Tag: Show that ends in disarray crossword clue

Bill’s time: 12m 32s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13A Flex time? : YOGA

In the West, we tend to think of yoga as just a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.

15A Container for peaches : CRATE

There are two broad categories of peaches: freestones and clingstones. Clingstones (also “cling peaches”) have flesh that clings tightly to the pit. Freestones are easier to consume as the flesh separates easily from the pit.

17A *Honeybunch : SUGAR = STUTTGART – 4Ts

Stuttgart is Germany’s sixth-largest city, located in the country’s south. It is sometimes called “the cradle of the automobile” because Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach pioneered early engine technology there, and because the first VW Beetle prototypes were developed in the area. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche vehicles are still manufactured in and around the city.

19A Group of spellers? : COVEN

“Coven” is an old Scottish word meaning simply “gathering”. The first known application of the word to witchcraft came during the trial of a Scotswoman in 1662 accused of being a witch. At that time, “coven” came to mean a group of 13 witches.

20A Title in “Beowulf” : THANE

Thanes were Scottish aristocrats. The most famous thanes have to be the Shakespearean characters Macbeth (Thane of Glamis, later “Thane of Cawdor”, and still later “King of Scotland”) and MacDuff (Thane of Fife). Other thanes in “Macbeth” are Ross, Lennox and Angus, as well as Menteith and Caithness.

“Beowulf” is an old epic poem from England, although the story is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf fights a battle, defending the Danish King Hrothgar from the ferocious outcast Grendel. Hrothgar had built a great hall for his people in which they could celebrate; singing, dancing and drinking lots of mead. Grendel was angered by the carousing and attacked the hall, devouring many of the recumbent warriors as they slept. A bit of an extreme reaction to noisy neighbors I’d say …

21A Back-to-basics regimen : PALEO DIET

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

Quite often, the terms “regime” and “regimen” seem to be used interchangeably. In contemporary usage, “regime” is applied more generally, and “regimen” more specifically. A “regimen” is a systematic approach that one might apply to something, to exercise or diet for example. The term “regime” can also be used in such contexts, but can have additional definitions, such as “government in power”. A form of government cannot be described as a “regimen”.

23A Grp. of peacekeepers : NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

26A Caddies, in golf slang : LOOPERS

“Caddie” is a Scottish word, as one might expect given the history of the game of golf. It is a local word derived from the French “cadet” that describes a younger son or brother, or a student officer in the military. The variant spelling “caddy” is quite common.

37A Many a golden parachute recipient, in brief : CEO

A “golden parachute” or “golden handshake” is an agreement between a company and a key employee defining a severance package, often one that is specifically triggered in the event of a merger or takeover. The term “golden parachute” was coined in 1961 to describe the employment contract given by TWA to CEO Charles C. Tillinghast. Tillinghast was appointed by TWA’s creditors as part of a move to wrest control of the company from the hands of Howard Hughes. The CEO was able to negotiate the golden parachute given the uncertainty of TWA’s future.

41A Capital close to the confluence of the Red and Black rivers : HANOI

Hanoi (“Hà Nội” in Vietnamese) was the capital of North Vietnam, and Saigon the capital of South Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Hanoi was made capital of the reunified state. Saigon, the larger metropolis, was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is located in the delta of the Red River, and is just over 50 miles from the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

43A Gaels of the N.C.A.A. : IONA

Iona University is a Roman Catholic school run by Christian Brothers in New Rochelle, New York. The Brothers named the college for the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland on which is located Iona Abbey, which was founded by St. Columba. The school’s sports teams are called the Iona Gaels, and the team mascot goes by the name “Killian”.

56A ___ Hamilton, author of the classic “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes” : EDITH

Edith Hamilton was an educator and author who is perhaps best remembered for her writings on ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Prior to becoming an author, Hamilton served as head administrator at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore.

60A *___ Beach, Calif. : PISMO = APIA, SAMOA – 4As

Pismo Beach is a California city located just 15 miles south of San Luis Obispo. The name “Pismo” comes from a Native American word “pismu” meaning “tar”, a reference to tar springs that are located in nearby Price Canyon. The tar was used by the locals to caulk their canoes.

Apia is the capital city, and the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven naval vessels from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of others. Six of the ships were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely. Apia is also known as the home of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, for the last four years of his life.

62A Hit 1977 musical that included Franklin D. Roosevelt as a character : ANNIE

The Broadway musical “Annie” is based on the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”. There have been multiple film adaptations of the musical. They were really quite successful, including one released in 1982, directed by John Huston of all people. It was his only ever musical.

66A Rowers’ workout machines, informally : ERGS

An indoor rowing machine is often referred to as an ergometer (or simply “erg”). However, the term “ergometer” really applies to a device that measures the amount of work performed.

