Tag: Plant overseas perhaps crossword clue

Bill’s time: 8m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Sticks in locks : OARS

Oarlocks are swiveling braces on the sides of a rowing boat that hold the oars as the boat is being propelled. Back in Ireland, we call them “rowlocks” (pronounced “rollox”).

5A Philosopher who championed simple explanations : OCCAM

Occam’s Razor, properly attributed to William of Ockham, has roots in earlier philosophical thought. The principle, which states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected, can be traced back to Aristotle’s “Physics”, in which he writes “Nature operates in the shortest way possible”.

10A CAT or PET follower : SCAN

A CT (or “CAT”) scan produces (via computer manipulation) a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object, usually the human body. It does so by taking a series of two-dimensional x-ray images while rotating the camera around the patient. The issue with CT scans is that they use x-rays. High doses of radiation can be harmful, causing damage that is cumulative over time. The initialism “CT” stands for “computed tomography”. The older initialism “CAT” stands for “computed axial tomography”.

A PET scan is a medical diagnostic tool that relies on the detection of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a radioactive tracer isotope introduced into the body. Usually, the tracer isotope is incorporated into a glucose-like sugar and then injected into the bloodstream. After about an hour, the radioactive compound has been concentrated in areas of high metabolic activity, perhaps a malignant tumor. As the isotope decays, it emits positrons. The positrons interact with electrons resulting in annihilation of the particles with emission of gamma photons. These gamma photons are detected and are drawn on a map showing where the molecular tracer has concentrated. The acronym PET stands for positron emission tomography.

14A Element between fluorine and sodium : NEON

Neon (Ne) was discovered in 1898 by two British chemists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They chilled a sample of air, turning it into a liquid. They then warmed that liquid and separated out the gases that boiled off. Along with nitrogen, oxygen and argon (already known), the pair of scientists discovered two new gases. The first they called “krypton” and the second “neon”. “Krypton” is Greek for “the hidden one” and “neon” is Greek for “new”.

15A Spongy exfoliator : LOOFA

The loofah (also “loofa”, “lufah” and “luffa”, all Arabic words) is a vine, with fruit that’s very popular in Asia and Africa. If the fruit is allowed to mature, it can be processed to remove everything but the more rigid xylem structure (remember your high school botany class?) leaving a soft, sponge-like mass that is used as a skin polisher.

16A Body-sculpting procedure, informally : LIPO

Liposuction (lipo) dates back to the 1920s when it was developed by a surgeon in France. However, the procedure quickly lost favor when a French model developed gangrene after surgery. As a result, it wasn’t until the mid-seventies that modern liposuction took off, after being popularized by two Italian surgeons in Rome.

17A Animals whose Aztec name translates to “turtle-rabbit” : ARMADILLOS

The nine-banded armadillo is the most common species of armadillo found in the Americas. The “bands” are bits of armor that circle the body of the armadillo. The term “nine-banded” is a bit of a misnomer as there aren’t always nine bands, but there are usually seven to eleven.

22A It may be bitter : ALE

What’s known as “bitter ale” in the UK corresponds to “pale ale” in the US. I’m a fan …

23A Some winds : OBOES

The oboe is perhaps my favorite of the reed instruments. The name “oboe” comes from the French “hautbois” which means “high wood”.

24A Holiday that’s also a Hebrew letter : TET

The full name for the New Year holiday in Vietnam is “Tet Nguyen Dan” meaning “Feast of the First Morning”, with the reference being to the arrival of the season of spring. Tet usually falls on the same day as Chinese New Year.

