Tag: Sonnets and such crossword clue

Bill’s time: 6m 47s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6A Altered mortgage, for short : REFI

Our word “mortgage” comes from the Old French “mort gaige” which translated as “dead pledge”. Such an arrangement was so called because the “pledge” to repay “dies” when the debt is cleared.

10A “___ Abner” of old comics : LI’L

“Li’l Abner” was created and drawn by Al Capp for over 43 years starting in 1934. Al Capp stopped producing the strip in 1977, largely due to illness (he died from emphysema two years later). As the strip finished up, he went so far as to apologize to his long-standing fans, saying that he should have stopped 3-4 years earlier as he felt that the quality of his work had gone down in those latter years. The title character’s full name is “Li’l Abner Yokum”. Despite being referred to as “Li’l”, Abner is 6’ 3” tall.

14A ___ White, three-time Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding : SHAUN

Professional snowboarder Shaun White has won Olympic gold three times, in 2006, 2010 and 2018. White is a red-headed Irish American, and is often referred to as “The Flying Tomato”.

16A Walled area for a racket sport : SQUASH COURT

Squash is a racket sport that is similar to racquetball, with the latter being more common here in the US. Squash is derived from the older sport of racquets, and was introduced around 1830 by students at Harrow School in London. It was originally called squash racquets as the first ball used was a racquets ball that was punctured. It was very, very squashable and much softer than that used in the parent game.

18A Aunt, in Tijuana : TIA

Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California, and lies just across the US-Mexico border from San Diego. Tijuana is also the most westerly of all Mexican cities. A lot of Tijuana’s growth took place in the twenties as tourists flocked south of the border during the days of prohibition in the US. One of the many casinos and hotels that flourished at that time was Hotel Caesar’s in the Avenida Revolución area. Hotel Caesar’s claims to be the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Caesar Salad.

19A “___ Lips Are Sealed” (1981 Go-Go’s hit) : OUR

“Our Lips Are Sealed” was released by the Go-Go’s in 1981. The song was co-written by the Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall of the Specials, and was about a secret affair the two had. Hall then recorded a different version of the song in 1983, after leaving the Specials, with his own band Fun Boy Three.

20A Little hopper : TOAD

Toads are a type of frog. The main difference between them is that toads have dry, warty skin, while frogs have smooth, moist skin.

30A “Laughing” beast : HYENA

The spotted hyena of Sub-Saharan Africa is also known as the laughing hyena because of the sound it often makes, which resembles maniacal laughter.

31A Sonnets and such : POESY

“Poesy” is an alternative name for poetry, and is often used to mean the “art of poetry”.

A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific structure and rhyming scheme. A popular rhyming scheme for what is known as the Italian sonnet is ABBA, ABBA, CDECDE. Compare this with the Shakespearean sonnet which rhymes as ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG.

44A Have a knee-jerk response, perhaps : REACT

The foot naturally kicks forward when the tendon/muscle at the front of the leg is tapped just below the knee. The kick takes place due to a reflex reaction, an impulse sent along nerves from the site of the tap to the spine and back to the leg muscle, without direct involvement of the brain.

45A Something acute or obtuse : ANGLE

In geometry, there are several classes of angles:

• Acute (< 90 degrees) 
• Right (= 90 degrees) 
• Obtuse (> 90 degrees and < 180 degrees) 
• Straight (180 degrees) 
• Reflex (> 180 degrees)

47A Dinghy thingy : OAR

Our term “dinghy” comes from the Hindi “dingi”, a word meaning “small boat”.

56A Game with numbered balls : LOTTO

Originally, lotto was a type of card game, with “lotto” being the Italian for “lot, destiny”. We’ve used “lotto” to mean a gambling game since the late 1700s.

59A Beantown home team, informally : SOX

In the days of sail, the natural trade routes across the Atlantic involved a lot of ships arriving in Boston directly from the West Indies. One of the main cargoes carried by these vessels coming from the West Indies was molasses. An abundance of cheap molasses led to an abundance of baked beans in the port city, and all those baked beans gave rise to Boston’s nickname “Beantown”.

