Tag: Had an uplifting experience crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Dish often topped with lime and cilantro : PHO

Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a noodle soup from Vietnam that is a popular street food, and the nation’s unofficial national dish. It is often ordered with a side of hanh dam, pickled white onions.

What we know here in North America as cilantro is called coriander in my home nation of Ireland and in other parts of the world. “Cilantro” is the Spanish name for the herb.

9A Sci-fi warrior : JEDI

The Jedi are the good guys in the “Star Wars” series of movies. The most famous Jedi knights from the films are Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness, and later Ewan McGregor) and Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz). Well, they’re my favorites anyway …

13A One of 22 works by Mozart, but just one work by Beethoven : OPERA

The Austrian composer’s full name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The name “Wolfgang” translates literally as “wolf journey”. Amadeus translates as “love god”!

“Fidelio” is Ludwig van Beethoven’s one and only opera, and a work with which he really struggled. “Fidelio” tells of a woman named Leonore who disguises herself as a prison guard in order to get her condemned husband out of prison.

15A Actor Epps of “House” : OMAR

Omar Epps is the actor who played Eric Foreman on the excellent television series “House”. Prior to playing Dr. Foreman, Epps had a recurring role playing Dr. Dennis Gant on “ER”. He is good friends with actor and comedian Marlon Wayans. Epps and Wayans were classmates at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

19A “Family Guy” character with a nasal voice : LOIS

“Family Guy” is a very successful animated television show. It was created by Seth MacFarlane, the same guy who came up with “American Dad!”. My kids love them both. Me? I can’t stand ‘em …

20A Exec who manages a company’s day-to-day affairs : COO

Chief operating officer (COO)

26A One who has a lot to show? : REALTOR

“Real estate agent” is a general, generic term. “Realtor” is the name given to a member of the trade association known as the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR has gone so far as to trademark the term “Realtor” in the US.

28A Bungee jumping requirement : CORD

The first bungee jump using the modern latex cord was from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England. It was an illegal jump, with all five jumpers getting arrested soon after “hitting” the ground.

29A First name in beauty products : ESTEE

Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales “volume” …

31A Holders of hammers and anvils : EARS

The middle ear is the portion of the ear immediately behind the eardrum. It contains three small bones called the ossicles, the three smallest bones in the human body. The ossicles’ job is to transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. The shape of the bones gives rise to their names: the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes).

36A Marine creatures that can grow to the size of double-decker buses : WHALE SHARKS

The red double-decker bus has become a national symbol of England, and is particularly associated with the London transport system. I am proud to say that my godfather was a London bus driver for many years.

40A Genre for DMX or DMC : RAP

“DMX” and “Dark Man X” were stage names used by rap artist Earl Simmons. DMX’s biggest hit is “Party Up (Up in Here)” released in 1999 (I know that song!). He passed away in 2021.

41A Coffee maker inserts : PODS

A Nespresso machine brews espresso from single-use capsules of ground coffee. The machine was invented by a Nestlé employee in Switzerland in 1976. “Nespresso” is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “espresso”. I’m a big fan, and am drinking a cup of decaf from mine right now …

43A Actor Somerhalder of “Lost” : IAN

Ian Somerhalder got his big break as an actor in the TV drama “Lost”, and followed that up with a part in TV’s “The Vampire Diaries”.

“Lost” is a science fiction drama that originally aired from 2004 to 2010. The show kicks off with a passenger airliner crashing on a tropical island as it flies from Sydney bound for Los Angeles. I haven’t seen the show myself and I hear that the intriguing plot didn’t really come to a satisfying conclusion. Others may disagree …

44A Gas company with a triangular logo : CITGO

The oil and gasoline company Citgo was founded in 1910 as Cities Service Company, a supplier of gas and electricity to public utilities. Cities Service Company introduced the Citgo brand in 1965 in its petroleum businesses. Citgo is now owned by the national oil company of Venezuela.

55A Member of a Tolkien army : ORC

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

J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien was an English author best known by far for his fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”. Although Tolkien lived in England and was a professor at Oxford, he served for many years as an external examiner at my old school, University College Dublin in Ireland.

56A Object in Pixar’s logo : LAMP

Pixar Animation Studios started out as part of Lucasfilm in 1979, George Lucas’s production company. Lucas sold what was to become Pixar to Steve Jobs in 1986. Pixar produced its first feature film in 1995, the fabulous “Toy Story”, and followed up with a string of hits. The company was then sold to Walt Disney in 2006, when valued at $7.4 billion. That transaction resulted in Steve Jobs becoming the biggest shareholder in Walt Disney.

63A School with a larger-than-life bronze statue of Henry VI : ETON

Eton College near Windsor in the south of England was founded way back in 1440 by King Henry VI. Originally known as “The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton beside Wyndsor”, the school was intended to provide free education to poor boys. Free education today at Eton? Not so much …

King Henry VI of England succeeded to the throne when he was just nine months old, making him the youngest monarch ever to sit on the English throne.

