Tag: Succeeds without really trying crossword clue

Bill’s time: 12m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Her breast milk created the Milky Way, in Greek myth : HERA

According to Greek mythology, our galaxy (the Milky Way) is the breast milk of the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. The term “Milky Way” is a translation of the Latin “via lactea”, used by the Romans. The Romans used the Latin name because the older Greek term for the same phenomenon was “galaxias kyklos” meaning “milky circle”.

14A Some supermarkets, in brief : IGAS

The initialism “IGA” stands for “Independent Grocers Alliance”, and is a chain of supermarkets that extends right around the world. IGA’s headquarters is in Chicago. The company uses the slogan “Hometown Proud Supermarkets”.

15A What makes her hear? : AN A

“Her” becomes “hear” with the addition of a letter A.

16A Island capital that’s an anagram for a word meaning “steamy baths” : NASSAU

Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas, and used to be called Charles Town. Located on the island of New Providence, the original settlement was burnt to the ground by the Spanish in 1684. It was rebuilt and named Nassau in honor of King William III of England (“William of Orange”), a Dutchman from the House of Orange-Nassau. Nassau is a favored location for the James Bond series of movies. The city and surroundings feature in “Thunderball”, “Never Say Never Again”, “Casino Royale” and “For Your Eyes Only”. Bond portrayer Sean Connery lived for many years at Lyford Cay, which is just a 30-min drive from the center of Nassau.

“Nassau” is an anagram of “saunas”.

17A *It may precede or follow “a million” : THANKS (TOM HANKS – OM)

Tom Hanks is such a great actor. He has played so many iconic roles in a relatively short career. Hanks is from California, and studied theater for a couple of years in Hayward, California not far from here. Tom’s son Colin Hanks is one of the stars of the TV comedy “Life in Pieces”. Hanks is married to the talented actress Rita Wilson.

19A *Line used in plotting points : AXIS (AXIOMS – OM)

In the world of mathematics, an axiom is a proposition, one that is taken as basic and self-evident. The term “axiom” extends beyond mathematics with a similar meaning, an established or self-evident truth.

21A Succeeds without really trying : COASTS

Back in the day, mariners sailing parallel to the shore were said to be “coasting”, which is relatively smooth and less demanding compared to open-ocean voyages. By the 1830s, the nautical concept of effortless movement had transferred to dry land to describe anyone letting momentum and gravity do all the work, like “coasting” down a hill.

23A Small grouse : NIT

It isn’t really clear where we get our verb “to grouse” from (meaning “to complain”). The term was first used as slang in the British Army in the 1880s.

25A ZipRecruiter client : HIRER

ZipRecruiter is a website matching potential employees with job openings. It was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

26A Like some flaws : FATAL

In drama, a tragic flaw (sometimes “fatal flaw”) is a weakness or error made by the protagonist that ultimately leads to his or her reversal of fortune. “Tragic flaw” is often referred to as “hamartia”, a similar-meaning term from Greek tragedy.

30A *Trendy : A LA MODE (ALAMODOME – OM)

In French, “à la mode” simply means “fashionable”. In America, the term has also come to describe a way of serving pie. Pie served à la mode includes a dollop of cream or ice cream, or as I recall from my time living in Upstate New York, with a wedge of cheddar cheese.

The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas opened for business in 1993, and was home to the San Antonio Spurs basketball team from 1993 to 2002. Today, the facility hosts many sporting events including football and ice hockey games. It is also used as a convention center.

32A Pre-euro money : LIRA

The word “lira” is used in a number of countries for currency. “Lira” comes from the Latin for “pound” and is derived from the British pound sterling, the value of a Troy pound of silver. For example, the lira (plural “lire”) was the official currency of Italy before the country changed over to the euro in 2002.

33A Confection whose name is a contraction : S’MORE

S’mores are treats peculiar to North America that are usually eaten around a campfire. A s’more consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. The earliest written reference to the recipe is in a 1927 publication called “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts”. Girl Scouts always did corner the market on cookies and the like!

