Tag: Phish-monger? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 10m 31s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10A Longtime airer of the docuseries “American Greed” : CNBC

“American Greed” is a documentary series in the “true crime” genre that airs weekly on CNBC. The crimes explored are corporate and white collar crimes.

16A Carrier lead-in to méxico : AERO-

Aeroméxico is the flag carrier airline of Mexico. The company started out in 1934 as Aeronaves de México.

17A Phish-monger? : SCAM ARTIST

Phishing is the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PINs, etc.”

19A “The devil take ___ soul!”: Laertes : THY

In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, Laertes is the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. It is Laertes who kills Hamlet using a poisoned sword..

29A Insect that can reproduce with or without mating : APHID

Aphids are called “greenfly” back in Britain and Ireland where I come from. The most effective way to control aphids, in my experience, is to make sure there are plenty of ladybugs in the garden (called “ladybirds” in Ireland!).

33A Nano devices : IPODS

The iPod Nano was the successor to the iPod Mini and was introduced to the market at the end of 2005. There were seven versions of the Nano, until it was discontinued in 2017.

36A Beginning of Taurus season : LATE APRIL

Taurus is the birth sign for those born between April 21st and June 16th. “Taurus” is Latin for “bull”.

38A Zapped, in a way : LASED

The term “laser” is an acronym standing for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. It has been pointed out that a more precise name for laser technology is “light oscillation by stimulated emission of radiation”, but the resulting acronym isn’t quite so appealing, namely “loser”.

40A Meals at which Elijah’s cup is poured : SEDERS

Once the Grace after Meals has been recited at the Passover Seder, it is customary to pour a cup of wine known as the Cup of Elijah. Tradition is that by doing so, the home is graced by the presence of Elijah the Prophet.

47A Nephew of Abraham : LOT

Lot was a nephew of Abraham, with his story appearing in the Book of Genesis. At one point Lot had to flee the doomed city of Sodom with his wife. God gave instructions that the couple should not look back as they left the city, but Lot’s wife disobeyed and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

50A Locale of the Sea of Serenity : MOON

The Moon’s Mare Serenitatis (Latin for “Sea of Serenity”) connects with the more famous Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for “Sea of Tranquility”), which is where Neil Armstrong took those first steps on the Moon. Mare Serenitatis, like most of the “seas” on the Moon, was named in 1651 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli. Anyone who likes looking at “the Man in the Moon” might be interested to know that the Sea of Serenity forms the right eye.

Down

5D Green poke bowl topping : SEAWEED SALAD

Poke is a Native Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish. “Poke” is a Hawaiian word meaning “to slice”.

6D Evening meal during Ramadan : IFTAR

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and is traditionally a period of fasting. The faithful who observe Ramadan refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from dawn to dusk everyday, a lesson in patience, humility and spirituality.

7D Genre of “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Big Sleep” : NOIR

The expression “film noir” has French origins, but only in that it was coined by a French critic in describing a style of Hollywood film. The term, meaning “black film” in French, was first used by Nino Frank in 1946. Film noir often applies to a movie with a melodramatic plot and a private eye or detective at its center. Good examples would be “The Big Sleep” and “D.O.A”.

The classic detective novel “The Maltese Falcon” was written by Dashiell Hammett and first published in 1930. The main character is Sam Spade, a character played by Humphrey Bogart in the third movie adaptation of the book, a film of the same name and released in 1941.

“The Big Sleep” is a film released in 1946, and a great example of the film noir genre. Based on Raymond Chandler’s 1939 novel of the same name, the movie stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe, and Lauren Bacall as the sultry daughter of Marlowe’s client.

8D Bit of scattered Valentine’s Day décor : ROSE PETAL

Saint Valentine’s Day was introduced by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD to honor various martyrs with the name Valentine. However, the saint’s day was dropped by the Roman Catholic church in 1969, by Pope Paul VI. Try telling that to Hallmark though …

9D D.C. summer hrs. : EDT

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

12D “Well done!” : BRAVO!

To express appreciation for a male performer at an operatic performance, traditionally one calls out “bravo!”. Appreciation for a female performer is shown by using “brava!”, and for more than one performer of either sex by using “bravi!”

22D Intuitive ability in the Marvel Universe : SPIDER SENSE

“Spidey-sense” is a term used to describe one’s intuition or instinct, especially when sensing something that might be dangerous. The term arises from the comic book hero Spider-Man’s ability to sense danger before others.

24D Hero’s journey, say : ARC

A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.

28D Chess great Spassky : BORIS

Boris Spassky is a Russian chess grandmaster, and currently the oldest living world champion. Here in the US, Spassky’s most famous match was in 1972, at the height of the Cold War. That was when Spassky lost the world championship to American player Bobby Fischer in a clash that was billed as the “Match of the Century”.

31D Early Chromebook manufacturer : ACER

A netbook is in effect a stripped-down laptop. It is a small machine without a hard drive that is intended for use with an Internet connection. Netbooks were largely pushed out of the market by tablet computers. Google’s Chromebooks have really taken over the netbook concept, and have proven to be very successful in recent years. I love my Chromebooks …

32D Energy-efficient bulbs, for short : LEDS

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a specialized form of semiconductor that when switched on releases photons (light). LEDs were used in early digital watches, and are getting more and more popular even though their use in electronic equipment is fading away. LEDs are used as replacements for the much less-efficient tungsten light bulbs. I replaced all of my tungsten Xmas lights many years ago and saved a lot on my electricity bill.

41D Black ___, nickname for Kobe Bryant : MAMBA

“The Mamba Mentality: How I Play: is a 2018 retrospective book of photographs and quotes by NBA legend Kobe Bryant. He defines the Mamba Mentality as “constantly trying to be the best version of yourself.”

Kobe Bryant played basketball for the LA Lakers. Bryant got his given name from a menu, would you believe? His parents were in a Japanese restaurant and liked the name of “Kobe” beef, the beef from around the city of Kobe on the island of Honshu in Japan. Very sadly, Bryant and his daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.

42D What fell on Chicken Little’s head : ACORN

In a famous folk tale, Chicken Little is a young chick who panics when an acorn falls on his head. Chicken Little assumes that the sky is falling. “The sky is falling!” is a phrase often used in English today that originated in the folk tale. The protagonist’s name is “Chicken Little” in most American versions of the story, whereas “Henny Penny” is used in many European versions.

43D Medieval characters : RUNES

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

47D One of the three landlocked countries with four-letter names, aside from Chad and Mali : LAOS

The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country’s name is “Meuang Lao”. The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of “Lao” entities united into one, the French added the “S” and so today we tend to use “Laos” instead of “Lao”.

48D R&B/pop singer Aubrey : O’DAY

The singer Aubrey O’Day is a member of the duo band Dumblonde, and a former member of the girl group Danity Kane.

51D “You cannot look at a sleeping ___ and feel tense”: Jane Pauley : CAT

Jane Pauley is a television journalist who is perhaps best known for co-hosting the NBC morning show “Today”, and the current affairs program “Dateline NBC”. Pauley has been married since 1980 to cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of the comic strip “Doonesbury”.

52D Montevideo Mrs. : SRA

Montevideo is the capital and main port of Uruguay. Famously, Montevideo featured in the Battle of the River Plate in WWII that resulted in the scuttling of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.