Tag: One of Us say crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 28s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Parasite’s target : HOST

Our word “parasite” comes from the Greek “parasitos”, which describes a person who eats at the table of another, i.e. one who lives at another’s expense. “Parasitos” comes from “para-” (beside) and “sitos” (bread, food). I guess the idea is that a parasite is feeding right beside one.

18A Which 1991 comedy starred Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss? : WHAT ABOUT BOB? (TAB key)

Actor and comedian Bill Murray got his big break on “Saturday Night Live” when he replaced the departing Chevy Chase in the show’s second season. Murray then launched a hugely successful film career, starring in a host of hit movies such as “Caddyshack”, “Stripes”, “Tootsie”, “Ghostbusters”, “What About Bob?” and “Groundhog Day”. His film career took off again with a lead role in 2003’s “Lost in Translation”. A favorite Bill Murray movie of mine is 2012’s “Hyde Park on the Hudson”, in which Murray plays President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Actor Richard Dreyfuss is from New York City, although he grew up in Los Angeles. Dreyfuss got his big break with a lead role in 1973’s “American Graffiti” and then made a name for himself in two Steven Spielberg blockbusters: “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. He won the 1978 Best Actor Oscar for his wonderful performance in “The Goodbye Girl”, making him the youngest actor to be so honored at that time (he was 30 years old).

19A Quotidian : USUAL

Something described as “quotidian” is ordinary, commonplace, or is something that occurs daily. “Quotidianus” is Latin for “daily”.

21A Charon’s domain : STYX

The River Styx of Greek mythology was the river that formed the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld (or “Hades”). The souls of the newly dead had to cross the River Styx in a ferry boat piloted by Charon. Traditionally, a coin would be placed in the mouths of the dead “to pay the ferryman”.

23A Role for Annie Potts on “Young Sheldon” : MEEMAW

“Nana” and “Meemaw” are familiar terms meaning “grandma”.

Annie Potts is an actress from Nashville, Tennessee. She had roles in successful films such as “Ghostbusters” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and did voice work for “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”. Potts was lucky to survive a car crash when she was 21 years old, as she broke nearly every bone in her lower body.

“Young Sheldon” is a spinoff prequel to the hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” that follows the life of a 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper. The title character is played by child actor Iain Armitage. Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory”, is the narrator for the spinoff, and is also an executive producer. In another link between the shows, young Sheldon’s Mom is played by actress Zoe Perry. Perry is the real-life daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who plays “old” Sheldon’s mom in the original series.

25A Are: Fr. : ÊTES

In French, “nous sommes” (we are), “vous êtes” (you are), and “ils/elles sont” (they are).

28A Figure in much W.W. I propaganda : UNCLE SAM

The Uncle Sam personification of the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The term was so widely accepted that even the Germans used it during WWII, choosing the code word “Samland” for “America” in intelligence communiques.

31A Kid with a route : PAPER BOY

That was me, over 60 years ago …

35A Home to the first N.F.L. team to win a Super Bowl in its own stadium (2021) : TAMPA

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. The naming rights for the stadium were purchased in 1998 by Raymond James Financial, which is headquartered in St. Petersburg.

39A What Edvard Munch painting inspired a poster for “Home Alone”? : THE SCREAM (ESC key)

Edvard Munch’s iconic painting “The Scream” actually has multiple versions. There are two painted versions, two pastel versions, and a lithograph stone, with the most famous being the 1893 tempera on cardboard, which can be viewed at the National Museum of Norway, in Oslo.

The escape key (Esc) was originally used just to control computer peripherals. It was a key that allowed the computer operator to stop what the peripheral was doing (cancel a print job, for example). Nowadays the escape key is used for all sorts of things, especially in gaming programs.