34A *Weapon in “Ivanhoe” : LANCE (LANCOME – OM)

“Ivanhoe” is an 1819 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott that is set in 12th-century England. The story is divided into three adventures that involve such characters as Richard the Lionheart, King John and Robin Hood, although the protagonist is a Saxon knight named Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe. An underlying theme in the book is the tension between the Saxons and the Normans who conquered Britain a century earlier.

Lancôme Paris is a brand of makeup. Founded in 1935, the name Lancôme comes from the name of an old French castle, the Château de Lancosme.

38A *Second letter addendum, for short : PPS (POM-POMS – OM & OM)

One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply “postscript”) at the end of a letter (ltr.). A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

42A “Oz the Great and Powerful” director, 2013 : RAIMI

Sam Raimi is a very successful director and producer. He was behind the “Spider-Man” series of films among others, and TV shows such as “Xena: Warrior Princess”. In 1993, Raimi married Gillian Greene, the youngest daughter of actor Lorne Greene of “Bonanza” fame. Raimi and Greene named their eldest son Lorne, after his grandfather.

45A *Subs : HEROS (HOMEROOMS – OM & OM)

A hero is a submarine sandwich. It originated in New York City in the 1800s among Italian immigrants who wanted an Italian sandwich that reminded them of home. The name “hero” was coined in the 1930s, supposedly by a food critic in the “New York Herald Tribune” when he wrote that “one had to be a hero” to finish the gigantic sandwich. Hero is a prevalent term to this day in New York City, reserved for a submarine sandwich with an Italian flavor.

49A The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” : B-SIDE

“God Only Knows” is a 1966 hit song recorded by the Beach Boys. It raised a few eyebrows back then, no one had really ever used the word “God” in a pop song title.

51A Volkswagen compact : JETTA

“Jetta” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

57A *Inventory clearance option : SALE (SALOME – OM)

In the New Testament, Salome was a dancer and a seductress. She was the stepdaughter of Herod and when she danced for him on his birthday, her mother demanded as a reward the execution of John the Baptist. Salome is not actually named in the account in the gospels, and historians rely on other sources to determine that she was indeed “Salome”. Famously, the seductive dance that she performed is said to be the Dance of the Seven Veils. The dance isn’t named in the Biblical account, and is an elaboration that developed in later Christian mythology.

An inventory is a list of current assets, such as goods on hand. The term “inventory” comes from the Latin verb “invenire” meaning “to find, discover”. An inventory is a list of “what is found”.

60A “Forget it!” … or a phonetic hint to aligning seven answers in this puzzle with their starred clues : NO CHANCE! … or NO CHANTS

“Om” is a sacred mystic word from the Hindu tradition. It is sometimes used as a mantra, a focus for the mind in meditation.

62A Like Alban Berg’s opera “Lulu” : ATONAL

Alban Berg was a composer from Austria. He was one of the members of what is called the Second Viennese School, along with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Weber. This group embraced the concept of atonality, something which frankly is beyond me …

63A When said five times, an Abba song : I DO

1975’s “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” was the second of ABBA’s long, long string of smash hits. It was particularly successful in Australia, where there is a huge ABBA fan base to this day. The song was featured in a really great Australian film called “Muriel’s Wedding” from 1994. This was the movie that launched the career of the wonderful actress Toni Collette.

64A Region that produces Riesling wine : SAAR

Saarland, often referred to in English as “the Saar”, is one of Germany’s sixteen federal states and is located in the west of the country, on the borders with France and Luxembourg. Saarland is named for the Saar River that runs through the state. There is a lot of industry in the Saar region, historically “fueled” by the region’s plentiful supply of coal.

65A Core beliefs : TENETS

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is “held” to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

66A French possessive : TES

In French “tes” means “your”, when referring to a single individual and multiple items.

67A 35mm options : SLRS

Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera

At the beginning of the 20th century, 35mm was chosen as a standard size for film used in still cameras. 35mm was selected as it was already the standard film size used in motion pictures.

