Tag: Dillydallies crossword clue

Bill’s time: 19m 03s

Bill’s errors: 2

• DISCS (disks)
• ORC (ork)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Yankee Stadium has 24 of these : ACRES

Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in New York City cost $2.3 billion to construct, making it the most expensive baseball stadium ever built. $1.2 billion of that cost was covered using public funds.

10 Org. with X-rays : TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the agency that employs the good folks who check passengers and baggage at airports.

13 Shape of a heron’s neck : ESS

Herons are birds with long legs that inhabit freshwater and coastal locales. Some herons are routinely referred to as egrets, and others as bitterns. Herons look a lot like storks and cranes, but differ in their appearance in flight. Herons fly with their necks retracted in an S-shape, whereas storks and cranes have their necks extended.

17 Bag for a diamond : BASE

That might be baseball.

18 Yellowfin tuna : AHI

Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.

19 Cheney and Harris, informally : VEEPS

In 2000, Dick Cheney was called upon by then-Governor George W. Bush to head up the search for a running mate for Bush in the presidential election. After a few months’ search, Bush turned things on their head by asking Cheney to join him on the ticket.

Kamala Harris was a US Senator for California starting in 2017, after serving for six years as the Attorney General of California. In early 2019, Harris announced her run for the Democratic nomination for US president in the 2020 election. Although she dropped out of the race, she was chosen by eventual nominee Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. When the Biden-Harris ticket won the election, Harris became the highest-ranking female politician in the history of the US.

25 Marsh birds : EGRETS

Egrets are a group of several species of white herons. Many egret species were faced with extinction in the 1800s and early 1900s due to plume hunting, a practice driven by the demand for egret plumes that could be incorporated into hats.

27 Clubs often require them, for short : IDS

Identity document (ID)

36 Bouquet : FRAGRANCE

“Bouquet” comes from the French word for “bunch” in the sense of “bunch of flowers”. In French, the term is derived from an older word describing a little wood or small grove of trees. We started using “bouquet” to mean “perfume from a wine” in the early 1800s.

40 Bolívar who was known as “the Liberator” : SIMON

Simón Bolívar was a military and political leader who led a revolution that overthrew Spanish rule in Venezuela. Bolívar’s military exploits continued after independence, resulting in the conquest of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The latter was named for Simón Bolívar.

42 Reggae-like genre : SKA

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of a sound.

46 Singer White with the 1991 #1 hit “Romantic” : KARYN

Karyn White is a singer from Los Angeles who had hits in the late eighties and early nineties, including a number one in 1991 called “Romantic”. White dropped out of the music scene in 1999 to start a family.

48 Actress de Matteo : DREA

Drea de Matteo is an actress who is most familiar to me for playing Adriana la Cerva on HBO’s wonderful series “The Sopranos”. De Matteo also played Joey’s sister on the short-lived “Friends” spin-off called “Joey”, and the character Angie Bolen on “Desperate Housewives”.

50 Inits. on some handbags : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

55 End-of-semester form: Abbr. : EVAL

Evaluation (eval.)

“Semester” is a German word from the Latin “semestris”, an adjective meaning “of six months”. We use the term in a system that divides an academic year into two roughly equal parts. A trimester-system has three parts, and a quarter-system has four.

59 Big name in jet skis : SEA-DOO

Sea-Doo is a brand name of personal watercraft (PWC). Other well-known brands are Jet Ski and WaveRunner.

63 Stylish flair : ECLAT

“Éclat” can describe a brilliant show of success, as well as the applause or accolade that one receives for that success. The word “éclat” derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

66 Necessities for drug approvals : TRIALS

In the scientific procedure called a single-blind trial, the subjects do not know whether or not they are in the test group or the control group, but the researcher does. In a double-blind trial, neither the subjects nor the researcher know who is in the test and control groups, until the study is completed.

68 English landing spot : AERODROME

An aerodrome is a facility where aircraft take off and land. An aerodrome could be a small airstrip, a large commercial airport or even a military airbase. The term “aerodrome” is used quite often in the UK, but rarely here in the US.

71 Seat for the Queen? : ARSE

Well, the word “arse” would never make it into a crossword on the other side of the pond, as it would be considered too rude. I have a similar reaction to the word “shag” as in “The Spy Who Shagged Me”. The film would never have been released with that title in the UK.

