Tag: Like contact lenses for astigmatism crossword clue

Bill’s time: 15m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

18A Like the Islamic calendar : LUNAR

A solar calendar is based on the 365 1/4 days it takes for the earth to orbit the sun. A lunar calendar is based on the moon’s phases, and has 12 lunar months of 29-30 days, with the “lunar year” ending eleven days earlier than the “solar year”. So, solar and lunar calendars are always out of sync. There is a device called an epact that adjusts the lunar calendar to bring it into sync with the solar calendar.

20A Windy City airport : O’HARE

The IATA airport code for O’Hare International in Chicago is ORD, which comes from Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field (OR-D).

It seems that the derivation of Chicago’s nickname “Windy City” isn’t as obvious as I would have thought. There are two viable theories. Firstly, that the weather can be breezy with wind blowing in off Lake Michigan. The effect of the wind is exaggerated by the grid-layout adopted by city planners after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The second theory is that “windy” means “being full of bluster”. Sportswriters from the rival city of Cincinnati were fond of calling Chicago supporters “windy” in the 1860s and 1870s, meaning that they were full of hot air in their claims that the Chicago White Stockings were superior to the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

21A Birmingham bum : ARSE

Birmingham is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom, after the capital London. It is located in the West Midlands of England, and originated as a market town. Birmingham’s economy boomed during the Industrial Revolution, earning it the description “the first manufacturing town in the world”.

25A “… for an aspiring nanny?” : … KID GLOVES

Back in the late 1600s, “kid gloves” were gloves made from the skin of a young goat, a kid. Kid gloves were expensive and became associated with the nouveau riche, and so the wearing of kid gloves was viewed as ostentatious. When the phrase “kid gloves” crossed the Atlantic to America, the notion of using kid gloves morphed into the current meaning of “treating with delicacy and care”.

30A Stands around an art gallery : EASELS

The term “easel” comes from an old Dutch word meaning “donkey”, would you believe? The idea is that an easel carries its load (an oil painting, say) just as a donkey would be made to carry a load.

40A Outmoded component of a car’s dashboard : CD DRIVE

Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a “board” placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hooves of the horses. Quite interesting …

48A Quip : MOT

“Bon mot” translates from French as “good word”. We use “bon mot” (and sometimes just “mot”) to mean “quip, witticism”.

49A Fragile mineral : MICA

Mica is a silicate mineral. Thin sheets of mica are transparent and are used in place of glass in certain applications. This form of mica is called isinglass, and as it has a better thermal performance than glass it is a great choice for “peepholes” in boilers and lanterns. Mica is also used in the electronics industry, making use of its unique electrical and thermal insulating properties.

59A ___ One (presidential helicopter) : MARINE

Marine One is the call sign used by a Marine Corps helicopter when it is carrying the US president. In fact, the call sign can be used by any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president, but usually refers to either a Sea King or White Hawk helicopter that is used routinely in transportation to and from the White House. Any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the US vice president adopts the call sign Marine Two.

61A Your wish is his command : GENIE

The “genie” in the bottle (or lamp) takes his or her name from “djinn”. “Djinns” were various spirits considered lesser than angels, with people exhibiting unsavory characteristics said to be possessed by djinn. When the book “The Thousand and One Nights” was translated into French, the word “djinn” was transformed into the existing word “génie”, because of the similarity in sound and the related spiritual meaning. This “génie” from the Arabian tale became confused with the Latin-derived “genius”, a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. Purely as a result of that mistranslation the word genie has come to mean the “djinn” that pops out of the bottle. A little hard to follow, I know, but still quite interesting …

62A Córdoba’s country: Abbr. : ARG

Argentina is the second largest country in South America (after Brazil), and the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation by land area. The name “Argentina” comes from the Latin “argentum”, the word for “silver”. It is thought that the name was given by the early Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who also named the Rio de la Plata (the “Silver River”). Those early explorers got hold of lots of silver objects that they found among the native population.

63A Soccer star Hamm : MIA

Mia Hamm is a retired American soccer player. She played as a forward on the US national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. Hamm scored 158 international goals, which was more than any other player in the world, male or female, until the record was broken in 2013. Amazingly, Hamm was born with a clubfoot, and so had to wear corrective shoes when she was growing up.

73A Ming in the Basketball Hall of Fame : YAO

Yao Ming is a retired professional basketball player from Shanghai who played for the Houston Rockets. At 7’6″, Yao was the tallest man playing in the NBA. He has a cute nickname: “the Ming Dynasty”.

74A Holiday seasons : YULES

Yule celebrations coincide with Christmas, and the words “Christmas” and “Yule” (often “Yuletide”) have become synonymous in much of the world. However, Yule was originally a pagan festival celebrated by Germanic peoples. The name “Yule” comes from the Old Norse word “jol” that was used to describe the festival.

