Tag: Lead-up to a ski jump crossword clue

Bill’s time: 11m 30s

Bill’s errors: 2

• C-PLUS (D-plus!)
• CRAFT BEERS (draft beers!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Auto on the autobahn : BMW

The initialism “BMW” stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke”, which translates into Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was making aircraft engines during WWI, but had to cease that activity according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The company then started making motorcycles, and moved into automobile production starting in 1928. BMW moved back into aircraft engine manufacturing during the build-up of the Luftwaffe prior to WWII.

The federal highway system in Germany is known as the Autobahn (plural “Autobahnen” in German). Famously, there are no federally mandated speed limits on the autobahn, although many, many stretches of the highway do indeed have posted and enforced limits. Where there is no speed limit posted, there is an advisory speed limit of 130 km/hr (81 mph). It is not illegal to travel over this speed limit, but legal liability may increase at higher speeds if that speed contributes to an accident.

4A Sign of justice : LIBRA

Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac, and is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. It is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.

15A Lead-up to a ski jump : IN-RUN

The winter sport of ski jumping originated in Norway. The first recorded, measured ski jump was by Norwegian-Danish military officer Olaf Rye. He launched himself a distance of 9.5 meters in front of fellow soldiers in 1809. There is now an offshoot of ski jumping known as ski flying, which involves the use of larger hills. Ski flyers have made jumps in excess of 250 meters.

16A Spots for solar panels : ROOFS

Solar panels are arrays of solar cells that make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

19A Midwest city known as the “Rubber Capital of the World” : AKRON

For much of the 1800s, the Ohio city of Akron was the fastest-growing city in the country, feeding off the industrial boom of that era. The city was founded in 1825 and its location, along the Ohio and Erie canal connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helped to fuel Akron’s growth. Akron sits at the highest point of the canal and the name “Akron” comes from the Greek word meaning “summit”. Indeed, Akron is the county seat of Summit County. The city earned the moniker “Rubber Capital of the World” for most of the 20th century, as it was home to four major tire companies: Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone and General Tire.

20A ___ Root, U.S. secretary of war who received a Nobel Peace Prize : ELIHU

Elihu Root was an American statesman, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912 for his diplomatic work that brought “nations together through arbitration and cooperation”. Root served as Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt.

21A Hobbled, in gamer slang : NERFED

In the world of game design, creators strive for game balance. This balance between difficulty and fairness is aimed at improving the user experience. Buffing is the practice of increasing the utility of items and elements available to the player. The opposite is nerfing, reducing utility.

23A Seedy bar : DIVE

We’ve been using the word “dive” in American English for a run-down bar since the latter half of the 19th century. The term comes from the fact that disreputable taverns were usually located in basements, so one had to figuratively dive into them. I’m a big fan …

24A Lively kind of saw for cutting intricate shapes? : JIGGETY-JIG

Jigsaws are saws designed for the cutting of irregular curves by hand. The original jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a sheet of wood and then cutting the picture into small pieces using a jigsaw, hence the name. Today, almost all jigsaw puzzles are pictures glued onto cardboard. The puzzle pieces are now die-cut, and so there’s no jigsaw involved at all.

31A Host Glass of radio’s “This American Life” : IRA

Ira Glass is a well-respected presenter on American Public Radio who is perhaps best known for his show “This American Life”. I was interested to learn that one of my favorite composers, Philip Glass, is Ira’s first cousin.

34A Noted chairman? : EAMES

Charles and Ray Eames were a husband-wife team of furniture designers. One of the more famous of their designs is the Eames lounge chair that comes with an ottoman. This trendy piece of furniture featured in a late episode of the television show “Frasier”. In the show, Frasier’s Dad remarks that the Eames chair is so comfortable that he might have gotten rid of his tatty old recliner a long time ago.

39A “The Master Builder” playwright : IBSEN

“The Master Builder” is an 1892 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play deals with a complex relationship between a young 24-year-old woman and a much older master builder who is a married man. Ibsen admitted that the play has some autobiographical elements. He conceived the plot while having a brief extra-marital affair with an 18-year-old student.

45A Sister network of Paramount+, for short : TMC

The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime, which in turn is a subsidiary of CBS. The channel’s name is often abbreviated to “TMC”, although this is informal usage.

Paramount Pictures is one of the oldest surviving film studios, and is the last major studio that still has its headquarters in Hollywood. Paramount was founded in 1912 as the Famous Players Film Company by Adolph Zukor, with partners Daniel and Charles Frohman. Paramount is now owned by Viacom.

48A General Motors subsidiary : ONSTAR

The OnStar system was developed as a joint venture between GM, EDS and Hughes. The product itself was launched in 1996. Today, OnStar is only available on GM cars, although it used to be offered on other makes of car through a licensing agreement. OnStar is a subscription service that packages vehicle security, telephone, satellite navigation and remote diagnostics.

