Tag: #’s place crossword clue

Bill’s time: 13m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A “___ dabba doo!” : YABBA

“Yabba dabba doo!” is one of Fred Flintstone’s catchphrases.

14A Type type : ARIAL

Arial is a basic, no-frills typeface.

15A Thanos, to the Avengers : FOE

Thanos is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He was portrayed by Damion Poitier in the 2012 movie “The Avengers”, and by Josh Brolin in several subsequent movies including 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

16A Company that’s the subject of the documentary “The Smartest Guys in the Room” : ENRON

“The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron” is a 2003 book by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, two writers working for “Fortune” magazine. The book was used as the basis for a 2005 documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”.

21A Big inits. in home security : ADT

ADT is a home and small-business security company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company was founded back in 1874 by Edward Callahan. Callahan invented the stock ticker several years earlier, and ran the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company. Calahan was awoken one morning by the sound of a burglar in his house, and so he decided to develop a telegraph-based security alarm system. The success of the system led to the founding of American District Telegraph, later known as ADT.

34A St. ___ (city on a bay, informally) : PETE

St. Petersburg, Florida is often referred to as “St. Pete” by locals and visitors alike. The neighboring city of Saint Petersburg Beach also had its name shortened routinely, so in 1994 the residents voted to change the name officially to St. Pete Beach.

37A Skin-care product thinner than a moisturizer : SERUM

Skin serums are liquids designed to be absorbed quickly and to deliver high concentrations of compounds that can address common skin conditions. Most serum formulations are intended to have an anti-aging effect, and are said to be more effective than using moisturizers and/or sunscreen.

39A Greek theater : ODEON

The term “odeon” originally referred to a building used for ancient Greek and Roman musical performances, poetry readings, and contests. These structures were often smaller and more roofed than traditional open-air theaters. The most famous is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, still used today on the slopes of the Acropolis in Athens.

40A In ___ (developing) : UTERO

“In utero” is a Latin term meaning “in the uterus”. The Latin “uterus” (plural “uteri”) translates as both “womb” and “belly”. “Uterys” comes from the Greek “hystera” that also means “womb”, which gives us the words “hysterectomy”, and “hysterical”.

41A Like nonagenarians : OLD

A nonagenarian is a person in their nineties.

43A Process for a descending spacecraft : EARTH RE-ENTRY

When a spacecraft re-enters the earth’s atmosphere, it compresses the air in front of it creating a tremendous amount of heat. This heated air ionizes and surrounds the vehicle. The ionized air interferes with radio signals leading to the famous spacecraft re-entry communications blackout. This blackout lasted for about 3 minutes for each of the Apollo missions. Famously, the miraculous Apollo 13 spacecraft entered the atmosphere at a much shallower angle than was routine, and the resulting blackout lasted for a nail-biting 6 minutes.

45A Kerfuffles : ADOS

“Kerfuffle” comes from the Scottish “curfuffle”, with both words meaning “disruption”.

46A Losers to the Olympians : TITANS

The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology, the twelve children of the primordial Gaia and Uranus, Mother Earth and Father Sky. In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, who were twelve younger gods. We use the term “titan” figuratively to describe a powerful person, someone with great influence.

61A Openly gay : OUT

Back in the 1950s, to come “out of the closet” was to admit to being an alcoholic. By the seventies, the phrase mainly referred to gay people shrugging off secrecy about their sexual orientation.

62A Total brawl : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

64A “Antiques Roadshow” network : PBS

“Antiques Roadshow” is a very popular PBS TV show in which professional auctioneers appraise antiques brought to them by the general public. The American show is based on a long-running BBC production of the same name. In one episode of the American version of the show, four pieces of carved jade were presented for appraisal, and were given an estimated value of one million dollars!

Down

2D Like some wolfhounds and whiskeys : IRISH

The Irish wolfhound is considered the tallest of all breeds of dog, although not the heaviest as its body shape resembles that of a greyhound. As is the case with most large breeds, the Irish wolfhound has a relatively short lifespan, averaging about 7 years.

5D Actor Idris : ELBA

Idris Elba is a British actor whose most celebrated TV roles are perhaps Stringer Bell in “The Wire”, DCI John Luther in “Luther”, and the lead in the 2023 series “Hijack”. On the big screen, he has played the Norse god Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as Nelson Mandela in the 2013 biopic “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. While best known for acting, Elba is also a successful musician and DJ, performing at major clubs and festivals under the moniker DJ Big Driis.

8D Sang to : SERENADED

A serenade is a musical performance in the open air, specifically at night. We tend to think of the term applying to a young man serenading his lover from below her window. We imported the word via French from the Italian “serenata” meaning “evening song”, influenced by the Italian “sera” meaning “evening”.

11D Creamy pairing with fig jam : BRIE

Brie is a soft cheese that is named for the French region in which it originated. Brie is similar to the equally famous (and delicious) Camembert. Brie is often served baked in puff pastry with fig jam.

12D Obnoxious sort : BOOR

Back in the early 1500s, a boor was a rustic person, a peasant farmer, someone associated with the countryside. The term “boor” ultimately comes from the Latin “bos” meaning “cow, ox”. By the mid-1500s, someone described as boorish was considered rude in manner, which is our usage today.

13D ___ Petry, first African American woman to write a million-selling novel (“The Street,” 1946) : ANN

Ann Petry was an author best known perhaps for her 1946 debut novel “The Street” and her 1953 novel “The Narrows”. “The Street” was the first novel by an African-American woman to sell over a million copies.

19D M.L.B. team that awarded a record-breaking $765 million contract to Juan Soto in 2024 : METS

Juan Soto is a professional baseball player from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018, and in so doing became the youngest player in the majors (at 19).

24D Gloomy, as an atmosphere : SATURNINE

“Saturnine” can mean “gloomy, sullen”, or can describe someone with the temperament of one born under the astrological influence of Saturn. Astrologically, Saturn is associated with many characteristics, including the governing of “melancholic humor”.

33D ___ Faire (medieval-themed festival) : REN

A Renaissance faire (Ren faire) is an outdoor public event in which many participants recreate historical settings by dressing in costume. Usually held in North America, many such fairs are set during the English Renaissance, and more particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The definition of “Renaissance” is often stretched quite a bit, with fairs also set during the reign of Henry VIII, and maybe even during medieval times.

34D Grp. that’s down on all furs? : PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a large animal rights organization, with about 300 employees and two million members and supporters worldwide. Although the group campaigns for animal rights across a broad spectrum of issues, it has a stated focus in opposition of four practices:

• Factory farming
• Fur farming
• Animal testing
• Use of animals in entertainment

50D #’s place : TWEET

Two important symbols used in social media are the hashtag (#) and the social tag (@). The former is used to categorize content by topic. The latter alerts a fellow user that you are talking with or about them.I am far from a social media guy, but that is my understanding …

51D Cousin of turquoise : AQUA

“Turquoise” is the Old French word for “Turkish”. The name was given to the blue mineral because much of it was brought into Europe from Turkey, although most of the turquoise mines were located in the Khorasan Province of Iran.

57D California’s capital, in some of its nicknames : SAC

Sacramento, California’s state capital, was named for the Sacramento River. The river was named by a Spanish explorer, who called it “Rio de los Sacramentos”. This translates as “River of the Blessed Sacrament”.

59D “Vivat ___” (“Long live the king”) : REX