Tag: Movie co. with a presence at Sundance crossword clue

Bill’s time: 7m 49s

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Alan of “Marriage Story” : ALDA

Alan Alda has had a great television career, most notably as a lead actor in “M*A*S*H”. He was born Alphonso D’Abruzzo in the Bronx, New York City. Alda won his first Emmy in 1972, for playing surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H”. He also won an Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal of Presidential candidate Senator Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing”. When it comes to the big screen, my favorite of Alda’s movies is the 1978 romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year” in which he starred opposite Ellen Burstyn.

8 Danish shoe manufacturer : ECCO

I have to say, after owning several pairs, that ECCO shoes are the most comfortable in the world …

12 “Tender” meat cut : LOIN

Loin is the tissue along the top of the ribs.

13 Italian city known for its salami : GENOA

Genoa salami is made using preservation techniques that originated in ancient Rome.

“Salame” (note the letter E at the end) is an Italian sausage that is traditionally associated with the peasant classes. The meat in the sausage is preserved with salt, and it can be hung and stored for as long as ten years. The name “salame” comes from “sale”, the Italian word for salt, and “-ame”, a suffix indicating a collective noun. Our English word “salami” is actually the Italian plural for “salame”.

15 Understand, informally : GROK

To grok is to understand. “To grok” is a slang term that’s really only used in “techie” circles. “Grok” is the creation of science fiction author Robert Heinlein, who coined it in his 1961 novel “Stranger in a Strange Land”.

19 Movie co. with a presence at Sundance : IFC

IFC Productions is a film production company, and part of IFC the Independent Film Channel (one of my favorites cable channels).

The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film event in the country, and takes place every year around the Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. The festival has its roots in the Utah/US Film Festival which started in Salt Lake City in 1978. Management of the festival was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in 1985. The festival has become a bit of a media feeding frenzy in recent years, as a lot of A-list celebrities attend. The Festival organizers introduced a “Focus on Film” campaign in 2007 in an attempt to offset some of the madness.

20 Words on the smallest current U.S. coin : ONE DIME

The term “dime”, used for a 10-cent coin, comes from the Old French word “disme” meaning “tenth part”.

21 The Spartans of the N.C.A.A., for short : MSU

Michigan State University’s sports teams used to be called the Aggies, as the school was founded as the State Agricultural College of Michigan. The team name was changed to the Spartans in 1925, reflecting the school’s shift in focus beyond agriculture-centered education. The school mascot Sparty hit the scene in 1989.

24 Rap’s MC ___ : REN

“MC Ren” is the stage name of rapper Lorenzo Patterson. The “Ren” in his stage name comes from the middle letters in his given name “Lorenzo”.

30 Raise ___ (cause trouble) : CAIN

As Cain was the first murderer according to the Bible, he is associated with evil or trouble. The idiom “raise Cain” is the equivalent of “raise Hell” and “raise the Devil”. In all cases, the meaning is to bring back evil or to cause trouble.

38 Apt name for a car mechanic? : OTTO

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“Otto” sounds like “auto”.

43 Fashion designer von Furstenberg : DIANE

Diane von Fürstenberg (DVF) is a fashion designer from Brussels, now based in the US. Born Diane Halfin, she was Princess Diane of Fürstenberg from 1969 until 1972 while married to Prince Egon of Fürstenberg.

48 Actress/comedian Issa : RAE

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

51 ___ Lama : DALAI

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.

54 Long ways to go? : LIMOS

The word “limousine” derives from the name of the French city of Limoges. The area around Limoges is called the Limousin, and it gave its name to a cloak hood worn by local shepherds. In early motor cars, a driver would sit outside in the weather while the passengers would sit in the covered compartment. The driver would often wear a limousin-style protective hood, giving rise to that type of transportation being called a “limousine”. Well, that’s how the story goes …

56 City with a Little Havana neighborhood : MIAMI

The Miami neighborhood known as Little Havana is home to many immigrants from Cuba, hence the name. Little Havana is located immediately west of Downtown Miami.

57 Body’s internal clock patterns, regulated by the phenomenon seen in the circled letters : SLEEP-WAKE CYCLES

Biological processes are said to exhibit circadian rhythm if they are characterized by 24-hour cycles. The term “circadian” comes from the Latin “circa” meaning “around, approximately” and “diem” meaning “day”.

62 Feature of an impala … or an Impala : HORN

“Impala” is the Zulu word for “gazelle”. When running at a sustained speed, gazelles can move along at 30 miles per hour. If needed, they can accelerate for bursts up to 60 miles per hour.

The Chevrolet Impala was introduced in 1957. “Impala” is the Zulu word for “gazelle”.

64 ___ mater : ALMA

The literal translation for the Latin term “alma mater” is “nourishing mother”. The phrase was used in ancient Rome to refer to mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity the term was used to refer to the Virgin Mary. Nowadays, one’s alma mater is the school one attended, either high school or college, usually one’s last place of education.

Down

1 Midsize Nissan : ALTIMA

Nissan has been making the Altima since 1993. In 2007 the company started to produce a hybrid version, Nissan’s first foray into the hybrid market and a successful one by all accounts. Altima hybrids are even used as police cruisers by the New York Police Department.

2 Descriptor of the 1%? : LOW-FAT

The fatty component of milk is known as butterfat (sometimes “milkfat”). To be labeled whole milk, the butterfat content must be at least 3.25%. Low-fat milk is defined as milk containing 0.5-2% fat, with levels of 1% and 2% commonly found on grocery store shelves. Skim milk must contain less than 0.5% fat, and typically contains 0.1%.