73 Egyptian symbol of life : ANKH

The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character for “eternal life”. The ankh wasn’t just used in inscriptions but was often fashioned into amulets and as surrounds for mirrors (perhaps symbolizing a view into another world). The ankh is also known as “the key of the Nile” and “crux ansata” (Latin for “cross with a handle”).

76 John Cho’s role in “Star Trek” films : SULU

John Cho is an actor and musician who was born in Seoul, South Korea but has lived in the US since he was a young boy. Cho’s break in movies came in playing Harold Lee in the ”Harold & Kumar” films. He is now making a name for himself playing Mr. Sulu in the latest “Star Trek” movies.

78 Spill the tea : DISH

To spill the beans is to divulge a secret. The expression first appeared in American English, in the early 1900s. The phrase arose as an alternative to “spoil the beans” or “upset the applecart”. The similarly meaning phrase “spill the tea” is more prevalent on the other side of the Atlantic.

To dish the dirt is to talk about someone or something without regard to veracity. The phrase comes from “dish” (in the sense of dishing out food) and “dirt” (in the sense of negative information). To be dishy is to be given to gossip.

85 Setting of two Shakespeare plays : VERONA

Well, I suppose just two of Shakespeare’s plays were primarily set in Verona, namely “Romeo and Juliet” and “Two Gentlemen of Verona”. However, “The Taming of the Shrew” features Verona, as well the primary setting of Padua.

88 Edith Wharton’s “ruin of a man” : ETHAN FROME

“Ethan Frome” is a novel by New York and Massachusetts author Edith Wharton, first published in 1911. Wharton started “Ethan Frome” as a composition in French that she wrote while studying the language in Paris. The novel was adapted into a 1993 film of the same name starring Liam Neeson in the title role, opposite Patricia Arquette.

94 Bearer of roses, maybe : BEAU

A beau (plural “beaux”) is the boyfriend of a belle, a young lady. “Beau” and “belle” are the masculine and feminine forms of the French word for “handsome, beautiful”.

97 Aunt ___ (role on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) : VIV

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” sitcom originally ran from 1990 to 1996. It starred Will Smith as a teenager from Philadelphia who arrives in Bel Air to live in a mansion with his wealthy aunt and uncle.

106 Edify : TEACH

To edify is to provide instruction in order to improve spiritually, morally or intellectually. The intent is to “build up” someone’s faith or morality, and so “edify” comes from the Latin “aedificare” meaning “to build, construct”. This Latin root also gives us our word “edifice”, meaning “massive building”.

107 Rikishi’s sport : SUMO

“Rikishi” is the term used for a sumo wrestler. “Rikishi” translates from Japanese as “strong man”.

110 First pope to be called “the Great” : ST LEO

The first pope named Leo is now known as Pope Saint Leo the Great. Leo I is famous for meeting with the feared Attila the Hun and persuading him to turn back his invading force that was threatening to overrun Western Europe.

111 Dillydallies : DAWDLES

To dillydally is to loiter, delay. The verb “to dally” also means “to linger, dawdle”, and so “dillydally” is simply a duplication of “dally”, one that dates back to the mid-1700s.

114 “In Search of Lost Time” novelist : PROUST

Marcel Proust was a French writer famous for the enormous and much respected novel “In Search of Lost Time”. Graham Greene called Proust “the greatest novelist of the twentieth century”, and W. Somerset Maugham dubbed “In Search of Lost Time” as the “greatest fiction to date”. “In Search of Lost Time” is a very, very long novel. It is divided into seven volumes and was first published in 1913-1927. The first of the volumes is called “Swann’s Way”.

115 Aphorism that’s visually depicted five times in this puzzle’s grid : ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

The expression “all roads lead to Rome” is used to mean “whatever way we do this, we’ll get the same result”. The phrase has been used since the 1100s and probably even earlier than that. The expression arises because the ancient Roman road system had all major roads radiating from Rome like spokes on a wheel.

122 Ultimate needs : DISCS

Ultimate is a team sport that is similar to football or rugby in that the goal is to get a flying disc into an endzone or goal area. The sport used to be called “Ultimate Frisbee”, but the “Frisbee” was dropped as it is a registered trademark.

