Tag: Criticize very harshly crossword clue

Bill’s time: 7m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Las ___, Canary Islands : PALMAS

The Spanish province of Las Palmas comprises about half of the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa. The archipelago as a whole is better known as the “Canary Islands” in English. The province takes its name from Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canaria island.

7A Device with an addictive aerosol, for short : E-CIG

Strictly speaking, the term “aerosol” defines a suspension of either liquid droplets or solid particles in a gas. A good example of an aerosol is smoke. We tend to use the word “aerosol” to describe what comes out of a spray can, even though the liquid droplets usually fall out of the gas and don’t stay suspended.

15A “Hello ___” (smartphone tagline) : MOTO

The original Motorola is now two independent companies called Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. Motorola started in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago. Founder Paul V. Galvin created the brand name “Motorola” for a car radio the company developed in 1930. He linked “motor” (meaning “car”) with “-ola” (meaning “sound”), implying “sound in motion”.

17A Campfire cookout, informally : WEENIE ROAST

“Wienie” and “weenie” are informal variants of “wiener”.

20A Jake ___, 1980 Oscar-winning role for Robert De Niro : LAMOTTA

I just do not like boxing, nor movies about boxing, but I certainly accept that “Raging Bull” is a true cinema classic. It is a biopic released in 1980, with Robert De Niro starring as Jake LaMotta, and Martin Scorsese directing. Famously, De Niro gained about 70 pounds in weight to play LaMotta in his early years, showing true dedication to his craft.

31A Indian yogurt dish : RAITA

Raita is a condiment served in Indian restaurants that is made from yogurt flavored with coriander, cumin, mint and cayenne pepper.

34A Susceptible to bribery : VENAL

Someone described as “venal” is open to bribery. The term ultimately derives from the Latin word “venum” meaning “for sale”.

41A Unit of magnetic flux density : TESLA

The tesla unit measures the strength of a magnetic field, or more precisely the magnetic flux density. It is named for the physicist Nikola Tesla. He was born in a village in modern-day Croatia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and later moved to the US. His work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

42A One who says “Hell if I know!”? : SATAN

Satan is the bringer of evil and temptation in the Abrahamic religions. The name “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary”.

44A Letter-shaped part of a blueprint : ELL

Blueprints are reproductions of technical or architectural drawings that are contact prints made on light-sensitive sheets. They were introduced in the 1800s and the technology available dictated that the drawings were reproduced with white lines on a blue background, hence the name “blue-print”.

46A Part of every day, in Italy : ORA

In Italian, an “ora” (hour) comprises “sessanta minuti” (sixty minutes).

47A Improvised instrument in folk music : JUG

A jug band features a jug player, as well as others playing ordinary objects perhaps modified to make sound. One such instrument is the washtub bass. The “tub” is a stringed instrument that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. A washboard might also be used in a jug band, as a percussion instrument. The ribbed surface of the washboard is usually scraped using thimbles on the ends of the fingers.

48A Pugilist’s pain point, perhaps : BRUISED RIB

“Pugilism”, another word for “boxing”, comes from the Latin “pugil” meaning “boxer”. In turn, “pugil” derives from “pugnus”, the word for “fist”.

57A Short-term job : GIG

Musicians use “gig” to describe a job, a performance. The term originated in the early 1900s in the world of jazz. The derivative phrase “gig economy” applies to a relatively recent phenomenon where workers find themselves jumping from temporary job to temporary job, from gig to gig.

58A Seattle landmark from which Mount Rainier can be seen : SPACE NEEDLE

The famed Seattle landmark called the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. It stands at a height of 605 feet, and was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

64A Further out there : ZANIER

Something described as zany is clownish and bizarre. “Zany” can also be a noun, a term used for a clown or buffoon. The original noun was “Zanni”, a Venetian dialect variant of Gianni, short for Giovanni (John). Zanni was a character who appeared in comedy plays of the day, and was someone who aped the principal actors.

65A Flanders of “The Simpsons” : NED

Ned Flanders lives next door to Homer Simpson on TV’s “The Simpsons”. Ned was married to Maude, with whom he had two children Rod and Todd. Maude died in an accident involving a T-shirt cannon. Ned is voiced by actor Harry Shearer, and has been around since the very first episode aired in 1989.

Down

3D Gymnast Suni : LEE

Suni Lee is an American gymnast who won the women’s artistic individual all-around event at the 2020 Olympics. A few weeks after her victory in Tokyo, Lee competed in the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars”, finishing in 5th place.

4D Virile : MANLY

“Vir” is the Latin word for “man”. It is the root of our word “virile”, for example, meaning “manly”.

5D It’s west of the Bering Strait : ASIA

The Bering Strait lies between Russia and Alaska, and is just below the Arctic Circle. It is just 53 miles wide, and only an average of 100-150 feet in depth. It has long been speculated that when sea levels were lower there was a land bridge where the strait is today. This would have allowed humans to walk between Asia and North America, with the assumption being that the original population of the Americas migrated here from Asia.

