Tag: Huggers crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5A Greek goddess swallowed by her father and rescued by her future husband : HERA

In Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus and the goddess of women, marriage, family and childbirth. She was noted for her jealous and vengeful nature, particularly against those who vied for the affections of her husband. The equivalent character to Hera in Roman mythology was Juno. Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

9A Suisse peak : ALPE

“Suisse” is the French word for “Swiss”, and “la Suisse” is French for “Switzerland”.

14A Work of Bellini or Bizet : OPERA

Vincenzo Bellini was a composer of operas active in the Italian bel canto era of the early 1800s. Bellini’s most famous works are probably “Il pirata” (1827) and “Norma” (1831). Sadly, Bellini died at only 33 years of age, in 1835.

Georges Bizet was a French composer active in the Romantic era. Bizet’s most famous work has to be his opera “Carmen”. “Carmen” initially received a lukewarm reception from the public, even though his fellow composers had nothing but praise for it. Sadly, Bizet died very young at only 36, before he could see “Carmen’s” tremendous success.

17A SEAL … SWAT… B … : DREAM TEAMS

“SEAL” is an acronym used by the US Navy’s SEa, Air and Land teams. The SEALs were born out of the Navy’s special warfare groups from WWII, like the Underwater Demolition Teams and the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons. The Navy SEAL unit was established soon after President Kennedy’s famous speech in which he announced the plan to put a man on the moon, as in the same speech the president allocated $100m of funding to strengthen special operations forces. The Navy used some of this money to set up guerrilla and counter-guerrilla units, which soon became the SEALs.

“SWAT” is an acronym standing for Special Weapons and Tactics. The first SWAT team was pulled together in the Los Angeles Police Department in 1968.

21A English town known for its salt : EPSOM

The Surrey town of Epsom in England is most famous for its racecourse (Epsom Downs), at which the Epsom Derby is run every year, one of the three races that make up the English Triple Crown. We also come across “Epsom salts” from time to time. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters. Epsom was indeed a spa town at one time. The town is also home to Epsom College, an English “public school” (which actually means “private, and expensive”). One of Epsom’s “old boys” was the Hollywood actor Stewart Granger.

26A Author Zora ___ Hurston : NEALE

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

28A Utopia … 10 … ideal … : PICTURE PERFECT

The word “Utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his book “Utopia” published in 1516 to describe an idyllic fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. More’s use of the name Utopia comes from the Greek “ou” meaning “not” and “topos” meaning “place”. By calling his perfect island “Not Place”, More was apparently making the point that he didn’t think that the ideal could actually exist.

35A Columbus’s smallest ship : NINA

The ship used by Christopher Columbus that we know as the Niña was actually the nickname of a ship actually called the Santa Clara. The nickname “Niña” probably came from the name of her owner, Juan Niña of Moguer.

37A Bus. page news : IPO

An initial public offering (IPO) is the very first offer of stock for sale by a company on the open market. In other words, an IPO marks the first time that a company is traded on a public exchange. Companies have an IPO to raise capital to expand (usually).

38A Landing area in a long jump : SANDPIT

The long jump was the only jumping event in the Olympic Games held in ancient Greece. There is some evidence that the original long jump differed from today’s event in that athletes were restricted to a very short run-up. They also carried a weight in each hand that was swung forward to increase the jumper’s momentum.

40A Sign for cheap admission : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

45A Puff … Komodo … Smaug … : IMAGINE DRAGONS

“Puff the Magic Dragon” is a song released in 1963 by Peter, Paul and Mary. It was written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow (the “Peter” of the singing trio). The lyrics tell the story of a dragon named Puff, and a little boy named Jackie Paper. There is an urban myth that the lyrics refer to the use of drugs. In fact, the words are based on a poem that Lipton wrote when he was 19-years-old in 1959, and which was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem called “Custard the Dragon”.

The large lizard called a Komodo dragon is so named because it is found on the island of Komodo (and others) in Indonesia. It can grow to a length of over 9 1/2 feet, so I guess that explains the dragon part of the name …

The dragon named Smaug is the principal antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”.

49A Quote from Homer : D’OH!