Down

1 Rosebud ravager : APHID

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

2 Latin for “I believe” : CREDO

A creed or credo is a profession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

3 Some black-and-white pictures : RORSCHACH CARDS

The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which a subject is asked to interpret a series of inkblots. The test was created by Swiss Freudian psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach in the 1920s.

4 Prone to brooding, say : EMO

“Emo” is short for “emotional hardcore”.

6 Stacey of Georgia politics : ABRAMS

Stacey Abrams is a politician and voting rights activist who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017. In 2019, she delivered the Democratic Party’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, and became the first African-American woman to do so.

7 Easternmost leg of I-90, familiarly : MASS PIKE

I-90 runs in an east-west direction from Seattle to Boston, and is the longest interstate in the US. When I-90 was built, it made use of several existing roads, including the Massachusetts Turnpike, New York State Thruway, Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, Chicago Skyway, and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway.

The Massachusetts Turnpike (aka “Mass Pike”) is a 138-mile stretch of Interstate 90.

9 Opus ___ : DEI

Opus Dei is a Roman Catholic institution that was founded in Spain in 1928, and officially approved by the church in 1950. In 2010, Opus Dei had over 90,000 members, mostly lay people. The institution’s mission is to promote certain aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine. Opus Dei was portrayed as a sinister organization by Dan Brown in his novel “The Da Vinci Code”.

14 Rocker Bob with 10 top 10 albums : SEGER

Bob Seger struggled as a performing artist right through the sixties and early seventies before becoming a commercial success in 1976 with the release of his album “Night Moves”. Since then, Seger has recorded songs that have become classics like “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Like a Rock” and “Old Time Rock & Roll”.

15 Casper competitor : 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

20 One side of D.C.’s Federal Triangle : PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. is sometimes called “America’s Main Street”, as it runs between the White House and the US Capitol. The exact reason why this important thoroughfare was given the name “Pennsylvania” seems to be unclear. One favored theory is that it was a gesture to the state of Pennsylvania after moving the country’s capital from Philadelphia.

23 Nail polish brand : OPI

Opi (originally “Odontorium Products Inc.”) is a manufacturer of nail polish based in North Hollywood, California. One of Opi’s marketing coups was the introduction of a line of Legally Blonde 2 polishes, which featured in the film.

24 Where all the people that come and go stop and say “hello,” in a 1967 hit : PENNY LANE

When in their teens, Paul McCartney and John Lennon would often head into the center of Liverpool together on the bus. The convenient place for them to meet was at the end of Penny Lane. Years later, Paul McCartney wrote the song “Penny Lane”, which was a big hit in 1967. “Penny Lane” was released as a double A-side record with “Strawberry Fields Forever” penned by John Lennon. Coincidentally, Strawberry Field was also a real location, not far from Penny Lane in Liverpool. Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army Children’s Home in the garden of which Lennon would play as a child. I don’t think Lennon and McCartney ever really forgot their roots …

32 Former N.Y.C. mayor Ed : KOCH

Ed Koch was a Democratic Representative in the US Congress from 1969-73, and then Mayor of New York City from 1978-89. From 1997 to 1999 Koch was a “judge” on the TV show “The People’s Court”. And in 2004, he collaborated with his sister Pat Koch, and wrote a children’s book called “Eddie, Harold’s Little Brother”, a tale about Ed’s own childhood experiences.

34 Actress Thurman : UMA

Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s moll Mia in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from acting from 1998 until 2002 following the birth of her first child. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.

37 Noted shopping mecca : RODEO DRIVE

There’s a three-block stretch of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California that is known for expensive shopping, mainly in designer clothes stores. The surrounding business district is known as the Beverly Hills “Golden Triangle”, which extends from Wilshire to Santa Monica Boulevards. The triangle is a mecca for shoppers and tourists.

43 Transport on the slopes : T-BAR

A T-bar is a ski lift on which the skiers are pulled up the hill in pairs, with each pair standing (not sitting!) either side of a T-shaped metal bar. The bar is placed behind the thighs, pulling along the skiers as they remain standing on their skis (hopefully!). There’s also a J-bar, which is a similar device but with each J-shaped bar used by one skier at a time.

45 Celebrity chef DiSpirito : ROCCO

Rocco DiSpirito is a celebrity chef from New York City. He was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2008, and did quite well in the competition.

