Tag: Sword’s alternative crossword clue

Bill’s time: 25m 41s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Five-note jingle for “The Gift That Grows” : CH-CH-CH-CHIA

Chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. Chia seeds are an excellent food source and are often added to breakfast cereals and energy bars. There is also the famous Chia Pet, an invention of a San Francisco company. Chia Pets are terra-cotta figurines to which moistened chia seeds are applied. The seeds sprout and the seedlings become the “fur” of the Chia Pet.

19A Cookie, e.g. : TRACKER

When you visit a website, often it will leave a little piece of text information called a “cookie” on your computer. As a cookie is a text file, and not executable, it is relatively harmless. However, as browsers routinely read these text files, cookies can be used by spyware. Basically, the browser can read the cookie and tell a lot about your browsing habits. This can be a good thing, so when you go back to your favorite websites you will be recognized and this can help you. For example, you may have shopped at a site and you’ll find that your shopping cart still has the items you were looking at, often because the items were stored in a cookie. However, they can be “bad” as some spyware uses the cookies to detect your browsing habits and can direct the browser to do things you may not want it to do. I do accept cookies, as they do enhance the browsing experience, but only from sites that I trust …

20A Question in a stalemate : NOW WHAT?

“Stalemate” is a term used in chess when one player (who is not in check) cannot make a legal move. A game of chess with a stalemate is declared a draw. We use the term metaphorically for a no-win situation in general.

24A Classic Harlem ballroom : SAVOY

The Savoy Ballroom was a very popular dance spot in Harlem in New York city from the twenties to the fifties. In the days of “whites only” entertainment venues (like the “Cotton Club”), the Savoy was integrated, with white and black Americans dancing together.

27A Get one’s hands on, informally : COP

“To cop” was northern-English dialect for “to seize, catch”, and is still a slang term meaning “to get hold of, steal”. This verb evolved in the noun “copper”, describing a policeman, someone who catches criminals. “Copper” is often shortened to “cop”.

30A Throwing weapons for the Dark Knight : BATARANGS

A batarang is a bat-shaped boomerang used as a weapon by Batman.

Originally referred to as “Bat-Man” when introduced in comics in 1939, Batman is also referred to as the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, the World’s Greatest Detective and, along with sidekick Robin, the Dynamic Duo.

33A Indie music’s ___ Iver : BON

Bon Iver is a folk band that started up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2007. The band’s name comes from the French “bon hiver” meaning “good winter”. The phrase “bon hiver” was popularized by the fun nineties TV show “Northern Exposure”.

34A Sword’s alternative : PEN

Edward Bulwer-Lytton was an English politician and writer. Among his writings, Bulwer-Lytton came up with some phrases that have endured, such as:

• “the great unwashed”
• “the pen is mightier than the sword”
• “It was a dark and stormy night …”

35A Chinese steamed bun : BAO

A baozi (also “bou, bao”) is a steamed, filled bun in Chinese cuisine.

40A Doozy : LULU

We call a remarkable thing or a person a lulu. The term “lulu” was coined in honor of Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder, who was a stage magician active in the 1880s.

41A Trap in the water : CREEL

A creel is a basket used for catching sea creatures (lobsters, for example). Creel is also the name given to the small wicker basket used to hold fish that have been caught by an angler. “Creel” is originally a Scottish word.

46A Rihanna’s “Take a ___” (2008) : BOW

“Take a Bow” was one of three new songs included on the 2008 album “Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded”, the re-release of 2007 “Good Girl Gone Bad”. “Take a Bow” was subsequently released as a single, and became Rihanna’s third song to top the Billboard Hot 100.

47A (The) shaft, so to speak : RAW DEAL

To shaft someone is to treat him or her unfairly. It’s one of those terms that I dislike and avoid because it probably derives from slang terms for cruel and tasteless acts.

53A Burkina Faso, before 1984 : UPPER VOLTA

Burkina Faso is an inland country in western Africa. The country used to be called the Republic of Upper Volta and was renamed in 1984 to “Burkina Faso”, meaning “the land of upright people”.

55A Captain in Melville’s “Billy Budd” : VERE

“Billy Budd, Sailor” is a novella by American author Herman Melville. However, Melville didn’t actually finish “Billy Budd” before he died in 1891. The incomplete manuscript was discovered among the author’s papers in the 1920s, after which scholars restructured the text using Melville’s notes containing revisions and corrections.