40A What fictional English heavy metal band consists of David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls? : SPINAL TAP (ALT key)

“This Is Spın̈al Tap” is a rock musical mockumentary about the fictional band Spinal Tap, directed by the great Rob Reiner. I love Rob Reiner’s work, but this movie … not so much …

The Alt (alternate) key is found on either side of the space bar on US PC keyboards. It evolved from what was called a Meta key on old MIT keyboards, although the function has changed somewhat over the years. Alt is equivalent in many ways to the Option key on a Mac keyboard, and indeed the letters “Alt” have been printed on most Mac keyboards, starting in the nineties.

42A Like the origins of Buddhism and Hinduism : ASIAN

Gautama Buddha was the sage on whose teachings the Buddhist tradition was founded. It is generally believed that the Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Kapilavastu in present-day Nepal, in about 563 BCE.

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

47A Prefix with genetics : EPI-

DNA contains nucleotide base sequences called genes, which are blueprints used in the manufacture of proteins needed by the body. Our DNA is also “decorated” with epigenetic markers that modify the activity level of genes, and can even turn genes off. These epigenetic markers respond to environmental conditions, so that organisms with the same DNA can exhibit differences in behavior and appearance, as a result of differing environments. This explains why identical twins develop differences in appearance over time.

51A Gorgon slain by Perseus : MEDUSA

In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the monstrous female creatures known as Gorgons. According to one version of the Medusa myth, she was once a beautiful woman. She incurred the wrath of Athena who turned her lovely hair into serpents and made her face hideously ugly. Anyone who gazed directly at the transformed Medusa would turn into stone. She was eventually killed by the hero Perseus, who beheaded her. He carried Medusa’s head and used its powers as a weapon, before giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. One myth holds that as Perseus was flying over Egypt with Medusa’s severed head, drops of her blood fell to the ground and formed asps.

56A Cohort : GANG

“Cohort” can be used as a collective noun, meaning “group, company”. The term can also apply to an individual supporter or companion, although usually in a derogatory sense. “Cohort” comes from the Latin “cohors”, which was an infantry company in the Roman army, one tenth of a legion.

60A Denizen of hell : DEMON

Nowadays we use “denizen” to mean simply “resident”, but historically a denizen was an immigrant to whom certain rights had been granted, somewhat like today’s resident alien.

64A Neighbor of Java : BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is known as the “Island of the Gods” due to its rich and unique culture, which is steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs.

65A Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes : DETECTIVES

I loved the “Nancy Drew” mysteries as a kid. They were written by a number of ghost writers, all of whom went by the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The character was introduced by publisher Edward Stratemeyer in 1930. Nancy Drew’s boyfriend is Ned Nickerson, a college student from Emerson.

Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel, “A Study in Scarlet“. Amazingly, Conan Doyle wrote the novel in under three weeks, while working as a 27-year-old doctor. Mind you, he only got paid 25 pounds for all the rights to the story. I suppose it’s a good job that he only devoted a few weeks to it.

66A Prayer leader : IMAM

An imam is a Muslim leader, and often the person in charge of a mosque and/or perhaps a Muslim community.

68A ___-à-___ : TÊTE

A “tête-à-tête” is a one-on-one meeting, and a term that translates from French as “head-to-head”.

Down

1D Idly pluck, as a banjo : THRUM

To thrum is to strum a stringed instrument in an idle and monotonous way. The term “thrum” has been around for a long time, since the 1590s.

The instrument that we know today as the banjo is a derivative of instruments that were used in Africa.

3D One of Us, say? : ISSUE

“Us Weekly” is a celebrity gossip magazine that was first published in 1977 as “Us”. Originally issued every two weeks, “Us” became a monthly magazine in 1991, and moved to a weekly format in 2000.

5D Like most oysters served with mignonette : RAW

Mignonette sauce is traditionally served with raw oysters. It is a condiment made from minced shallots and cracked pepper suspended in vinegar.

6D Some Bavarian cries : ACHS!

The German exclamation “ach!” is usually translated into English as “oh!”

Bavaria in southeast Germany is the largest state in the country. The capital and largest city in Bavaria is Munich.

