Tag: Like someone who experiences little to no amorous and sexual attraction for short crossword clue

Bill’s time: 20m 09s

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Joan of Arc, for one : MARTYR

Joan of Arc (also “Jeanne d’Arc”, her birth name) led the French Army successfully into battle a number of times during the Hundred Years War with England. When she was eventually captured, Joan was tried in Rouen, the seat of the occupying English government in France at that time. There she was burned at the stake having been found guilty of heresy. In fact, after the fire died down, the executioner raked the coals to display the charred body, proving Joan had died, and then burned the corpse again, twice, so that relics could not be collected. The remaining ashes were then cast into the Seine River. Joan of Arc was canonized some 600 years later, in 1920, and is now one of the patron saints of France.

12A Aruba or Jamaica : ISLE

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.

The island nation of Jamaica is located just under 100 miles south of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. Christopher Columbus first visited the island in 1494, and he and his crew were stranded there for over a year from 1503-1504. Spanish rule devastated the local population, through violence and disease. As a result, the Spanish transplanted African slaves to Jamaica to work as laborers. Spain lost Jamaica to the English in 1655. Given the turbulent history, most Jamaicans today are of African descent, and Jamaica is the third-most populous English-speaking country in the Americas (after the US and Canada).

16A Pinochle action : BID

Pinochle is a card game that was developed from the 19th-century French game called bezique.

19A Popular Japanese beer : ASAHI

Asahi is a Japanese beer, and the name of the brewery that produces it. “Asahi” is Japanese for “morning sun”. Asahi introduced a “dry beer” in 1987, igniting a craze that rocketed the brewery to the number one spot in terms of beer production in Japan, with Sapporo close behind.

21A Exam for a future OB/GYN : MCAT

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

A medical doctor (MD) might be an expert in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN).

22A www.asu.___ : EDU

Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, and was founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.

23A Iconic line from Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” : YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?!

“Taxi Driver” is a remarkable 1976 movie directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro. The film is remarkable for some great performances, but also for sparking an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan. Would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr. tried to kill the President in order to impress Jodie Foster. Hinckley had been obsessed with Foster since seeing her performance in the film as child prostitute Iris Steensma.

26A End-of-Ramadan feast : EID

Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday in the Muslim tradition that is known in English as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”. It marks the end of Ramadan, a period of dawn-to-sunset fasting.

28A Early chat app with a Buddy List, in brief : AIM

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was a popular instant messaging service that was launched by America Online (AOL) in 1997, making it one of the first such services. AIM introduced many of the features that we now take for granted in messaging apps, such as emoticons, screen names, and buddy lists. The service was eventually shut down in 2017 due to declining usage and the rise of newer messaging apps.

43A Seasoned rice dish : PILAF

“Pilaf” is a Persian word, one that we use to describe rice that is browned in oil and then cooked in a seasoned broth. It can also be called “pilau”.

47A Something a majorette twirls : BATON

A drum major is a leader of a marching band, and is a position that originated in the British Army Corp of Drums in 1650. The drum major’s job is to lead the group and ensure that the whole ensemble keeps time. To help him do so, a drum major often uses a large baton. Over time, it became customary for the baton to be twirled and tossed in an elaborate display. The drum major tradition was embraced by high school marching bands in America. Drum-majorettes became popular in the 1930s, with groups of females taking up baton-twirling and marching with bands. According to an article in “Life” magazine published on October 10th, 1938, “the perfect majorette is a pert, shapely, smiling extrovert, who loves big, noisy crowds and knows how to make those crowds love her.” It was a different time …

50A Part of STEM, for short : TECH

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

55A Animation sheet : CEL

Animation cels are transparent sheets made of celluloid acetate that were used in traditional hand-drawn animation to create animated films. They were first introduced in the 1930s and were widely used in animation production until the late 1990s, when digital animation techniques began to dominate the industry.

59A A.P. math subj. : CALC

Advanced Placement (AP)

65A Sam of “Jurassic Park” : NEILL

Sam Neill is a very talented actor from New Zealand, although he spent the first few years of his life in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed Neill in a 1983 television miniseries called “Reilly, Ace of Spies”, about a British spy operation during WWI. He is perhaps better-known for his roles in the movies “Omen III”, “Dead Calm”, “Jurassic Park” and “The Hunt for Red October”.

“Jurassic Park” is a 1993 Steven Spielberg movie that is based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name. According to Spielberg, the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex is “the star of the movie”. That may be true, but what’s not true is that the creature existed during the Jurassic period. The T. rex roamed the Earth much later, in the late Cretaceous period.

67A Was gone in a flash? : STREAKED

People have been running around naked for an awfully long time, but the application of the word “streaking” to the phenomenon only dates back to 1973. A journalist was reporting on a mass nude run of 533 people at the University of Maryland in 1973, and used the words “they are streaking (i.e. moving quickly) past me right now. It’s an incredible sight!”. The Associated Press picked up the story the next day, and interpreted “streaking” as the term to describe “running naked”, and we’ve been using it that way ever since.

69A G.I. entertainment grp. : USO

The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

74A Elevated seabed : SHELF

The shallow waters surrounding most of a continent lie above a continental shelf. The similar underwater land mass surrounding an island is an insular shelf.

75A Moisturizing product : SERUM

Skin serums are liquids designed to be absorbed quickly and to deliver high concentrations of compounds that can address common skin conditions. Most serum formulations are intended to have an anti-aging effect, and are said to be more effective than using moisturizers and/or sunscreen.

77A Meme feline : LOLCAT

A lolcat is an image of a cat with a humorous message superimposed in text. Such images have been around since the late 1800s, but the term “lolcat” only surfaced in 2006 as the phenomenon was sweeping across the Internet. “Lolcat” is a melding of the acronym for “laugh out loud” (LOL) and “cat”.

78A Emergency alerts, for short : APBS

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast from one US law enforcement agency to another.

81A “Don’t dillydally!” : ASAP!

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.

83A Gymnast Biles : SIMONE

Simone Biles holds the record for the most gold medals won by an American gymnast in a single Olympic Games. She achieved the feat at the 2016 games held in Rio. Biles has also won more World medals than any other gymnast in history. She was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022, by President Joe Biden.

86A Phillipa of the original “Hamilton” cast : SOO

Phillipa Soo is an actress and singer who is perhaps best known for portraying Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the title character’s wife in the original Broadway production of “Hamilton”.

97A Any activities on them need to be wound up : CASSETTE TAPES

The French for “box” is “casse”. So, a “cassette” is a “little box”.

108A Home shopping channel : QVC

The QVC shopping channel was founded in 1986 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The company now has operations not only in the US but also in the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy. That means QVC is reaching 200 million households. The QVC initialism stands for Quality, Value and Convenience.

115A Homer Simpson’s dad : ABE

In the animated TV show called “The Simpsons”, Grandpa Abe Simpson is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the same actor who provides the voice for Homer.

117A Telegraph pioneer, or a description of four squares in this puzzle : WESTERN UNION

Western Union is a global financial services company best known today for its money transfer and payment services. It was founded in 1851 as a telegraph company, and it evolved over time to specialize in facilitating the quick and reliable transfer of funds, both domestically and internationally.

120A Do a restaurant job : BUS

A busboy is a person who assists a waiter, mainly by clearing tables. The verb “to bus” arose in the early 1900s and is probably a reference to the wheeled cart that was used to carry dishes.

123A Wine specialty of the Burgundy region : PINOT

The pinot noir wine grape variety takes its name from the French for “pine” and “black”. The grapes grow in tight clusters shaped like pine cones, and are very dark in color. The pinot noir grape is most closely associated with Burgundy wines in France, although in recent years the popularity (and price) of California pinot noir wine has soared after it featured so prominently in the wonderful 2004 movie “Sideways”. Grab a bottle of pinot, and go rent the movie …

The Burgundy region of France is famous for its wine production. If you’re looking at a label that isn’t translated into English though, you’ll see Burgundy written in French, namely “Bourgogne”.

125A Hide : SKIN

Both the verb “to hide” (to conceal) and the noun “hide” (skin), derive from the Old English “hyd” meaning “hide, skin”. The idea is that to “hide” something is similar to covering it with a “skin”.

Down

2D Figure with equal angles : ISOGON

An isogon is a polygon with equal angles in the corners. Examples are squares and equilateral triangles.

3D Chance for supporters to induct athletes into the All-Star Game : FAN VOTE

Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The longest All-Star games since then went to 15 innings, in 1967 and 2008, with the 2008 game lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes. The event also goes by the name “Midsummer Classic”.

5D River deposit : SILT

Today, we mostly think of silt as a deposit of sediment in a river. Back in the mid-1400s, silt was sediment deposited by seawater. It is thought that the word “silt” is related to “salt”, as found in seawater.

7D Peace Nobelist Kofi : ANNAN

Kofi Annan was a diplomat from Ghana who served as secretary-general of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007. Annan was born into an aristocratic family, and had a twin sister named Efua Atta. Efua and Kofi shared the middle name “Atta”, which means “twin” in the Akan language of Ghana. Annan attended the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971-72, and graduated with a Master of Science degree. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, winning jointly with the United Nations organization itself.

8D Kiwi or ostrich : RATITE

Ratites are species of birds that cannot fly. They are different physiologically than other birds in that they have nowhere on their sternum to attach the muscles needed for flight.

9D Like the teams of Starsky & Hutch and Cheech & Chong : TWO-MAN

“Starsky & Hutch” is a fun cop show that ran for four seasons on television in the seventies. The lead roles were played by David Soul (Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson) and Paul Michael Glaser (David Starsky). It was Glaser who really brought the show to a close. He tried to get out of his contract during filming of the third season (even suing to do so). He tried again during the fourth season, and then plans to film a fifth season were just dropped.

The comedy duo Cheech & Chong are made up of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong. Cheech and Chong worked together from 1971 to 1985, and have been back working together again since 2002. A lot of the duo’s comedy was based on their being stoned on cannabis.

10D West African crop : YAM

Although in the US we sometimes refer to sweet potatoes as “yams”, the yam is actually a completely different family of plants. True yams are more common in other parts of the world than they are in this country, and are especially common in Africa.

13D Servings at teas : SCONES

In countries historically influenced by Britain, the term “tea” is often used to describe several meals usually taken in the mid-afternoon to early evening. Afternoon tea is a light meal in the mid- to late afternoon. Typical fare served at an afternoon tea are sandwiches followed by cakes. A cream tea is a snack, one associated with the West Country of England. It usually consists of scones served with clotted cream, jam and a cup of tea. High tea is an evening meal typically eaten in the early evening, This is a meal historically associated with the working classes. When I was growing up, we had “dinner”, our main meal, in the middle of the day. Our evening meal was called “(high) tea”.

15D Way to get online : ETHERNET

“Ethernet” is the name given to a standardized configuration of local area networks (LANs). An ethernet cable is that one that has a connector on the end that looks like a regular telephone connector, but is about twice as wide. Ethernet dates back to the mid seventies, when it was developed by the Xerox Corporation.

16D V8 component : BEET JUICE

The beverage V8 is a mixture of eight different vegetable juices, hence the name. It was introduced in 1933 by the New England Products Company as “ege-min 8”. The eight vegetables are beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress, spinach, and tomato.

17D “Au contraire” : I DISAGREE

“Au contraire” is French for “on the contrary”.

29D After-dinner brandy : COGNAC

Cognac is a famous variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac in the very west of France. To be called “Cognac”, the brandy must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in very specific French oak barrels.

33D Muse of lyric poetry : ERATO

In Greek mythology, Erato was the Muse of lyric poetry. She is often depicted with a wreath of myrtle and roses, and playing a lyre.

34D Bathroom, to Mary Poppins : LOO

The “Mary Poppins” series of children’s novels were written by Australian-born English writer and actress P. L. Travers. Poppins is a magical children’s nanny with a best friend Bert, who is a chimney sweep. In the famous 1964 musical film adaptation of the Mary Poppins stories, Poppins is played by Julie Andrews and Bert is played Dick Van Dyke.

37D Pistachio eater’s discard : SHELL

The pistachio is a small tree that produces some very tasty seeds. We see the seeds in grocery stores labeled as “nuts”, but botanically they are termed “drupes”. Drupe or nut, they’re delicious …

39D Pristine : SPOTLESS

Something described as pristine has its original purity, is uncorrupted.

42D “Spamalot” co-creator : ERIC IDLE

Eric Idle is one of the founding members of the Monty Python team. He was very much the musician of the bunch, and is an accomplished guitarist. If you’ve seen the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian”, you might remember the closing number “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It was sung by Idle, and was also written by him. That song made it to number-3 in the UK charts in 1991.

The hit musical “Spamalot” is a show derived from the 1974 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. In typical Monty Python style, the action starts just before the curtain goes up with an announcement recorded by the great John Cleese:

(You can) let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly … (but) be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you on stage and impale you.

52D Howard and Spelman, for two: Abbr. : HBCUS

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are a group of higher education institutions that were established, mainly after the Civil War, primarily to serve the African American community.

Howard University is a private school in Washington, D.C. It was founded soon after the Civil War with a focus on the education of African American students, although it was open to all races, both sexes and was non-sectarian.

