Tag: Slice of Life or nick of Time? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 6m 36s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Closest bud : BFF

Best friend forever (BFF)

18A Folded French pancake : CREPE

“Crêpe” is the French word for “pancake”.

20A Industry showcase : EXPO

The first World’s Fair was held in 1851, known back then as the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. The fair was the idea of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It was held in a magnificent glass and cast-iron structure called the Crystal Palace that was purpose-built for the occasion. The Great Exhibition spawned a tradition of what became known as World’s Fairs, expositions that feature national pavilions created by participating countries. The term “Expo” was coined for Expo 67, a 1967 World’s Fair held in Montreal. Since then, we’ve been using “expo” to describe any large exposition or trade show.

24A “We come in peace” speakers, in a sci-fi trope : ALIENS

A trope is a figure of speech. The term “trope” comes from the Greek word “tropos” that has the same meaning. The term has evolved in meaning to also describe a common or overused device or theme.

26A Youngest woman ever elected to Congress, familiarly : AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a politician who is often referred to by her initials “AOC”. A Democrat, she was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018, representing part of the Bronx and Queens in New York City. When she took office in 2019 at the age of 29, AOC became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

31A Rapper ___ Rhymes : BUSTA

“Busta Rhymes” is the stage name of rap artist Trevor Smith from Brooklyn, New York. Busta’s stage name was chosen in honor of professional footballer Buster Rhymes.

35A Movie review site with a percentage rating scale : ROTTEN TOMATOES

Rotten Tomatoes is a website that mainly provides reviews and ratings of movies, although it now covers TV shows as well. The site was launched in 1998 and takes its name from the practice of audience members throwing rotten tomatoes at an unappreciated performer on stage.

39A Schnozzle : SNOOT

“Snoot” is a variant of “snout”, and is a word that originated in Scotland. The idea is that someone who is snooty, or “snouty”, tends to look down their nose at the rest of the world.

42A “Stop, Look and Listen” spot, e.g., in brief : PSA

Public service announcement (PSA)

44A Curiosity and Perseverance, for two : ROVERS

There have been several rovers sent to Mars from Earth. The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 landed in 1971, and failed. Mars 3 landed the same year, and ceased operation just 20 seconds after landing. NASA’s Sojourner landed in 1997 (what a great day that was!) and operated from July through September. NASA’s Spirit landed in 2004, and operated successfully for over six years before getting trapped in sand and eventually ceasing to communicate. NASA’s Opportunity also landed in 2004, and operated for over fourteen years. And then NASA’s Curiosity made a spectacular, hi-tech landing in 2012 and is continuing to explore the planet today. Based on the Curiosity design, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021, along with the Mars helicopter named Ingenuity. The China National Space Administration landed its first rover, named Zhurong (after a Chinese god of fire), three months after Perseverance started its mission on the planet.

47A Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping : FUNKY CHICKEN

“Do the Funky Chicken” was a hit in 1970 for the R&B singer Rufus Thomas.

53A Stimpy’s TV companion : REN

“The Ren & Stimpy Show” is an animated television serial created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi, and which ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. The title characters are Marland “Ren” Höek, a scrawny Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a rotund Manx cat. Not my cup of tea …

62A Actress ___ Rachel Wood : EVAN

Actress Evan Rachel Wood’s most famous role to date is perhaps one of the leads in the 2003 movie “Thirteen”. Wood’s private life draws a lot of attention, especially as she was romantically linked for some time with the “outrageous” musician Marilyn Manson.

63A Half brother and rival of the goddess Athena : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. He united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

65A Mo. with International Talk Like a Pirate Day : SEP

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19th every year, a “holiday” that was created in 1995. The event started out as an inside joke between John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon, but when they shared the notion with columnist Dave Barry, he promoted the idea and it took off.

Down

3D Chilled coffee drink : FRAPPE

The modern frappé coffee was invented accidentally in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair in Greece. Apparently, a Nestlé sales representative was unable to find hot water for his instant Nescafé during a break, and so he improvised by mixing the coffee grounds with cold water and ice cubes in a shaker designed for a children’s chocolate beverage. The makeshift cold shake became a sensation across Greece, and then Nestlé marketed it around the world.