“The Simpsons” is one of the most successful programs produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer Simpson’s catchphrase is “D’oh!”, which became such a famous exclamation that it has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) since 2001. “D’oh!” can be translated as “I should have thought of that!”

50A Cable staple since 1972 : HBO

Home Box Office (HBO) is the oldest continuously-operating pay TV service in the US, having launched in 1972. HBO is a favorite of mine as I really like many of the HBO made-for-television movies and original series. Among the list of original series from HBO are “Mildred Pierce”, “The Pacific”, “John Adams”, “Big Love”, “Extras”, “The Wire”, “Sex and the City”, “From the Earth to the Moon”, “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers”.

55A Echo starter : ALEXA

Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with Amazon Echo smart speakers. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.

61A Fish … scuba … Army … : THINK TANKS

The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) was co-invented by celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

During WWI, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill formed the Landship Committee to oversee development of armored fighting vehicles. The vehicles in development were referred to using the codeword “tank” for secrecy. Within a few months, the committee was renamed to the “Tank Supply Committee”. The codeword eventually became the overt name for the weapon.

66A Lottery-style gambling game : KENO

The name of the game keno has French or Latin roots, with the French “quine” being a term describing five winning numbers, and the Latin “quini” meaning “five each”. The game originated in China and was introduced into the West by Chinese immigrants who were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad in the 1800s.

67A Dreamcast developer : SEGA

The Dreamcast is a video game console released by Sega in the late nineties. It was to become the company’s last game console. Since then, Sega has focused on producing video games as opposed to hardware.

Down

1D Alan of PBS’s “Scientific American Frontiers” : ALDA

Actor Alan Alda is a vocal advocate for science education. He is a founder of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, where he became a visiting professor. He also hosted the TV show “Scientific American Frontiers” for 14 years.

2D Wrapper at a Japanese restaurant : NORI

Nori is an edible seaweed that we used to know as “laver” when we were living in Wales. Nori is usually dried into thin sheets. Here in the US, we are most familiar with nori as the seaweed used as a wrap for sushi.

3D Steps up to, as the line : TOES

The idiomatic expression “to toe the line” means “to obey”. The etymology of the phrase is disputed, although it is likely to come from the Royal Navy. Barefooted sailors were required to stand to attention for inspection lined up along the seams for the wooden deck, hence “toeing the line”.

4D Right-leaning type : ITALICS

Italic type leans to the right, and is often used to provide emphasis in text. The style is known as “italic” because the stylized calligraphic form of writing originated in Italy, probably in the Vatican.

6D Electrified Olympic weapon : EPEE

The French word for sword is “épée”. In competitive fencing the épée is connected to a system that records an electrical signal when legal contact is made on an opponent’s body.

11D Organization promoting international goodwill : PEACE CORPS

The Peace Corps is an organization of American volunteers that is run by the US government. The Peace Corps was established by President Kennedy in 1961, and has a three-part mission:

1. Providing technical assistance
2. Helping people outside the US to understand American culture
3. Helping Americans to understand the culture of other countries

12D Coin with 12 stars on it : EURO

The reverse side of euro coins feature a common design, a design that includes the 12 stars featured on the Flag of Europe. The number of stars is not related to the number of states in the European Union, nor has it ever been. The number of stars in the design was the subject of much debate prior to its adoption in 1955 by the Council of Europe. Twelve was a deliberate choice, as at that time there was no political connotation, and twelve was considered to be a symbol of unity.

25D Sol’s sister : LUNA

“Luna” is the Latin word for “moon”, and is the name given to the Roman moon goddess. The Greek equivalent of Luna was Selene. Luna had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome but it was destroyed during the Great Fire that raged during the reign of Nero. She also had a temple on the Palatine Hill in which a lamp remained lit, illuminating the night.

Sol was the Roman god personifying the Sun. For centuries, English astronomers have used the name “Sol” for our sun, to distinguish it from suns in other planetary systems.

28D Big wheels in the Vatican? : POPEMOBILE

The popemobile is actually a whole series of vehicles used since the days of Pope John Paul II. The popemobiles used on foreign visits are often manufactured locally and then stay in the country after the visit has been concluded. The British-built popemobile used for a 2006 visit to the UK was ultimately sold for over $70,000 at auction.

