a former Speaker of the House, and the 60th person to hold that position. Ms. Pelosi represents a district not far from here, which covers most of San Francisco. She was the first Californian, the first Italian-American and the first woman to be Speaker of the House. As Speaker, she was also second in line, after the Vice President, to take over if President Obama could not finish his term. That made Nancy Pelosi the highest-ranking female politician in US history.

Dennis Hastert served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007, making him the longest-serving Republican in history to hold the office. Hastert resigned his seat in 2007 to become a lobbyist. It emerged some years later that Hastert had molested young boys during his teaching career in the 1970s. As a result, he served 13 months in prison. That makes Hastert the highest-ranking US politician to have spent time behind bars.

50. Home of Shoshone Falls : IDAHO

Shoshone Falls is a major waterfall on the Snake River in southern Idaho. Shoshone Falls is sometimes referred to as the Niagara of the West, and is actually 45 feet taller than Niagara Falls.

53. Author ___ Neale Hurston : ZORA

Zora Neale Hurston was an American author who was most famous for her 1937 novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.

55. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM

Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguistics at MIT. Chomsky is known as one of the fathers of modern linguistics.

56. ___-Japanese War : SINO

There were two Sino-Japanese Wars. The first was fought in 1894-95 over control of Korea. The second was fought between 1931 and 1945, eventually becoming part of WWII.