9D 19th letter : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

10D Sephora competitor : ULTA

Ulta Beauty is an American chain of beauty stores that was founded in 1990 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I am not part of the company’s target demographic …

Sephora is a French chain of cosmetic stores, founded in 1969. The name “Sephora” is derived from the Greek for “beauty” (“sephos”). We’ve been able to visit Sephora outlets in JCPenney stores since 2006.

12D ___ Gay : ENOLA

The Enola Gay was the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb, the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in August 1945. Enola Gay was the name of the mother of pilot Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.

13D Steel rod with ridges : REBAR

A steel bar or mesh used to reinforce concrete is called “rebar”, which is short for “reinforcing bar”.

16D Maliciously publishes the private info of online : DOXES

Doxing (also “doxxing”) is the publishing of private information about someone on the Internet with the intention of doing harm or causing embarrassment. The term “doxing” is slang, and comes from “dox”, an accepted abbreviation for “documents”.

20D Actor Fishburne of “The Matrix” : LAURENCE

I’d guess that the most famous roles played by actor Laurence Fishburne are Morpheus in “The Matrix” series of movies, and Dr. Raymond Langston on the TV show “CSI”. Fishburne is married to the actress Gina Torres. The pair play a married couple on the TV show “Hannibal”.

The 1999 movie sensation “The Matrix” was meant to be set in a nondescript urban environment. It was actually shot in Australia, as one of the co-producers of the film was the Australian company, Village Roadshow Pictures. You can pick up all sorts of clues about the location when watching the film, including a view of Sydney Harbour Bridge in a background shot. Also, traffic drives along on the left and there are signs for the “lift” instead of an “elevator”.

24D Org. for the Fever and the Dream : WNBA

The Indiana Fever WNBA team was founded in 2000. The team shares the Gainbridge Fieldhouse indoor arena in Indianapolis with the Indiana Pacers NBA team for home games.

The Atlanta Dream is a WNBA team that joined the league for the 2008 season. After moving around a little, the Dreams settled into the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia starting with the 2021 season.

26D Filled : SATIATED

“Sate” is a variant of the older word “satiate”. Both terms can mean either to satisfy an appetite fully, or to eat to excess.

30D Cat breed from an island in the Irish Sea : MANX

I’ve seen Manx cats by the dozen on their native island. They’re found all over the Isle of Man (hence the name “Manx”) that is located in the middle of the Irish Sea. Manx cats have just a stub of a tail, and hence are called “stubbins” by the locals.

31D Educational support grp. : PTA

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

33D Who won Best Supporting Actor for Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas?” : PESCI

Joe Pesci got his big break in movies with a supporting role in “Raging Bull” starring Robert De Niro, earning Pesci an Oscar nomination early in his career. There followed a string of gangster roles played alongside De Niro, namely “Once Upon a Time in America”, “GoodFellas” and “Casino”. But I like Pesci’s comedic acting best of all. He was marvelous in the “Home Alone” films, the “Lethal Weapon” series, and my personal favorite, “My Cousin Vinny”. Pesci gets a mention in the stage musical “Jersey Boys”, which isn’t too surprising as he is one of the show’s producers.

The Martin Scorsese classic “GoodFellas” is a 1990 adaptation of a nonfiction book by Nicholas Pileggi called “Wiseguy”. The film tells the story of a mob family that succumbs to the FBI after one of their own becomes an informant.

34D Pitchers’ stats : ERAS

Earned run average (ERA)

36D What Mediterranean nation lies between Italy and Libya? : MALTA

The island state of Malta is relatively small (122 square miles), but its large number of inhabitants makes it one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. Malta’s strategic location has made it a prized possession for the conquering empires of the world. Most recently it was part of the British Empire and was an important fleet headquarters. Malta played a crucial role for the Allies during WWII as it was located very close to the Axis shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The Siege of Malta lasted from 1940 to 1942, a prolonged attack by the Italians and Germans on the RAF and Royal Navy, and the people of Malta. When the siege was lifted, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta collectively in recognition of their heroism and devotion to the Allied cause. The George Cross can still be seen on the Maltese flag, even though Britain granted Malta independence in 1964.