Down

2D “Star Wars” planet where Luke Skywalker rides a tauntaun : HOTH

The fictional planet known as Hoth is featured in the “Star Wars” movie “The Empire Strikes Back”. Hoth is an ice planet, and home to a secret base belonging to the Rebel Alliance.

5D AAA or B.B.B. : ORG

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on lobbying, provision of automobile servicing, and selling of automobile insurance. The AAA was founded in 1902 in Chicago and published the first of its celebrated hotel guides back in 1917.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private concern (nope, it is not a government agency) that was founded in 1912. It operates like a franchise, with local BBB’s managed independently while operating to a “corporate” set of guidelines.

7D 200 milligrams : CARAT

The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 grams). It is used in sizing gemstones.

9D Kudo : ACCOLADE

An accolade is an expression of praise. The term “accolade” originally applied to the ceremony of conferring knighthood. Said ceremony involved an embrace around the neck followed by a tapping of a sword on the shoulders. The embrace was called an accolade, from Latin “ad” meaning “to” and “collum” meaning “neck”.

Our word “kudos” means “acclaim given for an exceptional achievement”. “Kudos” is both a singular and plural noun, and comes from the Greek “kydos” meaning “glory, fame”.

11D Trivial objection : CAVIL

To cavil is to raise a trivial objection, a nit.

16D Tonsillectomy docs : ENTS

Ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT)

The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the human throat. The exact role that tonsils play isn’t completely understood, but it is known that they are in the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. They provide some level of protection against pathogens that are ingested and inhaled.

18D French crown? : TETE

In French, on one’s “tête” (head) one might find “une couronne” (a crown)

24D Hydrox lookalike : OREO

The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912. It was intended to be a competitor to the very similar Hydrox cookie, which had debuted four years earlier. The Oreo won the resulting battle on the grocery store shelves …

26D Lomond, for one : LOCH

I would guess that Loch Lomond is one of the two most famous lakes in Scotland. Loch Ness is famous for its “monster”, and Loch Lomond is famous for the lovely song “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”. Oh, ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road …

27D Old theaters : ODEA

In ancient Greece, an odeon (also “odeum”) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

34D Dojo furnishing : TATAMI MAT

A tatami is a traditional mat used on floors in Japan. The term “tatami” comes from the Japanese word “tatamu” meaning “to fold”, reflecting the fact that the mat used to be folded up for storage. Modern tatami mats are thick (approx. 2 inches), heavy, and rigid modules with a compressed rice-straw core. They are no longer designed to be folded.

The Japanese word “dojo” translates literally as “place of the way”. Originally the term applied to training halls that were found in or beside temples. The teaching in a dojo was not limited to the martial arts, but in the Western world we use the dojo as the name for a training facility for judo, karate and the like.

36D One of the six sluggers on baseball’s Murderer’s Row : RUTH

The New York Yankees baseball team of the late twenties had a particularly successful core group of batters. That line-up was nicknamed “Murderers’ Row”. The most famous “Murderers’ Row” played with the 1927 Yankees, and was made up of:

• Earle Combs
• Mark Koenig
• Babe Ruth
• Lou Gehrig
• Bob Meusel
• Tony Lazzeri

39D “Curly W” team : NATS

The Washington Nationals (“Nats”) started out life as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and were the first Major League Baseball team in Canada. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005, becoming the Nats.

42D Caucasus region : OSSETIA

Ossetia is a region that extends to both sides of the Caucasus Mountains, located in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian.

The Caucasus is a geographic region lying between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea on the European-Asian border. The region is home to Mount Elbrus in the Caucasian Mountains, which is the highest peak in the whole of Europe.

44D Padmé ___ (mother of Luke and Leia Skywalker) : AMIDALA

In the “Star Wars” universe, Padmé Amidala is the Queen of the planet Naboo. Played very ably by Natalie Portman, Padmé becomes the secret wife of Anakin Skywalker, later revealed to be Darth Vader. As such, Padmé is also the mother of Luke Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia Organa.

52D Taste : SAPOR

“Sapor” is another word for “flavor, a quality that can be tasted”. “Sapor” is Latin for “taste, flavor”.

55D Double-decker checker : KING

In the game of checkers, when a “man” reaches the other side of the board, it is promoted to “king”. The king is designated by placing a second piece on top of the first.

57D Benin neighbor : TOGO

Togo is a country on the West African coast, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. It is located between Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north.

The Republic of Benin is a country in West Africa. Benin used to be a French colony, and was known as Dahomey. Dahomey gained independence in 1960. In 1975, the nation changed its name to the People’s Republic of Benin, after the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies.