Tag: Makes rapidly with “out” crossword clue

Bill’s time: 12m 40s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Relative of upward dog, to 50-Down : COBRA POSE

Yoga’s “cobra pose” is also called “bhujangasana”. The Sanskrit word for snake or serpent is “bhujanga”.

10A Many Intuit employees, for short : CPAS

Certified public accountant (CPA)

14A Noted line in Buddhism : DALAI LAMAS

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th to hold the office. He has indicated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet for the first time, and may even be female.

15A International grocery chain founded in Germany : ALDI

Aldi is an extremely large discount supermarket chain based in Germany with outlets in many countries, including the main European nations and Australia. Here in the US, Aldi owns the Trader Joe’s chain of stores. The chain was founded in 1946 by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht. The name “Aldi” is an abbreviation of “Albrecht Diskont”, “Albrecht Discount” in English.

16A Galaxy program, e.g. : ANDROID APP

Android is an operating system for mobile devices that was developed by Google. Android is mainly used on touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets, although versions have been developed for cars (Android Auto), for televisions (Android TV) and for wrist watches (Android Wear). Android is the most successful operating system today, having the most extensive installed base.

The Galaxy is a series of mobile computing devices made by Samsung that was introduced in 2009. Almost all of the Galaxy devices have used Google’s Android operating system, until a Windows 10 Galaxy device was introduced by Samsung in 2016.

18A Rapper whose father is the jazz musician Olu Dara : NAS

Rapper Nas used to go by an earlier stage name “Nasty Nas”, and before that by his real name “Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones”. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001.

20A Country whose name is an anagram of a common means of getting there : NEPAL

Nepal lies to the northeast of India. Today, the state is known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. In 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal won the country’s general election. Soon after, the Assembly voted to change the form of government, moving away from a monarchy and creating a secular republic.

28A M.L.B. All-Star closer ___ Díaz : EDWIN

Edwin Díaz is a Major League pitcher from Puerto Rico. While playing for the Seattle Mariners, he was named the American League’s Reliever of the Year.

31A Product pitched by a pitcher : KOOL-AID

The drink we know today as Kool-Aid was invented by Edward Perkins and his wife in Perkins’ mother’s kitchen in southwest Nebraska. Kool-Aid is now the Official Soft Drink of the state.

35A Drew Carey once called it “crossword puzzle cheese” on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” : EDAM

Drew Carey always strikes me as a stand-up guy who does stand-up comedy. Before turning to comedy, Carey served six years with the US Marine Corps.

The American improv comedy TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” is a spin-off of a very successful British show of the same name. The British TV show is itself a spin-off of a BBC radio show that I well remember. Lots of fun …

40A Steven ___, Best Actor nominee for 2020’s “Minari” : YEUN

Steven Yeun is a South Korean-born American actor who is perhaps best known for playing Glenn Rhee in the TV show “The Walking Dead”. He also starred in the 2020 film “Minari” in a performance that earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination, making him the first Asian-American to be so honored.

42A ___ Hill : SAM

“Sam Hill” is a euphemism for “Hell”, as in “What in the Sam Hill is going on in this crossword”. The exact etymology of “Sam Hill” is unclear, although we do know that it dates back to the late 1830s.

43A Bit of drag attire : BOA

The etymology of the term “drag”, as used in the transvestite world, seems to be unclear. It perhaps relates to the tendency of a transvestite’s skirts to drag along the ground in days of old (although why they just didn’t hitch up their skirts is beyond me!).

52A Japanese healing technique : REIKI

The Japanese practice of hands-on healing called “reiki” was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922. “Reiki” is a Japanese term meaning “universal energy”. Practitioners of reiki believe that they are transferring this universal energy through the palms of the hand into the patient’s body.

53A Medical lead-in to -scope : OTO

An ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT) uses an otoscope to look into the interior of one’s ears.

55A Type of alcoholic beverage that originated in the U.K., despite its name : IPA

India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.

63A Very vocal avian : MYNA

Some species of myna (also “mynah”) birds are known for their ability to imitate sounds.

Down

1D Unfounded rumor : CANARD

“Canard” is the French word for “duck”. We use the term to describe a hoax or a misleading rumor. This usage comes from a phrase used in French that translates as “to half-sell a duck”, meaning “to cheat”.

2D Tired expression : OLD SAW

A saw is an old saying, one that is often repeated and is very familiar. The term “old saw” is actually a tautology, as by definition a “saw” is “old”.

3D Something that can be raised or passed : BAR

The legal profession is referred to as “the bar”. The term arose in medieval times when European courtrooms were divided into two with “barring” furniture, basically a wooden rail that separated the public from the participants in the trial.