5D Special request for a flight meal : HALAL

“Halal” is a term describing an action or object that is permissible under Islamic Law. In particular “halal” is used to describe food that can be consumed. Anything that is not allowed is described as “haram”.

6D Singer with the best-selling album “21” : ADELE

“Adele” is the stage name of English singer Adele Adkins. Adele’s debut album is “19”, named after the age she was during the album’s production. Her second album was even more successful than the first. Called “21”, the second album was released three years after the first, when Adele was three years older. Her third studio album “25”, released in 2015, broke the first-week sales records in both the UK and the US. “30” followed in 2021.

7D Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea : MASADA

The name “Masada” comes from the Hebrew word for fortress, and describes a plateau in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is home to the ruins of ancient palaces and fortifications that date back to the days of Herod the Great, father of Herod who figured in the lives of Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist. After the Romans invaded Jerusalem, Jewish extremists settled on the mountaintop using it as a base to harass the invaders. Eventually Romans mounted an attack on the elevated fortress, building an elaborate wall and rampart to get to the encampment with some cover. After months of preparation, the Romans breached the walls only to discover the inner buildings all ablaze, and the 1,000 rebels and their families dead after a mass suicide.

8D Slice of Life or nick of Time? : PAPER CUT

“Life” magazine was founded way back in 1883, and was originally structured as a humorous publication. It changed hands in 1936, when it was repurposed as a magazine with an emphasis on photojournalism. I am a big fan of the latter format, and have quite a few favorite issues in my private collection …

“TIME” magazine was first published in 1923 in New York City, making it the nation’s first weekly news magazine.

12D Jimmy Fallon’s network : NBC

Jimmy Fallon was a cast member for a number of years on “Saturday Night Live” before getting his own talk show in 2009, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”. Fallon took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in 2014. I’m not a big Fallon fan …

16D Underappreciated worker, say : PEON

A peon is a lowly worker who has no real control over his/her working conditions. The word “peon” comes into English from Spanish, in which language it has the same meaning.

22D Library ID : ISBN

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was invented by one Gordon Foster who was a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The code was originally developed for booksellers, so that they had a unique number (and now a barcode) for each publication. ISBNs are ten digits long if assigned before 2007. Since the start of 2007, ISBNs have been thirteen digits long.

23D Tea with tapioca pearls : BOBA

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

25D Lake bird with a laughing call : LOON

The bird known as a loon here in North America is called a diver in Britain and Ireland. The name “diver” comes from the bird’s habit of swimming calmly and then suddenly diving below the surface to catch a fish. The name “loon” comes from an Old English word meaning “clumsy” and reflects the awkward gait of the bird when walking on land.

30D Reveal private info about, in online lingo : DOX

Doxing (also “doxxing”) is the publishing of private information about someone on the Internet with the intention of doing harm or causing embarrassment. The term “doxing” is slang, and comes from “dox”, an accepted abbreviation for “documents”.

33D Lachrymal unit : TEAR

“Lachrymose” means “teary”, from the Latin “lacrima”, the word for “tear”.

37D Online crafts bazaar : ETSY

Our word “bazaar”, meaning “market”, comes from the Persian “bazar” that means the same thing.

38D Hired soldier, in slang : MERC

Mercenary (merc.)

46D Concert sites : VENUES

A venue is a specified locale used for an event. The term “venue” came into English via French from the Latin “venire” meaning “to come”. So, a “venue” is a place to which people “come” for an event.

47D Shrek’s beloved : FIONA

Princess Fiona is the title character’s love interest in the “Shrek” series of films. She is voiced by Cameron Diaz.

50D Sizable : HEFTY

The heft of something is its weight, its heaviness. The term “heft” is derivative of the verb “to heave” meaning “to lift, raise”.

56D “She’s everything. He’s just ___” (“Barbie” tagline) : KEN

The 2023 fantasy comedy movie “Barbie” stars Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken. It was directed by Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach. I highly recommend this one …

59D Public health agcy. : CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)