8D Mammal with a long ringed tail : COATI

The coati is a member of the raccoon family that is native to Central and South America, but can also be found in the southwest of the United States. You can read online, everywhere, that it is also known as the Brazilian aardvark. Not true. A 17-year-old student inserted the name into a Wikipedia article about the coati in 2008, resulting in the term being used everywhere: tons of websites, newspapers, academic books on natural history, and even this blog (said he, shamed).

11D Dish with vinegared rice : SUSHI

Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If we want raw fish by itself, then we have to order sashimi.

18D One way to spell relief, per ads : ROLAIDS

The Rolaids brand of antacid was invented in the 1950s. The “Rolaids” name came from the fact that the original packaging was a foil “roll”. The product has a tagline: Rolaids—that’s how you spell relief. That slogan dates back to a 1970s TV campaign:

How do you spell relief?
R-O-L-A-I-D-S

21D Crafts, in Córdoba : ARTES

Córdoba is a city in Andalusia in southern Spain that is sometimes referred to as “Cordova” in English. Córdoba might be the right destination for anyone seeking out a warm vacation spot in Spain. The city has the highest average summer temperatures in the whole of Europe.

24D Leaps for Michelle Kwan : AXELS

Michelle Kwan is perhaps the most successful American figure skater in history. As well as being an Olympic medalist twice, World champion five times, Kwan was US champion a record nine times.

26D Fine cigar : HAVANA

The production of all cigars and cigarettes in Cuba is managed by a state tobacco company called Cubatabaco. The marketing and distribution of all Cuban tobacco products is handled by Habanos, which is a subsidiary of Cubatabaco. Habanos works with just one company in each country where it markets products. As a result, customers seeking out genuine Cuban cigars know that there is a limited and defined list of suppliers around the world.

32D Madre’s hermana : TIA

In Spanish, the “hermana” (sister) of your “madre” (mother) is your “tía” (aunt).

33D French author ___ de Saint-Exupéry : ANTOINE

“Le Petit Prince” is a celebrated French novella written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and first published in 1943. “Le Petit Prince” (The Little Prince) is the most read book in France, and the book most translated from French. The philosophical tale recounts the story of a stranded pilot meeting a young prince who falls to Earth from an asteroid. Saint-Exupéry was himself a pioneering aviator. He wrote “Le Petit Prince” while living in exile in the US due to the German occupation of France during WWII.

35D Stealthy spy with a blowgun : NINJA

The ninjas were around in Japan at the time of the samurai, but were a very different type of warrior. The ninjas were covert operatives, specializing in the use of stealth to accomplish their missions. As they were a secretive cadre they took on a mystical reputation with the public, who believed they had the ability to become invisible or perhaps walk on water. We now use the term “ninja” figuratively, to describe anyone highly skilled in a specific field.

36D It may follow deuce : AD OUT

In tennis, if the score reaches deuce (i.e. when both players have scored three points), then the first player to win two points in a row wins the game. The player who wins the point immediately after deuce is said to have the advantage. If the player with the advantage wins the next point then that’s two in a row and that player wins the game. If the person with the advantage loses the next point, then advantage is lost and the players return to deuce and try again. The player calling out the score announces “ad in”, or more formally “advantage in”, if he/she has the advantage. If the score announcer’s opponent has the advantage, then the announcement is “ad out” or “advantage out”. Follow all of that …?

39D Designer Calvin : KLEIN

Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer who was born in the Bronx in New York City. Klein’s biography, entitled “Obsession”, is named for one of the most famous brands in his line of fragrances.

40D Hummus bean : GARBANZO

The garbanzo, or chickpea, is absolutely my favorite legume to eat.

The lovely dip/spread called hummus usually contains mashed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. The name “hummus” is an Arabic word for “chickpeas”.

45D Piece of goalie gear : LEG PAD

That would be hockey.

51D “Fire-breather” in the night sky : DRACO

The constellation Draco is said to resemble a dragon or serpent. The name “Draco” is Latin for “dragon”. It is located in the northern sky right beside the constellation Ursa Minor.

53D Shenzi in “The Lion King,” e.g. : HYENA

Among the group of lions at the center of “The Lion King” story, young Simba is the heir apparent and the lion cub destined to take over as leader of the pride. His uncle is jealous of Simba, and plots with a trio of hyenas to kill Simba, so that he can take his position. The uncle was originally named Taka (according to books) but he was given the name Scar after being injured by a buffalo. The trio of hyenas are called Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

59D Relatively short Morse code bit : DIT

Samuel Morse was a very accomplished and reputable painter (he was engaged to paint a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, for example). In 1825 Morse was in Washington working on a commissioned painting when he received a one-line letter by horse-messenger telling him that his wife was ill. He left immediately for his home in New Haven, Connecticut but by the time that Morse arrived his wife had already died and had been buried. This single event spurred him to move from painting to the development of a rapid means of long distance communication, leading to the single-wire telegraph and Morse code.