7D City where the Men’s College World Series takes place : OMAHA

Back in 1947/48, the College World Series (CWS) was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and then in 1949 in Wichita, Kansas. Since 1950, the CWS has been held every year in Omaha, Nebraska.

8D Stuff boiled in sugar shacks : SAP

Sugar shacks, also known as “cabanes à sucre” in French, are unique structures that are typically found in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. These small buildings are used for the production of maple syrup.

21D Hosp. test : EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

23D Japanese company whose products click with customers : NIKON

The Japanese company Nikon was founded in 1917 with the merger of three manufacturers of various optical devices. After the merger, Nikon’s main output was lenses (including the first lenses for Canon cameras, before Canon made its own). During the war, Nikon sales grew rapidly as the company focused on (pun!) equipment for the military including periscopes and bomb sights.

24D Dresser part : KNOB

The item of bedroom furniture usually known as a dresser (or sometimes “bureau”) here in North America, is generally called a chest of drawers in Britain and Ireland. Whatever the name, the piece consists of a set of parallel drawers, mainly stacked one over the other.

26D Composer of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” : GRIEG

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is a charming orchestral piece composed by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. It is mainly heard today as part of Grieg’s “Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1”, which is a collection of incidental music that he wrote for Henrik Ibsen’s 1876 play “Peer Gynt”.

27D Destination of an annual race since 1973 : NOME

Nome, Alaska has over 3,500 residents, the majority of whom are Native American. The next largest ethnic group in Nome is the white population. The origin of the name “Nome” isn’t well understood, it seems. One theory is that there was a misunderstanding of the local Inupiaq word meaning “Where at?”

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race covers an incredible 1,161 miles, from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska. The race starts every year on the first Saturday in March, with the first race having been held in 1973. Finishing times range from over 8 days to 15 days or more. The first few races only used a northern route, but then a southern route was added to the roster every second year. It’s kind of a good thing, because when the racers take the northern route they don’t even pass through the town of Iditarod!

32D It’s formed in Pittsburgh : OHIO RIVER

The Ohio River forms in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet. The Ohio empties into the Mississippi near the city of Cairo, Illinois.

34D Horace’s “___ Poetica” : ARS

The full name of Horace’s work is “Ars Poetica, Epistula ad Pisones” (The Art of Poetry, Letters to the Pisos). The work describes the technical aspects of poetry in ancient Rome, and the term “ars poetica” has come to mean the poetry of that period.

35D Boy on “The Munsters” : EDDIE

Eddie Munster was played by Butch Patrick on the TV show “The Munsters”. Reportedly, Butch received $600 per episode in salary, but that was back in 1964-66.

36D Island in a classic video game : MYST

In the days when I played the occasional video game, the best of the bunch was undoubtedly Myst. It is a game full of puzzles with the player wandering through a beautifully-designed (for its day) interactive world.

43D ___ choy : BOK

Bok choy is a variety of Chinese cabbage. “Bok choy” translates as “white vegetable”.

45D White House daughter of the 1960s-’70s : TRICIA

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon had two daughters. The eldest daughter is Tricia. Tricia married Harvard law student Edward Cox in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden in 1971.

47D Is really into, in slang : STANS

“Stan” is a song by rapper Eminem (featuring Dido) that was recorded in 2000. The title refers to a fictional Eminem fan named “Stan” who becomes obsessed with the rapper, and who grows irate when his letters to his idol go unanswered. Stan’s final act is to make a voice recording as he drives into a river, with his pregnant girlfriend locked in the trunk. One of the legacies of the song is that “stan” is now used as a slang term for an obsessed and maniacal fan.

49D Animated princess of film : FIONA

Princess Fiona is the title character’s love interest in the “Shrek” series of films. She is voiced by Cameron Diaz.

50D 1-Across teachers : YOGIS

A yogi is a master practitioner of yoga. A master practitioner who is female might be referred to as a yogini.

51D Cute sound? : LONG U

The letter U in the word “cute” is a long letter U.

54D Mineral with a Mohs hardness of 1 : TALC

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs. Basically Mohs took minerals and scratched them with other minerals. In this way he was able to determine which minerals were hardest (most scratch resistant) and which softest. On the scale, diamond is the hardest (and rated 10), while talc is the softest (and rated 1).

60D Anti-apartheid party, in brief : ANC

The African National Congress (ANC) started out as the South African Native National Congress in 1912 with the goal of improving the lot of black South Africans. After years of turmoil, the ANC came to power in the first open election in 1964. Today, the ANC remains the ruling political party in South Africa,