56A Renowned naturalist buried at Rwanda’s Karisoke Research Center : DIAN FOSSEY

Dian Fossey carried out her famous study of gorilla populations in the mountain forests of Rwanda. She wrote a 1983 autobiographical account of her work titled “Gorillas in the Mist”, which served as a basis for a 1988 film of the same name starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey. Sadly, Fossey was found dead in her cabin in Rwanda in 1985, murdered in her bedroom, her skull split open by a machete. The crime was never solved.

57A Singing sister of Aretha : ERMA

Erma Franklin was an R&B and gospel singer. She was the elder sister of Aretha Franklin. Erma toured with Aretha for a while, and even recorded backup vocals on her sister’s big hit “Respect”.

Down

3D Country where the game of dominoes is a national pastime : CUBA

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. The exact etymology of the name “Cuba” seems a little unclear. Most believe “Cuba” to be derived from the Taíno terms for “where fertile land is abundant” (cubao) or “great place” (coabana).

White masks with black spots were commonly seen in the old Venetian Carnival. The masks were known as “domini”. The domini loaned their name to the game of dominoes, due to the similarity in appearance between the mask and a domino tile.

4D Characterized by great happiness : HALCYON

The adjective “halcyon” describes perhaps prosperity, happiness and great success, and often refers to a time in the past that was seen as idyllic. The term “halcyon” comes from a tragic love story from Greek mythology involving Alcyone, the daughter of the god of the winds, and her mortal husband, King Ceyx. When Ceyx perished in a violent shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the waves to join him. The gods transformed the couple into a pair of “halcyon” birds, traditionally identified as kingfishers. The birds built floating nests upon the open sea, and so Alcyone’s father halted the wind and calmed the waves for fourteen days around the winter solstice each year so they could safely tend to their eggs. This mythical, stormless period became known as the “halcyon days”.

6D Mr. Universe contestants : HE-MEN

There are several bodybuilding competitions that have used or continue to use the title “Mr. Universe”. I think that the original dates back to 1948.

8D All worked (up) : HET

Someone who is het up is worked up, or angry. “Het” is an archaic word meaning “heated”.

10D Man who made animals talk : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. He lived in ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

21D Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal ___” : WOMAN

Maya Angelou was an African-American author and poet. Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Clinton in 1993. Here are some words of wisdom from the great lady:

I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.

23D Fake poster : BOT

A bot is a computer program designed to imitate human behavior. It might crawl around the Web doing searches for example, or it might participate in discussions in chat rooms by giving pre-programmed responses. It might also act as a competitor in a computer game.

24D “___ of Frankenstein” (1939 movie sequel) : SON

1939’s “Son of Frankenstein” is the third in the series of classic horror films featuring Boris Karloff as the Monster. The prior titles are “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. The demented blacksmith Ygor is played by Bela Lugosi. Frankenstein’s monster responds to Ygor’s commands, which isn’t a good thing …

38D Outlet for the Jordan River : DEAD SEA

The Middle East’s Dead Sea lies more than 1,400 feet below sea level, making it the lowest point on the Earth’s landmass. It is also one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, with a salt content that is almost ten times that of most oceans.

The River Jordan forms the border between the nations of Israel and Jordan, and flows into the Dead Sea. According to the Christian Bible, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The country of Jordan takes its name from the river.

43D EX30, EX40 and XC60 : VOLVOS

Volvo is a Swedish manufacturer of cars, trucks and construction equipment. The Volvo name was chosen as “volvo” is Latin for “I roll”.

48D Nota ___ : BENE

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

49D Classic film character who says “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time” : ILSA

Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund were played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. I love the words of one critic describing the chemistry between Bogart and Bergman in this film: “She paints his face with her eyes”. Wow …

50D Proofreader’s command : STET

“Stet” is a Latin word meaning “let it stand”. In editorial work, the typesetter is instructed to disregard any change previously marked by writing the word “stet” and then underscoring that change with a line of dots or dashes.

51D Kansas’ Fort ___ : HAYS

Fort Hays was a frontier post and US Army fort near Hays, Kansas. The facility was known as Fort Fletcher when it was established in 1865, named for Missouri governor Thomas C. Fletcher.

54D Swinger’s goal, perhaps : PAR

That would be golf …