Tag: Rocks out? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 25s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 It can cover all the bases : TARP

Originally, tarpaulins were made from canvas covered in tar that rendered the material waterproof. The word “tarpaulin” comes from “tar” and “palling”, with “pall” meaning “heavy cloth covering”.

14 On the safe side, at sea : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather. The sheltered side of an island, for example, might be referred to as the “lee” side.

15 Tom ___, consigliere in “The Godfather” : HAGEN

The Corleone family’s consigliere Tom Hagen is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the first two of “The Godfather” movies. Hagen isn’t an Italian-American, but rather of German-Irish descent. Duvall was slated to appear in the role in “The Godfather, Part III” but the character was written out of the script, apparently because Duvall asked for too much money.

21 Comebacks : RIPOSTES

“Riposte” is a fencing term, one describing a quick thrust after having parried a lunge from one’s opponent. We also use the term to describe a sharp verbal retort.

22 Foul-smelling : NOISOME

Something noisome is harmful or annoying, and often bad-smelling.

24 One using a bib, maybe : TOT

The word “bib” comes from the Latin “bibere” meaning “to drink”, as does our word “imbibe”. So, maybe a bib is less about spilling the food, and more about soaking up the booze …

29 Organization with a strong track record? : NASCAR

The acronym “NASCAR” stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The association is actually a privately held company that was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. NASCAR is very, very popular and commands the second-largest television audience of any professional sport in America, second only to football.

31 Grain stores : SILOS

“Silo” is a Spanish word that we absorbed into English. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “siros”, which described a pit in which one kept corn.

34 Neologize : COIN A PHRASE

To coin a phrase is to invent a new phrase or expression. The greatest “coiner” of them all has to be William Shakespeare. Here are a few everyday expressions that were created by the Bard:

• The game is afoot (Henry IV, Part I)
• Brave new world (The Tempest)
• Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew)
• Dead as a doornail (Henry VI, Part II)
• Eaten me out of house and home (Henry IV, Part II)
• Forever and a day (As You Like It)
• For goodness’ sake (Henry VIII)
• Knock knock! Who’s there? (Macbeth)
• Set my teeth on edge (Henry IV, Part I)
• Wild-goose chase (Romeo and Juliet)

A neologism is a new word or phrase, or a new meaning or usage for an existing word.

37 A message from the Pentagon might be in this : CODE

The incredible building known as the Pentagon was built during WWII, and dedicated on January 15, 1943. It is the largest office building in the world (by floor space) covering an area of about 6.5 million square feet. As it was built during the war years, a major requirement was that it use a minimum amount of steel. That steel shortage dictated that the building be no more than four stories in height, and hence cover an awful lot of real estate.

41 Orange soda brand : NEHI

The Nehi cola brand has a name that sounds like “knee-high”, a measure of a small stature. Back in the mid-1900’s the Chero-Cola company, which owned the brand, went for a slightly different twist on “knee-high” in advertising. The logo for Nehi was an image of a seated woman’s stockinged legs, with her skirt pulled up to her knees to hint at “knee-high”.

42 Word with tie or fly : -ROD

The modern car uses a rack and pinion steering system. The turning motion of the steering wheel turns the pinion gear. This pinion gear meshes with a linear gear called a rack, so the torque is converted to linear motion, side-to-side. This side-to-side motion turns the wheels at either end of the axle via tie-rods and the steering arm.

45 Crystal object featured in Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” the most expensive painting ever sold : ORB

“Salvator Mundi” (“Savior of the World” in Latin) is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci that dates back to circa 1500. It is speculated that the work was commissioned by Louis XII of France, and came into the possession of Charles I of England in 1625. It passed through several hands before being auctioned off in 1763 along with several pieces of art from Buckingham Palace in London (then “Buckingham House”). The painting reemerged in 1900 when it was bought by a British collector, by which time it had been damaged in attempts at restoration. Also, the work was now attributed to Bernardino Luini, a follower of da Vinci. In 1959, it was sold as a painting by Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, one of Leonardo’s students, for the princely sum of 45 pounds. By 2011, the heavily overpainted work had been restored and attributed to Leonardo da Vinci himself, and was on display in the National Gallery in London. “Salvator Mundi” was purchased by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism in November, 2017 for just over $450 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold.

46 Appendectomy sites, in brief : ORS

The appendix is a small tube connected to the cecum in the large intestine. It is more correctly called the vermiform appendix, with the term “vermiform” meaning “worm-shaped”. It is generally accepted that the appendix no longer has a meaningful function in humans, and has lost its function through the process of evolution.

56 A Swiss Army knife has many : USES

Swiss Army knives are multi-tools made by the Swiss company Victorinox. The device was first produced in 1891 when Victorinox’s predecessor company was awarded the contract to supply the knife to the Swiss Army. The name “Swiss Army knife” was actually an American invention as it was the term used by American GIs during and after WWII as an alternative to pronouncing the more difficult German “Schweizer Offiziersmesser” (Swiss Officer Knife).