54 Fictional documentarian from Kazakhstan : BORAT

The full name of the 2006 “mockumentary” is “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”. Borat is played by a British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Not my cup of tea …

56 Provider of a ball of thread, in myth : ARIADNE

In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, the King of Crete and master of the Minotaur. Minos charged his daughter with control of the labyrinth that housed the Minotaur. However, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus, who had vowed to kill the Minotaur, and she helped him fulfill his mission. In other myths, Ariadne became the bride of the god Dionysus.

61 ___ Club : ELKS

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in 1868, and is a social club that has about a million members today. It started out as a group of men getting together in a “club” in order to get around the legal opening hours of taverns in New York City. The club took on a new role as it started to look out for poor families of members who passed away. The club now accepts African Americans as members (since the seventies) and women (since the nineties), but atheists still aren’t welcome. The list of US presidents that have been members of the BPOE includes Presidents Eisenhower, Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Ford.

64 Neighbor of Curaçao : ARUBA

Aruba is one of the so-called ABC islands located off the northern coast of Venezuela. “ABC Islands” is a name given to the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. The nickname comes from the first letters of the island names: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. All three of the ABC islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

74 Memo opener, often : FYI

For your information (FYI)

80 Downwind locales for ships : LEE SHORES

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather. The sheltered side of an island, for example, might be referred to as the “lee” side.

81 “Now!” : STAT!

The exact etymology of “stat”, a term meaning “immediately” in the medical profession, seems to have been lost in the mists of time. It probably comes from the Latin “statim” meaning “to a standstill, immediately”.

86 “Listen!,” in León : OYE!

León is a province in the autonomous community of Castile and León in the northwest of Spain. The province’s capital is the city of León, which was founded as a Roman military encampment around 29 BC.

94 Of whom Celine Dion said “If God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like …” : BOCELLI

Andrea Bocelli is a classically-trained tenor from Italy who sings popular music, and hence is a so-called cross-over artist. Bocelli was born with poor eyesight and then became totally blind at the age of 12 when he had an accident playing soccer.

96 ___ Schneider, winningest woman in “Jeopardy!” history : AMY

Amy Schneider was a contestant on the game show “Jeopardy” who had the second-longest winning streak in the history of the show (40 games). Host of the show during her streak was Ken Jennings. Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak (74 games).

98 “___ the economy, stupid!” : IT’S

As a tactic to keep workers on message during Governor Bill Clinton’s first run for US president, campaign manager James Carville put up a sign in the campaign headquarters:

1. Change vs. more of the same
2. The economy, stupid
3. Don’t forget health care

101 Paul who was People magazine’s 2021 Sexiest Man Alive : RUDD

I think Paul Rudd is a very talented actor. He has played a variety of roles in movies but is probably best known on television for playing Phoebe Buffay’s boyfriend and then husband on the sitcom “Friends”.

There used to be a “People” page in each issue of “Time” magazine. This page was spun-off in 1974 as a publication of its own, which we now call “People” magazine. “People” is noted for its annual special editions with features such as “Best & Worst Dressed” and “Sexiest Man Alive”. The “Sexiest Man Alive” edition now appears at the end of November each year. The first choice for “Sexiest Man” was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

104 Coup result : OUSTER

A coup d’état (often just “coup”) is the sudden overthrow of a government, and comes from the French for “stroke of state”. The Swiss-German word “putsch” is sometimes used instead of “coup”, with “Putsch” translating literally as “sudden blow”. We also use the abbreviated “coup” to mean “sudden, brilliant and successful act”.

105 Member of Gen Z, jocularly : ZOOMER

Definitions vary, but it seems that the term “Generation Z” is reserved for the children of “Generation X”, and for the generation that follows the “Millennials” (Generation Y).

113 Title on Netflix’s “Bridgerton” : LADY

“Bridgerton” is a fascinating period drama TV series based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Most of the action takes place in London’s high society during the Regency Era. An intriguing element is the show’s approach to race. There is a common, albeit unfounded, assertion that King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte was of African descent. “Bridgerton” runs with this assertion, portraying the era’s society as quite diverse.

116 Any of the Uruk-hai in “The Lord of the Rings” : ORC

According to Tolkien, Orcs are small humanoids that live in his fantasy world of Middle-earth (also called “Mordor”). They are very ugly and dirty, and are fond of eating human flesh.

118 Fútbol cry : OLE!

In Spanish, a “fútbol” (football, soccer) supporter might shout “olé!” (bravo!).