Spelman College is a women’s school in Atlanta, Georgia that was founded as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary in 1881. Spelman is part of the Atlanta University Center, along with the nearby all-male Morehouse College, with which Spelman has a long-standing relationship.

54D Pet-biting pest : FLEA

An endoparasite is one that lives inside the host, an example being a parasitic worm. Parasites living outside the host, such as fleas and lice, are known as ectoparasites.

66D Language in which “one, two, three” is “neung, song, sam” : LAO

Lao is the official language of Laos. It is also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, but there the language is known as Isan.

68D “Frozen” queen : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

71D “___ Breaky Heart” : ACHY

“Achy Breaky Heart” is a country song that was originally titled “Don’t Tell My Heart” when first released by The Marcy Brothers in 1991. It became “Achy Breaky Heart” when recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

72D Paul ___, “There Will Be Blood” actor : DANO

Paul Dano is an actor and musician from New York City. I best know him for playing Brian Wilson in “Love & Mercy”, a fascinating film about the Beach Boys.

“There Will Be Blood” is a 2007 film starring Daniel Day Lewis. The movie is based (loosely) on the 1927 novel by Upton Sinclair called “Oil!”

76D 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.

78D New Balance competitor : ASICS

ASICS is a Japanese company based in Kobe that produces athletic gear, including running shoes. The company name comes from the first letters of the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano”, which translates to “a healthy soul in a healthy body”.

82D Former QB Manning : PEYTON

Peyton Manning is a former NFL quarterback who played most of his professional career with the Indianapolis Colts. Manning retired at the top of his game, holding records for passing yards, touchdown passes, Pro Bowl appearances, and several other records. Peyton is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.

84D Rain clouds : NIMBI

Nimbus clouds are rain clouds, with “nimbus” being the Latin word for “cloud”. Some other types of cloud can take on the prefix nimbo- or suffix -nimbus, indicating that they are similar to that other cloud type but carry precipitation. So, a stratus cloud that has rain is called nimbostratus, and a cumulus cloud with rain is called cumulonimbus.

92D City that’s home to the Munch Museum : OSLO

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian expressionist, and most famous for his painting “The Scream”, painted in 1893. What a wonderful work that is, a true representation of expressionism. The Munch Museum in Oslo is dedicated to his work and life. In 2004, two of Munch’s paintings, “The Scream” and “Madonna”, were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who subdued the museum guards. The paintings were missing for two years, but recovered in 2006.

96D Funny O’Brien : CONAN

Before Conan O’Brien came to fame as a late night talk show host, he was a writer. He wrote for both “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons”. While attending Harvard, O’Brien was president of “The Harvard Lampoon”.

98D Athol Fugard novel adapted as an Academy Award-winning film : TSOTSI

The 2005 film “Tsotsi” is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by South African writer Athol Fugard. The movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

100D Airport near Puget Sound : SEA-TAC

Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

George Vancouver was a British explorer, and an officer in the Royal Navy. As well as exploring the coast of Australia, he is best known for his travels along the northwest coast of North America. The city of Vancouver was named in his honor. Traveling with him on his American voyage was a lieutenant Peter Puget, and in his honor, Vancouver named the waters south of the Tacoma Narrows “Puget’s Sound”. Nowadays, the name “Puget Sound” describes an area much greater than Vancouver had envisioned.

102D Like onagers and zebras : EQUINE

The onager is also known as the Asiatic wild ass. The onager is a little larger than a donkey, and looks like a cross between a donkey and a horse. One characteristic of the onager is that it is remarkably “untamable”.

The term “zebra” comes from an old Portuguese word “zevra” meaning “wild ass”. Studies of zebra embryos show that zebras are basically black in color, with white stripes that develop with growth. Before this finding, it was believed they were white, with black stripes.

110D Corner chess piece : ROOK

The corner piece in the game of chess is called a “rook”, a word coming from the Persian “rokh” meaning a “chariot”. The rook has also been called, perhaps incorrectly, the castle, tower, marquess and rector.

115D Org. for lawyers : ABA

The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded back in 1878 and is a voluntary association for lawyers and law students. The ABA focuses on setting academic standards for law schools and setting ethical codes for the profession.

117D Luck-based card game : WAR

War is a card game, one played mainly by children.

119D Rock’s ___ Speedwagon : REO

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that formed in 1967, and is still going strong. The band’s biggest hits are “Keep On Loving You” (1980) and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” (1985). The founding members chose the name for the REO Speed Wagon flatbed truck. Note that the band’s name is one word “Speedwagon”, whereas the vehicle’s name uses two words “Speed Wagon”.