55A Girlfriends in Madrid : AMIGAS

Madrid is the most populous city in Spain, and is the nation’s capital. It is located very close to the geographical center of the country. Madrid is the second-largest city in the European Union by population, after Berlin. People from Madrid called themselves Madrileños.

63A Protection : AEGIS

Someone is said to be under the aegis (also “egis”) of someone else if that other person provides protection, or perhaps sponsorship. The word “aegis” comes from the Greek word for a goat (“aigis”). The idea is that the goatskin shield or breastplate, worn by both Zeus and Athena, gave some measure of protection.

64A Record label for SZA and A$AP Rocky : RCA

RCA Records is the second-oldest recording label in the US, after Columbia Records.

66A Medium-term govt. security : T-NOTE

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

67A Cerulean expanse : SKY

Cerulean is a blue color, with the name probably coming from the Latin “caeruleus” meaning “blue”.

Down

1D Like some briskets and pork ribs, informally : BBQ’ED

It is believed that our word “barbecue” (BBQ) comes from the Taíno people of the Caribbean in whose language “barbacoa” means “sacred fire pit”.

2D “___ Rouge!” (2001 musical film) : MOULIN

“Moulin Rouge!” is a musical film that was released in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman as the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and Ewan McGregor as the young man who falls in love with her. Although set in the early 1900s, the film uses many, many contemporary songs. There were so many that it took the producers almost two years to secure the rights to use the music.

The Moulin Rouge cabaret is located right in the middle of one of the red light districts of Paris, the district of Pigalle. You can’t miss the Moulin Rouge as it has a huge red windmill on its roof (“moulin rouge” is French for “red windmill”). The nightclub opened its doors in 1889 and soon after, the working girls of the cabaret adopted a “respectable” party dance and used it to entice their clients. That was the birth of the can-can. Nowadays, the Moulin Rouge is home to a lavish, Las Vegas-style show that costs millions of euros to stage. It features showgirls, dancers and acrobats, a whole host of entertainers in fact. And I am sure the can-can features as well …

3D One who may have stormed the beaches at Normandy, in brief : WWII VET

The Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944 took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The worst fighting by far took place on Omaha Beach, a sector assigned to the US Army that was transported by elements of the US Navy and the Royal Navy.

6D “Hang on a sec” : BRB

Be right back (brb)

10D Lockup : POKEY

“Pokey” (also “poky”) is a slang term meaning “prison”. It might be a corruption of “pogie”, a term for a “poorhouse”.

11D Joseph Conrad novel made into a 1965 film starring Peter O’Toole : LORD JIM

“Lord Jim” is a novel by Joseph Conrad that was twice adapted for the big screen. The 1925 silent film version starred Percy Marmont in the title role, and the 1965 version featured Peter O’Toole as the lead.

18D London’s underground : THE TUBE

The official name of the London “Underground” rail network is a little deceptive, as over half of the track system-wide is actually “over ground”, with the underground sections reserved for the central areas. It is the oldest subway system in the world, having opened in 1863. It was also the first system to use electric rolling stock, in 1890. “The Tube”, as it is known by Londoners, isn’t the longest subway system in the world though. That honor belongs to the Shanghai Metro. My personal favorite part of the Tube is the Tube map! It is a marvel of design …

22D ___ Speed Wagon (vintage vehicle) : REO

The REO Speed Wagon was a light truck introduced in 1915, and a precursor to the modern pickup truck. The rock band REO Speedwagon is named for the truck, but note the difference between the spelling of Speedwagon (the band) and Speed Wagon (the truck).

33D Llama’s head? : ELS

The “head” of the word “llama” is a pair of letters L (els).

35D Description of an online image : ALT TEXT

Alt text, short for “alternative text,” is a description of an image that is used to provide information to people who cannot see the image, either because they are visually impaired or because the image cannot be loaded for some reason.

37D Kind of collar : ETON

An Eton collar is a wide, stiff, buttoned collar that is still part of the formal school uniform at Eton College near Windsor in England.

41D Humorist who describes his stint working as a Macy’s Christmas elf in “Santaland Diaries” : SEDARIS

David Sedaris is a humorist and author from Binghamton, New York who grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is one of my wife’s favorite authors so we attended an event where Sedaris read some of his works a few years back. He was very, very entertaining. David’s sister is actress and comedienne Amy Sedaris who plays the lead in the Comedy Central series “Strangers with Candy”.

46D Efficiency stat not needed in an E.V. : MPG

Electric vehicle (EV)

57D Hole puncher : AWL

An awl is a pointed tool used for marking a surface or for piercing small holes. The earliest awls were used to pierce ears, apparently. The tool then became very much associated with shoemakers.

61D Relative of the chickadee : TIT

Chickadees are a group of birds in the tit family, with some species within the group called chickadees and some called tits. The name chickadee is imitative of the bird’s alarm call “chick-dee dee dee”.