29D Ray Charles’s first #1 R&B single (1954) : I GOT A WOMAN

“I Got a Woman” is a song co-written and recorded by Ray Charles, and released in 1954. It was inspired by the gospel hymn “It Must Be Jesus”, with Charles transforming it into a secular love song. This fusion of gospel and rhythm and blues would later be described as “soul music”.

33D Abrupt endings, of a sort : TKOS

Technical knockout (TKO)

34D 2022 book paying tribute to a 1960s rock legend : JIMI

Many of his contemporaries regarded Jimi Hendrix as the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music. Hendrix was from Seattle and didn’t really have a really stellar start to his working life. He failed to finish high school and fell foul of the law by getting caught in stolen cars, twice. The courts gave him the option of the army or two years in prison. Hendrix chose the former and soon found himself in the famous 101st Airborne. In the army, his less-than-disciplined ways helped him (as he would have seen it) because his superiors successfully petitioned to get him discharged after serving only one year of his two-year requirement, just to get him out of their hair.

39D Big Apple debut in 2010 : IPAD

The groundbreaking iPad was introduced by Apple in 2010. The iOS-based iPads dominated the market for tablet computers until 2013, when Android-based tablets (manufactured by several companies) took over the number-one spot.

42D This clue’s number, for the youngest U.S. president : AGE

Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest person to become US president, assuming the office at age 42 following the assassination of William McKinley. While John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected president, at 43, Roosevelt holds the record for youngest to serve.

46D Nick of “Cape Fear” : NOLTE

Actor Nick Nolte got his big break in movies playing opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in “The Deep”, a film released in 1976. Around the same time, he landed a leading role in the hit TV miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man”. Off the screen, Nolte has always had a “bad-boy” reputation. He is indeed a convicted felon, for selling counterfeit draft cards in the early 1960s. He had to pay a $75,000 fine, and was given a suspended prison sentence.

The 1991 film called “Cape Fear” is a Martin Scorsese remake of a 1962 movie of the same name. The 1991 version stars Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte, and there are also cameo appearances by Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck who starred in the 1962 original.

47D Pan in the butt? : GOAT

In Greek mythology, Pan was a lecherous god who was part-man and part-goat, and one who fell in love with Echo the mountain nymph. Echo refused Pan’s advances so that he became very angry. Pan’s anger created a “panic” (a word derived from the name “Pan”) and a group of shepherds were driven to kill Echo.

52D Electrical units : OHMS

The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm (with the symbol omega) named after German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Ohm was the guy who established experimentally that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage applied, (V=IR) a relationship that every school kid knows as Ohm’s Law.

54D Universal donor’s type, informally : O-NEG

In general, a person with type O-negative blood is a universal donor, meaning that their blood can be used for transfusion into persons with any other blood type: A, B, AB or O, negative or positive (although there are other considerations). Also in general, a person with type AB-positive blood is a universal recipient, meaning that they can receive a transfusion of blood of any type: A, B, AB or O, negative or positive.

56D Children’s author Blyton : ENID

Enid Blyton wrote stories for children that were very popular when I was growing up in Britain and Ireland. Some time back, I purchased and reread my favorite of her stories growing up, a children’s novel called “The Secret Island”. Now as an adult, it’s very obvious to me that Blyton’s writings were out of step with attitudes in post-WWII Britain, when she was most prolific as an author. Accusations ring true with me, that her writings exhibited sexism, xenophobia and racism …

57D Popular stick-figure webcomic : XKCD

XKCD is a webcomic created by Randall Munroe that was launched in 2005. The title is not actually an acronym or abbreviation for anything. Munroe has stated that he simply chose the letters “XKCD” because they sounded cool and were easy to remember. XKCD frequently incorporates scientific and mathematical concepts into its humor, as Munroe has a degree in physics.

62D New Zealand parrot whose name sounds like a Korean automaker : KEA

The kea is a large parrot that is native to the South Island of New Zealand. Apparently, tourists love keas as they are intelligent and curious. Natives tend to regard them as pests, for the same reasons.