65A Irritating “cloud” : GNATS

Gnats have a relatively short lifespan of about 7-10 days.

66A Beech or birch : WOOD

Beech wood is prized as firewood as it burns for many hours with a bright flame and is easily split.

Birch is a hardwood tree. The smooth bark of the birch has eye-like features, leading to the tree’s nickname of “the Watchful Tree”.

67A Ernie who has won the British Open twice : ELS

Ernie Els is a South African golfer. He is a big guy but he has an easy fluid golf swing that has earned him the nickname “The Big Easy”. Els is a former World No. 1 and has won four majors: the US Open (1994 & 1997) and the British Open (2002 & 2012).

68A Shoelace protector : AGLET

An aglet is a plastic or metal sheath found on the end of a shoelace or perhaps a drawstring. The name “aglet” comes from the Old French word “aiguillette” meaning “needle”.

Down

1D Part of a Batman costume : COWL

A cowl is a long garment with a hood that is primarily worn by monks in the Christian tradition. The term “cowl” can also describe the hood itself.

9D Some kicks on Route 66, maybe : JOYRIDE

The famous old highway called Route 66 has largely been replaced by modern interstates. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, right through the heart of America, and so it was often called the “Main Street of America”. The road’s name really came into the public consciousness because of Nat King Cole’s song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, and also because of the sixties TV show called “Route 66”.

10D Bit of info on a résumé : EMAIL

A résumé is a summary of a person’s job experience and education and is used as a tool by a job seeker. In many countries, a résumé is equivalent to a curriculum vitae. “Résumé” is the French word for “summary”.

23D Gumbo, e.g. : STEW

Gumbo is a type of stew or soup that originated in Louisiana. The primary ingredient can be meat or fish, but to be true gumbo it must include the “holy trinity” of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers and onion. Okra used to be a requirement but this is no longer the case. Okra gave the dish its name as the vernacular word for the African vegetable is “ki ngombo”, from the Bantu language spoken by many of the slaves brought to America.

24D Disney villain based on Shakespeare’s King Claudius : SCAR

In the 1994 movie “The Lion King”, the protagonist is Simba, a lion cub born to Mufasa and Sarabi. The main antagonist is Scar, Simba’s uncle and Mufasa’s brother. Simba is voiced by Matthew Broderick, and Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons. “Simba” is Swahili for “lion”.

In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Hamlet’s nemesis is King Claudius, his father’s brother. It’s felt that Shakespeare chose the name “Claudius” as in those days the Roman Emperor Claudius was considered to be the archetype of an evil ruler.

27D The first letter in this gas brand’s logo resembles a backward 3 : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

30D It’s often identified by its last four digits, in brief : SSN

So often, we are asked for “the last four digits” of our Social Security Numbers (SSNs).

45D Slightest idea : INKLING

An inkling is a slight indication or vague notion. The term “inkling” apparently comes from the Middle English word “inclen” meaning “to hint”.

47D Airer of the game show “Wipeout” : TBS

“Wipeout” is a game show featuring contestants working through an obstacle course. The 2021 version of the show is a reboot of an earlier “Wipeout” series that aired from 2008 to 2014.

48D Bess’s beau on Broadway : PORGY

“Porgy and Bess” is an opera with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and libretto by DuBose Heyward. The storyline of the opera is based on the novel “Porgy” written by DuBose Heyward and his wife Dorothy. “Porgy and Bess” was first performed in 1935, in New York City, but really wasn’t accepted as legitimate opera until 1976 after a landmark production by the Houston Grand Opera. The most famous song from the piece is probably the wonderful aria “Summertime”.

49D Eczema symptom : ITCH

Eczema is a form of dermatitis. The term “eczema” comes from the Greek for “to boil over”.

52D Instrument once known as a “toy trumpet” : KAZOO

The modern instrument we know today as the kazoo was invented by one Alabama Vest of Macon, Georgia in the 1800s. The kazoo first came to the public’s attention at the Georgia State Fair of 1852, when it was known as the “Down-South Submarine” (because of its shape, I would imagine …).

60D Broadband letters : LTE

In the world of telecommunications, the initialism LTE stands for Long-Term Evolution, and is wireless broadband communication standard. In general terms, LTE improves broadband speeds. As I understand it, LTE technology allows a 3G network to perform almost as well as a true 4G network, and so LTE is sometimes marketed as 4G LTE, even though it’s really “3G plus”.

62D Big Apple airport code : LGA

Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, racking up three full terms in office. The famous airport that bears La Guardia’s name was built at his urging, stemming from an incident that took place while he was in office. He was taking a TWA flight to “New York” and was outraged when the plane landed at Newark Airport, in the state of New Jersey. The Mayor demanded that the flight take off again and land at a small airport in Brooklyn. A gaggle of press reporters joined him on the short hop and he gave them a story, urging New Yorkers to support the construction of a new commercial airport within the city’s limits. The new airport, in Queens, opened in 1939 as New York Municipal, often called “LaGuardia” as a nickname. The airport was officially relabeled as “LaGuardia” (LGA) in 1947.