60A “I am the eggman. They ___ the eggmen …” (Beatles lyric) : ARE

“I Am the Walrus” is a Beatles song released in 1967. It was written by John Lennon, with the “Walrus” being a reference to the poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass”.

65A Word before “a bird,” “a plane” and “Superman!” : IT’S

Here’s a famous line from the “Superman” television show from the fifties:

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!

66A Actress Shire of the “Godfather” trilogy : TALIA

Actress Talia Shire is best-known for playing Rocky’s wife Adrian in the “Rocky” series of movies. She also played Connie, the daughter of Don Corleone, in “The Godfather” films. Shire is the sister of movie director Francis Ford Coppola and the aunt of actor Nicolas Cage. Her son is the actor Jason Schwartzman.

67A “Old MacDonald” refrain : E-I-E-I-O

There was an American version of the English children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (E-I-E-I-O) that was around in the days of WWI. The first line of the older US version goes “Old MacDougal had a farm, in Ohio-i-o”.

68A ___ King Cole : NAT

Nat King Cole’s real name was Nathaniel Adams Coles. Cole made television history in 1956 when his own show debuted on NBC, a first for an African-American. Cole couldn’t pick up a national sponsor, so in order to save money and possibly save the show, many guest artists worked for no fee at all – the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte and Peggy Lee. The show survived for a year, but eventually Nat King Cole had to pull the plug on it himself.

Down

4D Hush-hush D.C. org. : NSA

The NSA traces its roots to the Cipher Bureau, the nation’s first peacetime code-breaking unit. It was established in 1917 and also known as the “Black Chamber”. Secretary of State Henry Stimson famously shuttered the bureau in 1929, asserting that “Gentlemen do not read each other’s mail”, which is a tad ironic given the agency’s massive modern scale. Today, the NSA is the largest employer of mathematicians in the United States.

5D Bit of derring-do : GEST

As one might expect, “derring-do” (plural is “derrings-do”) comes from the phrase “daring to do”, which back in the 14th century was written as “dorrying don”.

Our word “gest”, describing a great deed or exploit, has been around since about 1300. The term comes from the Old French word “geste” meaning the same thing. These days “geste” can also mean “gesture”.

6D “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spinoff : RHODA

The seventies sitcom “Rhoda” was a spinoff of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that starred Valerie Harper. The eighth episode of the show was an hour-long special in which Rhoda married her fiance Joe (played by David Groh). At the time of airing it was the second-most watched television episode in history, second only to the 1953 birth of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy”.

8D Sable or mink : FUR

Sables are small mammals, about two feet long, that are found right across northern Europe and northern Asia. The sable’s black pelt is highly prized in the fur trade. Sable is unique among furs in that it feels smooth no matter which direction it is stroked.

There are two species of mink extant: the European Mink and the American Mink. There used to be a Sea Mink which was much larger than its two cousins, but it was hunted to extinction (for its fur) in the late 1800s. American Minks are farmed over in Europe for fur, and animal rights activists have released many of these animals into the wild when raiding mink farms. As a result the European Mink population has declined due to the presence of its larger and more adaptable American cousin.

9D Before the deadline : IN TIME

Our use of the term “deadline”, to mean “point in time before something must be done”, arose as jargon in the American newspaper industry in the 1920s. During the Civil War, a deadline was a do-not-cross line drawn on the ground in Confederate prisons.

10D Vilnius is its capital : LITHUANIA

The nation of Lithuania is a former Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) sitting on the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, and 16 miles north of Vilnius is a point that is officially recognized as the geographic center of Europe.

11D No-brainer? : IDIOT

The unsavory term “idiot” was formerly used by the medical community to describe someone with moderate to severe mental retardation. The term comes from the Greek “idiotes” meaning “person lacking professional skill, layman”. Back in the early 1900s, IQ tests were used to classify those suffering from mental retardation into categories:

• “idiot” … IQ of 0-20
• “imbecile” … IQ of 21-50
• “moron” …IQ of 51-70

14D Phishing scheme, e.g. : SCAM

Phishing is the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PINs, etc.”