37D Go for the gold? : PAN

When prospectors pan for gold, they do so by mixing soil and water in a pan. Because gold is very dense, gravel and soil can be washed over the side of the pan leaving the heavy precious metal at the bottom. The gold has been “panned out”, and so we often use “pan out” figuratively to mean “turn out, succeed”.

38D Apropos : APT

“Apropos”, meaning “relevant, opportune”, comes into English directly from French, in which language “à propos” means “to the purpose”. Note that we use the term as one word (apropos), whereas the original French is two words (à propos).

40D Initialism for an online advertiser : SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO)

41D Pitted fruit : PLUM

There are many plum tree cultivars that bear edible fruit. Examples are damsons, prune plums, greengages and mirabelles.

49D 2010 release now owned by Meta, informally : INSTA

Instagram (often abbreviated to “Insta”, or “IG”) is a photo-sharing application, one that is extremely popular. Instagram started in San Francisco in 2010. Facebook purchased Instagram two years later, paying $1 billion. The billion-dollar Instagram company had just 13 employees at the time of the sale …

52D Entry in red ink : DEBIT

To be in the red is to be in debt, to owe money. The expression “in the red” is a reference to the accounting practice of recording debts and losses in red ink in ledgers. The related phrase “in the black” means “solvent, making a profit”.

53D So-called “fifth taste” : UMAMI

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. “Umami” is a Japanese word used to describe “a pleasant savory taste”. It was proposed as a basic taste in 1908, but it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the scientific community finally accepted it as such.

54D Kind of wind … or an alternative to wind : SOLAR

The Sun’s upper atmosphere continually ejects a stream of the charged particles that have such high energy that they can escape the Sun’s gravity. This supersonic plasma consisting mainly of electrons, protons and alpha particles is referred to as the solar wind. The solar wind extends as far as the outer limits of our solar system, and is responsible for phenomena such as the Earth’s northern and southern lights, the geomagnetic storms that affect radio reception, and the plasma tails of comets.

Solar farms, also known as photovoltaic power stations, are large-scale, grid-connected solar power systems designed to supply power at the utility level. A 2023 study in Canada highlighted the country’s significant potential for “agrivoltaics”, a dual-use land strategy where solar energy production is integrated with agriculture. This study suggests that installing agrivoltaic systems on just 1% of Canada’s agricultural land could generate between 25% and 33% of the country’s electricity needs.

57D Singer Stefani : GWEN

Gwen Stefani is lead singer with the rock band No Doubt. She joined the band in 1986, focused on a solo career from 2004-2008, but is now back singing and working with No Doubt. She joined the reality show “The Voice” as a coach in 2014, replacing Christina Aguilera. A year later, Stefani announced a relationship with Blake Shelton, a fellow coach on “The Voice”.

59D Negative for Nikolai : NYET

“Nyet” is Russian for “no”, and “da” is Russian for “yes”.

62D Heart chart, for short : ECG

An EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart. Back in my homeland of Ireland, an EKG is known as an ECG (for electrocardiogram). We use the German name in the US, Elektrokardiogramm, giving us EKG. Apparently the abbreviation EKG is preferred, as ECG might be confused (if poorly handwritten, I guess) with EEG, the abbreviation for an electroencephalogram.

63D Buffalo-to-Baltimore dir. : SSE

Buffalo is the second-most populous city in the state of New York. The city takes its name from Buffalo Creek that runs through the metropolis (although the waterway is called Buffalo River within the city). The source of the name Buffalo Creek is the subject of much speculation, but one thing is clear, there were never any bison in the area.

The Maryland city of Baltimore was founded in 1729. It took its name from Baltimore County, which had been founded 70 years earlier. The “Baltimore” name was chosen in honor of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore who was the proprietor of the Province of Maryland. The peerage was named for Baltimore Manor in County Longford, in the Irish midlands.