80A Japanese floor mat : TATAMI

A tatami is a traditional mat used on floors in Japan. The term “tatami” comes from the Japanese word “tatamu” meaning “to fold”, reflecting the fact that the mat used to be folded up for storage. Modern tatami mats are thick (approx. 2 inches), heavy, and rigid modules with a compressed rice-straw core. They are no longer designed to be folded.

88A Italian cooking staple, for short : EVOO

Virgin olive oil is oil produced from olives with no chemical treatment involved in the production process at all. To be labeled “virgin”, the oil must have an acidity level of less than 2% and must be judged to have “a good taste”. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production, and is the portion with acidity levels of less than 0.8% acidity that is judged to have “superior taste”.

89A “Progress through technology” automaker : AUDI

In most countries around the world, Audi uses its corporate tagline in advertising, namely “Vorsprung durch Technik” (which translates as “Advancement through Technology”). However, the literal translation from the German was dropped for the US market, in favor of “Truth in Engineering”.

90A Like contact lenses for astigmatism : TORIC

A torus (plural “tori”) is a shape resembling a doughnut.

92A “I wasn’t ___ yesterday” : BORN

Me neither …

96A “… for an aspiring dry cleaner?” : … STEAMER TRUNKS

Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, steamer trunks were the equivalent of our modern carry-on bags. They were containers for clothes and other belongings that had flat tops and low profiles so that they could fit under a bunk on a steamer (steam ship) or on a train. Steamer trunks usually contained a passenger’s essentials, with the bulk of the items stored in the main luggage.

99A Machines in some print shops : FAXES

A facsimile is a copy. The term comes from the Latin phrase “fac simile” meaning “make similar”, with “fac” being the imperative form of “facere”, to make. The term “fax” (as in “fax machine”) is an abbreviated form of “facsimile”.

100A Tour de France peaks : ALPS

Back in the late 1800s, long-distance cycle races were used as promotional events, traditionally to help boost sales of newspapers. These races usually took place around tracks, but in 1902 the backers of the struggling sports publication “L’Auto” decided to stage a race that would take the competitors all around France. That first Tour de France took place in 1903, starting in Paris and passing through Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes and then back to Paris.

101A Nutrient in avocados : FAT

The wonderful avocado comes from a tree that is native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear, because of its shape, even though it is not related to the pear at all. The fruit might also be referred to as an alligator pear, due to the roughness of the green skin of some avocado cultivars.

110A “… for an aspiring flutist?” : … WINDSOCKS

A flute is a woodwind instrument that doesn’t have a reed. Instead, sound is produced by blowing air across an opening. A flute player is often referred to as a flautist (sometimes “flutist”). Flutes have been around a long, long time. Primitive flutes found in modern-day Germany date back 43,000 to 35,000 years, which makes the flute the oldest known musical instrument.

112A “… for an aspiring photographer?” : … SHOT GLASSES

A shot glass is a small glass used to measure or hold liquor. There is no standard size for a shot in most parts of North America, but it is generally 1.25 to 1.5 fluid ounces. A smaller, 1 fl. oz. shot, is called a “pony shot” or “short shot”.

118A Solution strength : TITER

Remember those titrations we did in the chemistry lab at school? They were to measure the concentration of solutions, also known as the solution’s titer.

119A It has its ups and downs : YO-YO

Yo-yo enthusiasts can visit the National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, California. The museum’s centerpiece exhibit is a 256-pound yo-yo that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982 as the World’s Biggest Working Wooden Yo-Yo. “Working” the yo-yo requires a large crane and a skilled operator.

121A UnitedHealthcare competitor : AETNA

When the healthcare management and insurance company known as Aetna was founded, the name was chosen to evoke images of Mount Etna, the Italian volcano.

Down

1D Massachusetts’ state tree : ELM

The official state tree of Massachusetts is the American elm. The elm was chosen in 1941, in a gesture commemorating George Washington taking command of the Continental Army in 1775. He did so beneath an American elm on Cambridge Common.

2D Pair : DUAD

A duad is a pair, with “duad” coming from the Greek “duo” meaning “two”.

6D Trumpeter Jones : THAD

Thad Jones was a jazz trumpeter and bandleader from Pontiac, Michigan. Thad came from a very musical family. His older brother was Hank Jones the jazz pianist, and his younger brother was Elvin Jones the jazz drummer.

9D “Hanukkah in Santa Monica” songwriter Tom : LEHRER

Tom Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, and someone famous for writing humorous songs and parodies. One of his most celebrated creations is “The Elements” song, which lists the name of the chemical elements to the tune of the “Major-General’s Song” from the “Pirates of Penzance” operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan.

11D Lake from which the Niagara River flows : ERIE

The mighty Niagara River flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and forms part of the border between the US and Canada. The river is only about 35 miles long, so some describe it as a “strait”. It has a drop in elevation of 325 feet along its length, with 165 feet of that drop taking place at Niagara Falls.