17D Brother on TV’s “Bonanza” : HOSS

Dan Blocker was the actor who played Eric “Hoss” Cartwright in the Western TV series “Bonanza”. Hoss was the “slow” character on the show. Paradoxically, Dan Blocker was the most-educated member of the cast, having earned a master’s degree in the dramatic arts. Blocker passed away while “Bonanza” was still running. He was undergoing relatively routine gallbladder surgery and developed a pulmonary embolism which killed him. “Bonanza” ran for just one more season after Blocker passed away.

The TV show “Bonanza” ran from 1959 until 1973, making it the second-longest-running Western series on US television (after “Gunsmoke”). “Bonanza” told the story of the Cartwright family who lived on the Ponderosa ranch located in Nevada, on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. Ben Cartwright, the father, was played by Lorne Greene. Ben’s three sons were Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric/Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Joseph/Little Joe (Michael Landon).

22D Bogeymen : MONSTERS

The term “bogeyman” (and “bogeywoman”) seems to be derived from the Scottish word “bogle” meaning “ghost”.

26D “All ___ Up” (Elvis #1 hit) : SHOOK

“All Shook Up” is a song composed by Otis Blackwell and recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957. It was the first Elvis recording to top the UK charts.

29D Manhattan-based media org. : NYT

“The New York Times” (NYT) has been published since 1851, and is sometimes referred to as “the Gray Lady”. These days a viable alternative to buying the paper is to read the news online. NYTimes.com is the most popular online newspaper website in the country.

33D Blue-book event : ESSAY TEST

“Blue book exam” is a term used for a test given at many colleges in the US. Blue book exams usually involve the writing of essays. The first blue book exams were administered by Butler University in Indianapolis, and the “blue” was chosen because Butler’s school colors are blue and white. The color blue is still commonly used regardless of which school is giving the test, although other colors can be used.

35D Suffix for some sugars : -OSE

Sugars are usually named using the “-ose” suffix e.g., glucose, fructose, sucrose.

37D “Better Call Saul” network : AMC

“Better Call Saul” is a spin-off drama series from the hit show “Breaking Bad”. The main character is small-time lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, who featured in the original series. “Better Call Saul” is set six years before Goodman makes an appearance in the “Breaking Bad” storyline. The lawyer’s real name is James Morgan McGill, and his pseudonym is a play on the words “S’all good, man!”

38D ___ peeve : PET

The phrase “pet peeve”, meaning “thing that provokes one most”, seems to be somewhat ironic. A “peeve” is a source of irritation, and the adjective “pet” means “especially cherished”.

41D 1970s feminist cause, for short : ERA

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was written by the American suffragist leader, Alice Paul. Although Paul was successful in her campaign to get passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution (guaranteeing voting rights regardless of sex), her 1923 Equal Rights Amendment didn’t make it to the Senate floor until 1972. The amendment was passed by the Senate, and then headed to the state legislatures for the required ratification. 38 states had to approve the legislation for the amendment to be adopted, but only 35 states voted in favor before the deadline. The amendment is still pending, although about half of the fifty states have adopted the ERA into their state constitutions.

46D Ends a relationship with by suddenly cutting off communication : GHOSTS

A rather insensitive person might break off a relationship simply by cutting off all communication with their partner, without any warning. Such a move is referred to as “ghosting” in modern parlance, particularly when the relationship relies heavily on online interaction.

51D Big name in cosmetics : ULTA

Ulta Beauty is a chain of American beauty stores that was founded in 1990 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I am not part of the company’s target demographic …

54D Sergeant’s superior, slangily : LOOIE

A “looie” (lieutenant) has a higher rank than a “noncom” (noncommissioned officer) such as a “sarge” (sergeant).

55D Praise to the skies : EXTOL

To extol something is to praise it loudly. The term “to extol” comes from the Latin “extollere” meaning “to raise up, elevate”.

64D One-named “Chandelier” singer : SIA

“Chandelier” is a 2014 song by Australian singer Sia. I don’t know the song myself, but it sounds like it’s a bit of a downer, dealing with alcoholism, addiction and excessive hedonism.