3 Like jigsaw puzzle pieces produced by machines : DIE CUT

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.

4 ___ Arbor, Mich. : ANN

Ann Arbor, Michigan was founded in 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey. Supposedly, Allen and Rumsey originally used the name “Annsarbour” in recognition of stands of bur oak that were on the land they had purchased and in recognition of their wives, both of whom were called “Ann” (i.e. Anns’ Arbor)

6 One end of a battery : ANODE

A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy. A simple battery is made up of three parts: a cathode, an anode and a liquid electrolyte. Ions from the electrolyte react chemically with the material in the anode producing a compound and releasing electrons. At the same time, the electrolyte reacts with the material in the cathode, absorbing electrons and producing a different chemical compound. In this way, there is a buildup of electrons at the anode and a deficit of electrons at the cathode. When a connection (wire, say) is made between the cathode and anode, electrons flow through the resulting circuit from the anode to cathode in an attempt to rectify the electron imbalance.

8 Id restrainer : EGO

Sigmund Freud created a structural model of the human psyche, breaking it into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is that part of the psyche containing the basic instinctual drives. The ego seeks to please the id by causing realistic behavior that benefits the individual. The superego almost has a parental role, contradicting the id by introducing critical thinking and morals to behavioral choices.

10 Tight-fitting women’s garment : CORSET

A corset is a close-fitting undergarment that is stiffened with a material such as whalebone. Corsets are more usually worn by women, to shape the body. The word “corset” is a diminutive of the Old French “cors” meaning “body”.

13 OB/___ : GYN

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)

17 Puccini opera set in Rome : TOSCA

Unlike so many operas, Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” was a big hit right from day one, when it was first performed in 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Currently, “Tosca” is the eighth-most performed opera in America.

18 Toffee candy bar brand : HEATH

The HEATH bar is a Hershey product that was introduced in the 1930s by brothers Bayard and Everett Heath. The candy was promoted back then with the line “Heath for better health!”, a reference to the “healthy” ingredients of the best milk chocolate and almonds, creamery butter and pure sugar cane. Different times …

26 Potato salad ingredient, for short : MAYO

Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” that we use in English today.

28 N.B.A. legend Jason : KIDD

Jason Kidd is a former point guard in the NBA. He finished his career with the New York Knicks, and then took coaching positions with the Brooklyn Nets, Mulwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers.

29 One of nearly 15,000 in Manhattan : ACRE

The island we know as Manhattan was inhabited by the Lenape Indians when the first Europeans explorers arrived in the area. According to the logbook of one of the officers on explorer Henry Hudson’s yacht, the island was called “Manna-hata” in the local language, from which the modern name derives.

31 Counterpart of rouge, in roulette : NOIR

In the game of roulette, players can bet on “rouge” (red) and “noir” (black).

33 Utah’s capital, in brief : SLC

Salt Lake City (SLC) was founded by Brigham Young, in 1847. The city takes its name from the Great Salt Lake on which it sits, and indeed was known as “Great Salt Lake City” up until 1868.

34 Multicolored in blotches : PIED

Something described as pied is patchy or blotchy in color, piebald. The term comes from the Middle English “pie”, an old name for the magpie, and is a reference to the bird’s black and white plumage.

37 Org. concerned with air traffic : FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was set up in 1958 (as the Federal Aviation Agency). The agency was established at that particular time largely in response to an increasing number of midair collisions. The worst of these disasters had taken place two years earlier over the Grand Canyon, a crash between two commercial passenger airplanes that resulted in 128 fatalities.

39 It’s warmed at Chipotle : TORTILLA

“Tortilla” translates literally from Spanish as “little cake”.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of casual dining restaurants that was founded and is now headquartered in Denver, Colorado. For several years, the major investor in Chipotle was McDonald’s. The chain is named for the smoke-dried jalapeño called a “chipotle”.

41 Physicist Georg with electrifying discoveries? : OHM

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.

46 Many characters in “Guardians of the Galaxy” : ALIENS

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is a 2014 film based on a team of superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe. The movie’s cast is very impressive, including Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro. I don’t normally “do” superhero films, but I hear that this one is very entertaining.

50 Male meower : TOMCAT

A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring. A male cat is a tom or tomcat, and a neutered male is a gib. An unaltered female cat is a queen, and a spayed female might be referred to informally as a molly. A young cat is a kitten.

52 Voter in a certain early caucus : IOWAN

The Iowa caucuses have been the first major electoral event in the nominating process for US presidential candidates since 1972.

A caucus is a meeting of supporters of a particular political group. It is believed that the term was first used in the original North American colonies.

53 Small ornamental loop : PICOT

A picot is a loop of thread, either for function or for decoration, at the edge of some knitted or tatted material.

55 Garment worn with a choli : SARI

A choli is a blouse worn by women in the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively short garment, and is usually worn along with a sari.

58 Mauna ___ Observatory : LOA

The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) on the Big Island of Hawaii primarily monitors and collects data about changes in the Earth’s atmosphere. The MLO has been continuously monitoring CO2 levels in the atmosphere longer than any other facility on the planet, with records going back to 1958.

60 Bird related to the cassowary : EMU

The cassowary is a large, flightless bird found mainly in New Guinea. One species of cassowary is the third tallest bird on the planet, second only to the ostrich and the emu.