25A “WandaVision” co-star Elizabeth ___ : OLSEN

Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of famous actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who rose to fame as child stars on the TV show “Full House”. Elizabeth starred in several critically acclaimed films, and is also known for her role as Scarlet Witch (aka Wanda Maximoff) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“WandaVision” is a TV miniseries featuring characters from Marvel Comics. The title characters are Wanda Maximoff (aka Scarlet Witch) played by Elizabeth Olsen and Vision played by Paul Bettany. I am by no means a fan of screen adaptations of comic characters, but I might take a look at “WandaVision”. Wanda and Vision are living in suburbia, trying to conceal their superhero identities. Each episode progresses the storyline through several decades, using situations encountered in TV shows of the day. Episodes use the format of shows such as:

• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• I Love Lucy
• Bewitched
• I Dream of Jeannie
• The Brady Bunch
• Good Times
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• Full House
• Malcolm in the Middle
• Modern Family
• Out of this World
• The Twilight Zone

Sounds very intriguing …

38A Satellite alternative : AM/FM

In telecommunications, a radio signal is transmitted using a sinusoidal carrier wave. Information is transmitted using this carrier wave in two main ways, by varying (modulating) the instantaneous amplitude (signal strength) of the carrier wave, and by modulating the instantaneous frequency of the carrier wave. The former is referred to as an AM signal (“amplitude modulation”), and the latter as an FM signal (“frequency modulation”).

42A Retinue : POSSE

Our word “posse” comes from an Anglo-Latin term from the early 15th century “posse comitatus” meaning “the force of the county”.

A retinue is a body of aides who attend an important person. The term “retinue” comes from the Old French “retenue” that had the same meaning, although the literal translation is “that which is retained”. The idea is that the aides are retained to attend the VIP.

43A Combat sport, for short : MMA

Mixed martial arts (MMA)

44A Company whose name comes from a term in the board game Go : ATARI

Founded in 1972, electronics and video game manufacturer Atari was once the fastest-growing company in US history. However, it never really recovered from the video game industry crash of 1983. The name “Atari” was chosen because it is a term used in the Japanese game Go that is the equivalent of “check” in chess.

49A Dutch for “farmer” : BOER

“Boer” is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for “farmer”, and a word that was used to describe the Dutch-speaking people who settled parts of South Africa during the 1700s.

52A Skulk in the shadows : LURK

To skulk is to move furtively or in a stealthy manner. The verb “to skulk” is of Scandinavian origin. It is a relative of the Norwegian “skulke”, Danish “skulke” and Swedish “skolka” that all have a similar meaning.

53A Myosin’s partner protein : ACTIN

Actins are a family of proteins that join together to form long chains, or filaments. These chains, called F-actin, are important for all sorts of cell activities, from muscle contractions to cell division.

56A Angle variable, in math : THETA

The Greek letter theta is commonly used in geometry to represent the angle between two lines (say at a corner of a triangle).

Down

1D Bump’s place, idiomatically : ON A LOG

Someone who is idle, inactive might be said to be “like a bump on a log”.

2D Oxygen-dependent micro-organism : AEROBE

An aerobe is an organism that lives in an environment rich in oxygen. An anaerobe, on the other hand, does not require oxygen for survival.

3D “Crazy Rich Asians,” for one : ROM-COM

“Crazy Rich Asians” is a 2018 rom-com based on a 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film garnered a lot of attention and accolades, not only for the quality of the script and performances. It was the first major Hollywood movie to feature a principal cast of Asian descent since 1993’s “The Joy Luck Club”.

5D “Hunters” actress Lena : OLIN

Lena Olin is a Swedish actress, and someone who has acting in her blood. Her mother was the actress Britta Holmberg and her father the actor and director Stig Olin. Olin had a very successful career in Sweden, often working with the great Ingmar Bergman. Olin’s breakthrough international and English-speaking role was playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” released in 1988. Way back in 1974, Miss Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in a beauty pageant for Nordic women held in Helsinki, Finland. Olin’s most famous performance was in “Chocolat” released in 2000.

9D Dough in tamales : MASA

“Masa” is the Spanish word for “dough”, with the term often used as an abbreviated form of “masa de maíz”. Masa is used to make tortillas and tamales, for example.

A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made from a corn husk or banana leaf. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. A hot tamale is a kind of tamale that originated in the Mississippi Delta. It is particularly spicy, and the masa is replaced with corn meal.

10D Foxy : SLY

Foxes are often described as cunning or sly. This is a reference to their reputation for eluding hunters.