15D Independent thinker : MAVERICK

The concept of being one’s own person, going it alone, is popularly known as being a “maverick”. In the days of open range ranching, a maverick was a steer that didn’t carry a brand. An unbranded animal was usually the result of a branded animal giving birth on the open range, with the young growing up without having been captured and claimed by an owner. The use of the name “maverick” comes from Texas rancher Samuel Maverick, who refused to brand his cattle. He stated that he did not want to inflict pain on his cattle, and so laid claim to any cattle on the range that weren’t branded. His stubborn refusal to cooperate with the neighboring ranchers gave rise to our modern description of a single-minded individual as a “maverick”.

16D Justice Kagan in ’83, e.g. : ONE L

“One L” is a name used in general for first-year law students, especially those attending Harvard.

Elena Kagan has broken a few significant glass ceilings in her career. In 2003, she was named the first female dean of Harvard Law School, and in 2009 she became the nation’s first female Solicitor General. Kagan joined the US Supreme Court in 2010, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens.

17D Scottish loch : NESS

Scotland’s Loch Ness is famous for its fabled “monster”, referred to affectionately as “Nessie”. The loch is the second-largest lake in the country (Loch Lomond is the largest). Loch Ness takes its name from the River Ness that flows from the loch’s northern end.

37D Standing eau? : LAC

In French, a “lac” (lake) is a body of “eau” (water).

42D Summer setting in Somerset, in brief : EDT

Somerset, New Jersey was home to the New Brunswick Marconi Station, one of the first radio transmitter facilities in the country, built in 1913. The New Brunswick facility was the main communication link with Europe during WWI.

46D Fed. intelligence group : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

51D “___ Dreams of Sushi” (acclaimed 2011 documentary) : JIRO

Jiro Ono is a Japanese celebrity chef and sushi master. He opened Sukiyabashi Jiro in 1965 in the Ginza district of Tokyo, an establishment that became the first sushi restaurant in the world to receive three stars from the “Michelin Guide”.

54D From abroad? : DES

The French word “des” translates as “of the, from”, or sometimes “some”.

57D PubMed org. : NIH

PubMed is a search engine used to access MEDLINE, a database of life sciences and biomedical information managed by the US National LIbrary of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PubMed was launched in 1996, giving the public free access to the database.

63D Patisserie treat : MACARON

A macaron is a meringue-based cookie associated with French cuisine, although the original confection hailed from Italy (amaretti). Macarons are often confused with macaroons, small cookies made from ground almonds, and often coconut.

A patisserie is a French bakery that sells pastries, or “tartes”.

65D Name tags? : AT SIGNS

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial world, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

67D Jamie with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame : FARR

Actor Jamie Farr is best known for playing the cross-dressing Max Klinger in the sitcom ”M*A*S*H”. Although Farr landed a role in the 1955 movie “Blackboard Jungle”, his career didn’t really take off until he started appearing regularly on “The Red Skelton Show”. Years later he managed to get a one-episode appearance in ”M*A*S*H”, and his character and performance were received so well that he became a regular on the show. Farr actually did serve in the US Army in Korea, although it was after hostilities had ended. The dog tags that Farr wore when filming ”M*A*S*H” were the ones that he actually wore while serving in the military.

Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles is home to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, comprising over 2,500 stars embedded in the sidewalk. The thoroughfare was named Prospect Boulevard until 1920, when the town of Hollywood was annexed by the city of Los Angeles.

84D Stack at a falafel shop : PITAS

Falafel is a ball of ground chickpeas or fava beans that has been deep fried and served in pita bread. I love chickpeas, but falafel is often too dry for me …

97D Michigan politician Slotkin : ELISSA

Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, was elected as the junior US senator for Michigan in 2024. She had previously worked as a CIA analyst, and then worked in the State Department and the Department of Defense.

103D Florentine farewell : CIAO!

Florence is the capital city of the Tuscany region in Italy. Something from or related to Florence is described as “Florentine”. The city is known as “Firenze” in Italian.

104D Pod in Creole cooking : OKRA

Here in North America, we tend to associate Creole cuisine with Louisiana. However, the term “Creole cuisine” applies to several areas of the world, areas within the reach of the French, Portuguese and Spanish colonial empires. One definition of Creole culture refers to peoples of European origin, born in the New World, and who have integrated with local cultures. As a result, we encounter a variety of Creole-named cuisines beyond Louisiana, in places like Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Jamaica, Réunion and Cape Verde. All the variations share a leaning towards spiciness, the use of simpler techniques in preparing the food (stewing, frying, etc.), and the use of local products in traditional European dishes.

106D Marvel-ous Lee : STAN

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer, who is best known for co-creating many of Marvel Comics’ most iconic superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Black Panther.

107D Taj Mahal city : AGRA

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is a magnificent marble mausoleum. It was built in the mid-17th century by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to her 14th child in 1631. When Shah Jahan himself died in 1666, he was buried in the Taj Mahal, alongside his wife.

114D Madrid Mme. : SRA

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 call themselves Madrileños.