Down

3D Instrument heard at Rosh Hashana services : RAM’S HORN

A shofar is a musical instrument used in Jewish rituals. It is a relatively simple instrument, made from an animal’s (usually a ram’s) horn.

Rosh Hashanah is loosely referred to as “Jewish New Year”. The literal translation from Hebrew is “head of the year”.

4D Wood used in making guitar bodies : ASH

Red ash is also known as green ash, and is a deciduous tree. The wood is used to make guitars as a replacement for the more traditional white ash as it has similar tonal characteristics and is lighter in weight.

5D World capital known as the “City for Peace” : 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.

6D World capital that’s home to the Kocatepe Mosque : ANKARA

Ankara is the second largest city in Turkey, after Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). After WWI, the Ottoman Empire had been defeated and the Allies occupied the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. The victors planned to break up most of Turkey, leaving native Turks just part of their country for their own. In the inevitable War of Independence that followed, the Turkish Nationalists used Ankara as their base. When the Nationalists emerged victorious, they declared Ankara the new capital of Turkey.

7D Attachments to mortarboards : TASSELS

Tasseled mortarboards, or square academic caps, are associated with school graduations all over the world, although traditions do differ. For example, in Ireland (where I come from) mortarboards are only worn by female graduates.

12D Dr. Seuss character in a red hat : SAM-I-AM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

22D Disney street-smart mutt : TRAMP

“Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated feature from Walt Disney that was released in 1955. The title characters are a female American cocker spaniel and a male stray mutt. Who can forget the scene where the Tramp and Lady are “on a date”, and together eat that one strand of spaghetti? So cute! Disney made a 2019 live-action adaptation of the original using the same title.

26D Bit of red tape : FORM

By one definition, “red tape” describes bureaucratic regulations in general, and “green tape” describes those bureaucratic regulations put in place to limit pollution and/or protect the environment.

31D ___ shu pork : MOO

Moo shu pork (also “mu shu pork”) is a traditional dish from northern China, with the main ingredients being shredded pork and scrambled egg. The latter is said to resemble the blossoms of the osmanthus tree, from which the dish gets its name. In North America, the dish is often served with tortilla-like wrappers, and referred to as “moo shu pancakes”.

35D Dinghy gear : OARS

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

36D “O ____ babbino caro” (Puccini aria) : MIO

“O mio babbino caro” is a really beautiful aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Gianni Schicchi”.

41D Team with the most Super Bowl wins in the 1970s : STEELERS

The Pittsburgh Steelers football team was founded in 1933, making it the oldest franchise in the AFC. Back in 1933, the team was known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates name was chosen as the Pittsburgh baseball team was the Pirates. The name was changed to the Steelers in 1940, and then the Steagles in 1943 when the team merged with the Philadelphia Eagles. There was a further merger in 1944, with the Chicago Cardinals to form Card-Pitt. The Steelers name was resurrected in 1945.

46D Analgesic agent : OPIATE

The name of the class of drugs called “opioids” comes from the word “opium”, which describes the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy. Drugs derived from opium are known as “opiates”. The broader term “opioids” covers both natural and synthetic drugs that behave in the same way as opiates, i.e. those drugs that bind to opioid receptors in the brain.

Our word “analgesic”, meaning “painkiller”comes from “analgesia”, a Greek word meaning “painlessness”.

47D Brando with two Oscars : MARLON

Actor Marlon Brando really hit the big time with his Oscar-nominated performance in the 1951 movie “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Brando went on to win another Best Actor Oscar for his performance in 1972’s “The Godfather”, which gave him the platform to establish himself as a political activist. He turned down the award and didn’t attend the ceremony. Instead he sent a Native American rights activist called Sacheen Littlefeather who made a speech protesting the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood movies. Brando wasn’t the first person to refuse an Oscar. George C. Scott did the same thing when he won for playing the title role in 1970’s “Patton”. Scott just didn’t like the whole idea of “competing” with other actors.