Tag: U.S. Census Bureau designation crossword clue

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Constructed by: Roland Huget
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: None

Bill’s time: 20m 43s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. U.S. Census Bureau designation : URBAN AREA

The original censor was an officer in ancient Rome who had responsibility for taking the “census”, as well as supervising public morality.

10. Wrist bones : CARPI

The human wrist is known anatomically as the carpus (plural “carpi”). The carpal bones allow the wrist its remarkable range of motion.

15. The Vikings, e.g. : SEAFARERS

The Vikings were a Germanic people from northern Europe who were noted as great seafarers. Key to the success of the Vikings was the design of their famous “longships”. Made from wood, the longship was long and narrow with a shallow hull, It was also light, so that the crew would actually carry it small distances over land and around obstacles. Longships were designed to be propelled both by sail and by oars.

16. Crosswise, on a ship : ABEAM

The beam is the widest part of a nautical vessel. Something pointed out as lying abeam is something that it is 90 degrees from a line through the bow and the stern, in other words directly off to the right or the left.

18. “The Sound of Music” name : TRAPP

“The Sound of Music” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that was made into a celebrated movie in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The musical is based on “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers”, a memoir by Maria von Trapp. The von Trapp family ended up in Stowe, Vermont after the war, and one family descended from the Vermont von Trapps lives here in the same town in which I live in California.

20. Jack of the trump suit, in euchre : BOWER

Euchre is a card game that probably came to the US from Germany, introduced by German farmers who settled in Wisconsin. Euchre is a trick-taking game usually played by four people in two partnerships. Unlike bridge, Euchre is played with a stripped down deck of 24 or 32 cards. The verb “to euchre” is slang for “to cheat, swindle”, a term that presumably comes from the card game.

21. New York’s state motto : EXCELSIOR

“Excelsior” is the Latin for “ever upward”, and is the motto of the state of New York.

23. 100 pounds: Abbr. : CWT

In America, a hundredweight is 100 pounds, whereas in the UK, a hundredweight is 112 pounds. The hundredweight is also called a centum weight, which explains the abbreviation used: cwt.

24. Subject of a Minnesota state nickname : LAKES

An unofficial nickname for the state of Minnesota is “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. That nickname is quite apt as the state is home to almost twelve thousand lakes that are at least ten acres in size.

34. Unification Church member : MOONIE

The Unification Church was founded in Seoul, South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Members of the church are sometimes called “Moonies”, which is probably an offensive term …

39. Actor Tognazzi of “La Cage aux Folles” : UGO

The musical “La Cage aux Folles” opened on Broadway in 1985. It is a musical adaptation of the French play of the same name by Jean Poiret that was first staged in 1973. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the stage play nor the musical, but I love the wonderful movie adaptation called “The Birdcage”, which was released in 1996. The film has a very strong cast that includes Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Hank Azaria.

41. One taking un examen : ELEVE

In French, an “élève” (pupil, student) might take “un examen” (an exam).

42. Many doorknobs, faucets, candleholders, etc. : BRASSWARE

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

49. A.F.C. South player : TITAN

The Tennessee Titans are a football team based in Nashville. The team relocated to Nashville from Houston in 1997. They were called the Tennessee Oilers for two seasons, before adopting the “Titans” moniker.

50. Dessert go-withs : PORT WINES

Portugal’s city of Oporto (“Porto” in Portuguese) gave its name to port wine in the late 1600s. Oporto was the seaport through which most of the region’s fortified red wine was exported.

53. Some old Ford cars, briefly : MERCS

The Mercury brand of car was made by Ford from 1938 until 2011. Mercury was introduced by Henry Ford’s son Edsel Ford. Mercury vehicles were positioned as being more luxurious that the regular Ford models, and more economical than Ford’s high-end Lincoln models.

55. 1950s politico Kefauver : ESTES

Estes Kefauver was a Democratic politician from Tennessee. In 1956 Kefauver was the running mate of Adlai Stevenson when Stevenson made a bid for the presidency. The pair lost to the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket.

Down

3. Containing element #56 : BARIC

Barium is the chemical element with the atomic number 56, and the element symbol “Ba”.

6. Edible parts of lychee nuts and pomegranates : ARILS

The casing surrounding many seeds is called the aril, and it may be quite fleshy. This fruit-like characteristic makes it desirable as a food and aids in the dispersion of the seeds.

10. 1965 movie for which Lee Marvin won an Oscar for playing two different characters : CAT BALLOU

“Cat Ballou” is a 1965 film, a comedy western starring Jane Fonda in the title role and Lee Marvin in dual roles, for which Marvin won his only Oscar. The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Roy Chanslor. The novel was a serious and a quite dark work, but it was lightened up for the big screen.

I’ve always thought that Lee Marvin was a very talented actor. Marvin had an amazing voice, and the appearance of a man who was hard and villainous. Yet he was able to break free from the villain roles in which he was typecast and played some characters with more depth. He won an Academy Award for his dual-role performance in 1965’s “Cat Ballou”. His totally unique rendition of the song “Wand’rin Star” from the 1969 musical film “Paint Your Wagon” made it to number one in the UK charts, keeping the Beatles hit “Let it Be” in the number two spot. I’ll bet that surprised even Marvin himself!

11. Official with the power to annul laws : ABROGATOR

“To abrogate” is such a lovely sounding verb, I think. It means to annul or do away with, especially by using authority.

30. NaOH : LYE

Soda lye is a solution of sodium hydroxide. One common use of soda lye is in the manufacture of soap.

Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic salt, with the chemical formula NaOH. Because of its caustic properties, sodium hydroxide is also known as “caustic soda”.

43. It can get the blood flowing : STENT

In the world of medicine and surgery, a stent is an artificial tube inserted inside a vessel in the body, say an artery, so that it reduces the effects of a local restriction in the body’s conduit.

44. Stretch of turf : SWARD

“Sward” is version of the word “swarth”, and describes a grassy piece of land.

46. Architectural features of Greco-Roman temples : ANTAE

An anta (plural “antae”) is a post or pillar on either side of the entrance to a Greek temple.

48. Awards for Best Play and others : ESPYS

The ESPY Awards are a creation of the ESPN sports television network. One difference with similarly named awards in the entertainment industry is that ESPY winners are chosen solely based on viewer votes.