12D Devices that come with Siri Remotes : APPLE TVS

Siri was originally developed as a standalone app by a startup company of the same name. Apple acquired the company in 2010 and integrated the technology into their operating system.

21D “Tom ___” (classic folk song that became a #1 hit in 1958) : DOOLEY

The Kingston Trio is a folk and pop music group from San Francisco that formed in 1957. The original lineup disbanded in 1967, although there is a derivative lineup still performing today. The Kingston Trio’s biggest is 1958’s “Tom Dooley”, which was also their first hit.

26D Place to hibernate : LAIR

When animals hibernate, they are minimally active, have low body temperatures, relatively slow breathing and a low metabolic rate overall. Hlbernation can last days and even months, and is most closely associated with the winter season. The term “hibernation” comes from the Latin “hibernare” meaning “to pass the winter, occupy winter quarters”.

28D Home of Swansea and Wrexham : WALES

The city of Swansea is located on the coast in South Wales. It is the second largest city in Wales, after the capital of Cardiff. I love Swansea, and lived there for a couple of years …

31D Annual F.D.I.C. requirement : BANK AUDIT

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Banking Act of 1933. The legislation established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), intended to be a temporary government corporation that provided insurance on deposits made by customers of qualified financial institutions. The first accounts to be covered, in 1934, had an insurance limit of $2,500. Since the financial crisis of 2008, that limit is $250,000.

33D Lovers of homophones, say : PUNSTERS

Homophones are words that are pronounced in the same way (e.g., ere, air, err and heir). Homonyms are a subset of homophones, and are words that have the same spelling and the same pronunciation but different meanings, for example, skate (a fish) and skate (worn on the foot).

34D Impressive work : OPUS

The Latin for “work” is “opus”, with the plural being “opera”. We sometimes use the plural “opuses” in English, but that’s just to annoy me …

39D Tiki bar staple : MAI TAI

The mai tai cocktail is strongly associated with the Polynesian islands, but the drink was supposedly invented in 1944 in Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. One recipe is 6 parts white rum, 3 parts orange curaçao, 3 parts orgeat syrup, 1 part rock candy syrup, 2 parts fresh lime juice, all mixed with ice and then a float added of 6 parts dark rum. “Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”.

The world’s first tiki bar was called “Don the Beachcomber”, and was opened in L.A. in 1933 by Ernest Gantt (also known as “Donn Beach”). The bar became famous for its exotic rum cocktails. Gantt was called to serve in WWII, and the business expanded dramatically under his ex-wife’s management so that there was a 16-restaurant chain waiting for Gantt when he returned stateside.

40D What positive news coverage is for business : FREE PR

Public relations (PR)

43D Swag : MERCH

Swag is loot, stolen property, and a term that started out as criminal slang in England in the 1830s. “Swag” is also the name given to the promotional freebies available at some events. That said, there’s an urban myth that the promotional version of “swag” is an acronym standing for “stuff we all get”.

44D U.N.C.’s athletic org. : ACC

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

University of North Carolina (UNC)

47D Part of a race : HEAT

The term “heat”, meaning “qualifying race”, dates back to the 1660s. Originally, a heat was a run given to a horse to prepare it for a race, to “heat” it up.

48D “Project Runway” judge Garcia : NINA

Nina García is a Colombian-born fashion journalist who has served as a judge on the reality show “Project Runway” since its first broadcast in 2004. She was also appointed editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine “Elle” in 2017.

“Project Runway” is a reality show in which contestants compete by presenting clothes designs having been given limited time and materials. “Project Runway” is now a worldwide franchise. North of the border, the show is called “Project Runway Canada” and is hosted by supermodel Iman. The show in the UK is known as “Project Catwalk” and has had several hosts, including Elizabeth Hurley and Kelly Osbourne.

50D “King Kong” studio : RKO

The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO initialism then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

When RKO released the 1933 movie “King Kong”, the promotional material listed the ape’s height as 50 feet. During filming, a bust was created for a 40-foot ape, as well as a full-size hand that went with a 70-foot Kong.