60 Bee lines? : SEAMS

Back in 18th-century America, when neighbors would gather to work for the benefit of one of their group, such a meeting was called a bee. The name “bee” was an allusion to the social nature of the insect. In modern parlance, a further element of entertainment and pleasure has been introduced, for example in a quilting bee, or even a spelling bee.

61 New Year’s Eve song word : SYNE

The song “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple at New Year’s Eve (well, actually in the opening minutes of New Year’s Day). The words were written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. The literal translation of “Auld Lang Syne” is “old long since”, but is better translated as “old times”. The sentiment of the song is “for old time’s sake”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne

Down

1 Hummus ingredient : TAHINI

“Tahini” is the Arabic name for a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is a major ingredient in hummus, one of my favorite dishes.

2 Friends-and-family support group : AL-ANON

Al-Anon and Alateen are fellowships for relatives and friends of alcoholics. Alateen specifically supports teens who are affected by another’s drinking, whereas Al-Anon focuses on people of all ages.

5 Chinese takeout staple : CHOW MEIN

“Chow mein” has two slightly different meanings on the East and West Coasts of the US. On the East Coast, basic chow mein is a crispy dish, whereas on the West Coast it is a steamed dish that is relatively soft. On the East Coast the steamed dish is available, but under the name “lo mein”. On the West Coast, the crispy dish is also on the menu, as “Hong Kong-style chow mein”.

6 Hip-hop duo ___ Sremmurd : RAE

Rae Sremmurd is a hip hop act consisting of two brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi: Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jxmmi” Brown. The pair used to perform as Dem Outta St8 Boyz, with the brothers using the names Kid Krunk and Caliboy, along with a third brother known as Lil Pantz. The name “Rae Sremmurd” is a backward spelling of the words making up “EarDrummers”, which is the name of the production company that signed the duo. Sometimes I think I over-complicate things by using the name “Bill” …

7 Petri dish medium : AGAR

Agar (also “agar-agar”) is a jelly extracted from seaweed that has many uses. Agar is found in Japanese desserts, and can also be used as a food thickener or even as a laxative. In the world of science, it is the most common medium used for growing bacteria in Petri dishes.

11 Quark or lepton : PARTICLE

Quarks are elementary atomic particles that combine to make composite particles called “hadrons”. I’m really only familiar with the really stable hadrons i.e. protons and neutrons. There are six types of quarks (referred to as “flavors”). These flavors are up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. The term “quark” was borrowed from James Joyce’s book “Finnegans Wake”, by physicist Murray Gell-Mann. However, the word coined by Joyce is pronounced “kwark”, and the particle’s name is pronounced “kwork”.

Leptons are subatomic particles, of which there are two major classes. There are charged leptons, and neutral leptons. The most common charged leptons are electrons. Neutral leptons are also known as “neutrinos”.

18 Penny candy morsel since 1907 : TOOTSIE ROLL

Tootsie Rolls were developed by an Austrian candy maker called Leo Hirschfeld in New York City in 1896. Hirschfeld named the candy after his daughter, who had the nickname “Tootsie”. A couple of derivative products have become quite popular, namely Tootsie Pops and Tootsie Roll Midgees.

23 Splashy display : ECLAT

“Éclat” can describe a brilliant show of success, as well as the applause or accolade that one receives for that success. The word “éclat” derives from the French “éclater” meaning “to splinter, burst out”.

30 Letters that shouldn’t be written big for air rescue (a single V or X is best) : SOS

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are back-formations that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

35 “Dejection” is a famous one : ODE

“Dejection: An Ode” is an 1802 poem by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In draft form, the poem was titled “Letter to Sara Hutchinson”. Hutchinson was a woman whom Coleridge loved, even while he was married to someone else.

42 Retro phone type : ROTARY

The first patent for a rotary dial mechanism for a phone was granted in 1898, and the familiar rotary dial phones (with holes for the finger) were introduced by the Bell System in 1919. This form of dialing was called “pulse dialing”. When you dialed the number 5, say, the dial would rotate back to the start position, opening and closing electrical contacts five times and sending five pulses over the telephone line. I used to love rotary dial phones when I was a kid. My grandfather was a telephone engineer and he showed me how to “tap out” the pulses on the “hook” at the top of a pay phone. I was able to make free calls that way. He definitely contributed to the delinquency of a minor …

43 “Wuthering Heights” actress Merle ___ : OBERON

Merle Oberon was a wonderful British actress. At the height of her Hollywood career, she was involved in a traffic accident that left her with permanent facial scars. The marks were so disfiguring that it was believed Oberon would never appear on screen again. But she persevered and, with the help of some creative lighting on set, two years after the accident she filmed her most memorable role, playing Cathy in 1939’s “Wuthering Heights”.

44 Insult : DERIDE

To deride is to treat with contemptuous mirth. The term comes into English via Old French from the Latin “deridere” meaning “to ridicule”. In turn, “deridere” comes from the prefix “de-” (down) and “”ridere” (to laugh). So, to ridicule or deride is “to laugh down at”.