Tag: Understudy opportunities? crossword clue

Bill’s time: 14m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 One with an “accept all cookies” policy? : SANTA

The name “Santa Claus” is American English, and came into the language as a phonetic variant of “Sinterklaas”, the Dutch for “Saint Nicholas”.

12 Bunch of Daisies : TROOP

The Girl Guides of America organization was founded in 1912 in Savannah, Georgia. That first meeting formed a troop consisting of eighteen girls. There are now almost 4 million girl scouts. Just one year after its formation, the group changed its name to the Girl Scouts of the United States and moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C.

13 Language written with runes : OLD NORSE

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

15 Macronutrient grouping? : A-E-I-O-U

The word “macronutrient” uses all of the vowels.

20 Google’s former motto : DON’T BE EVIL

“Don’t be evil” was Google’s corporate motto. The concept was incorporated into one of the company’s formally defined Core Values: “Do the right thing: don’t be evil. Honesty and Integrity in all we do. Our business practices are beyond reproach. We make money by doing good things.”

28 Adroit : ABLE

The French for “to the right” is “à droit”, from which we get our word “adroit”. The original meaning of “adroit” was “rightly, properly”, but it has come to mean dexterous and skillful. Someone described as “maladroit” is unskilled and awkward.

32 Sauce for a caprese sandwich : PESTO

Pesto sauce is more completely called “pesto alla genovese”, i.e. pesto from Genoa. A traditional recipe calls for crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Yum …

A Caprese salad (“insalata caprese” in Italian) is a relatively simple, but delicious, salad comprising sliced mozzarella and tomatoes, with sweet basil and seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is thought the dish originated on the island of Capri, hence the name “Caprese”. I am a huge fan …

33 Lead-in to ✔ on a boarding pass : PRE-

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates its precheck program known as “TSA Pre✓” (or “TSA PreCheck”). Members of the program receive expedited screening at most airports. In order to become a member, a traveler must apply online, appear in person at a designated office for a background check and fingerprinting, and pay a fee for a 5-year membership.

37 Home to Cuyahoga Valley National Park : OHIO

The Cuyahoga Valley NP in northeast Ohio was redesignated as a national park in 2000, having been a national recreation area since 1974. It covers over 50 square miles centered on the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland. It is the state’s only national park.

39 Beliefs : CREDOS

A creed or credo is a profession of faith, or a system of belief or principles. “Credo” is Latin for “I believe”.

42 Irritation treated with a warm compress : STYE

A stye is a bacterial infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes, and is also known as a hordeolum.

51 One is seen above the pretzel in the Auntie Anne’s logo : HALO

Auntie Anne’s is a chain of pretzel bakeries that was founded in 1988. The chain started out as a simple stand in a farmer’s market in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. There are now almost 900 outlets in about a dozen countries.

54 Like the subject of politics in a job interview, often : TABOO

The word “taboo” was introduced into English by Captain Cook in his book “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean”. Cook described “tabu” (likely imitative of a Tongan word that he had heard) as something that was both consecrated and forbidden.

58 Staff figures : CLEFS

“Clef” is the French word for “key”. In music, a clef is used to indicate the pitch of the notes written on a stave. The bass clef is also known as the F-clef, the alto clef is the C-clef, and the treble clef is the G-clef.

Down

1 Humorless : STAID

Something described as staid is unwavering, fixed. This usage expanded to mean “sober, sedate”. The term dates back to the 16th century, and comes from the verb “to stay”. “Staid” is a rewriting of the past participle “stayed”.

4 [Hey! The light turned green!] : [TOOT! TOOT!]

The first traffic lights date back to 1868 when they were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. They resembled the signals already in use for trains, with semaphore arms and red and green gas lamps for nighttime use. That first system was operated manually, by a policeman at the base. Sadly, one police officer was killed just one year after the light’s installation, when the gas system exploded.

5 Toon whose last name is Nahasapeemapetilon : APU

The fictional Kwik-E-Mart store is operated by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on “The Simpsons” TV show. Apu is married to Manjula, and the couple have eight children. The convenience store owner doesn’t seem to be making much use of his Ph.D in computer science that he earned in the US. Apu’s undergraduate degree is from Caltech (the Calcutta Technical Institute), where he graduated top of his class of seven million students …

6 The U.S. has the world’s largest : GDP

A country’s Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all services and products produced by its residents in a particular year. GNP includes all production wherever it is in the world, as long as the business is owned by residents of the country concerned. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is different, although related, and is the value of all services and goods produced within the borders of the country for that year.

8 Reacting to a meme, maybe : LOL’ING

A meme (from “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

9 Hermès competitor : PRADA

Prada started out in 1913 as a leather-goods shop in Milan, one established by the two Prada brothers. One of the brothers, Mario Prada, prevented the female members of his family from participating in the running of the company as he didn’t believe women should be involved in business (!). When the sexist brother died, his son had no interest in the business so it was his daughter who took over and ran the company for about twenty years, handing it over to her own daughter. I’d say the devil loved that …

Hermès is a high-end manufacturer of apparel. The company was founded in 1837 in Paris, by German immigrant Thierry Hermès.

10 Daisylike bloom : ASTER

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

11 City between York and Manchester : LEEDS

I went to school for a while not far from Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was a major center for the production and trading of wool, and then with the onset of mechanization it became a natural hub for manufacture of textiles. These days Leeds is noted as a shopping destination and so has been dubbed “the Knightsbridge of the North”.

York is a beautiful cathedral city in the historical county of Yorkshire in Northern England. It was founded way, way back in 71 AD by the Romans as a military fortress on the River Ouse. Remains of that fortress have been excavated under the foundations of York Minster, the city’s magnificent Gothic cathedral.

Manchester is the second-most populous city in the UK, and is located in the northwest of England. Manchester grew in size dramatically during the Industrial Revolution. Home to a thriving textile industry, Manchester is often referred to as the world’s first industrialized city. People from Manchester are known as “Mancunians”.

13 Youngest artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 : OLIVIA RODRIGO

Olivia Rodrigo is a singer-songwriter who rose to prominence with her 2021 song “Drivers License”, which she also co-wrote. In 2021, Rodrigo played her part in a White House program promoting COVID-19 vaccinations among young people.

14 Album whose creation is profiled in 2021’s “The Beatles: Get Back” : LET IT BE

1970’s “Let It Be” was the last album that the Beatles released as an active group playing together. The title song was written by Paul McCartney, and it is clearly one of his own favorites. McCartney says that he was inspired to write the song after having had a dream about his mother (who had died some years earlier from cancer). In fact, he refers to her (Mary McCartney) in the line “Mother Mary comes to me”. Paul’s first wife, Linda, is singing backing vocals on the song, the only time she is known to have done so in a Beatles recording. 28 years after that 1970 recording was made, Paul, George and Ringo sang “Let It Be” at a memorial service for Linda, who was also lost to cancer. Sad stuff, but a lovely song …

The Beatles song “Get Back” was first released in 1969. It is the only Beatles song that gives credit to another artist on the label, naming the keyboard player Billy Preston. Yes, the label actually says “Get Back” by The Beatles and Billy Preston.

26 “Hazy” beverage : IPA

A popular version of traditional IPA beers these days is the hazy IPA. Hazy IPAs have a foggy appearance in the glass, and usually a less bitter and more fruity taste. A recent addition to the pantheon of beers is the milkshake IPA, which is a hazy IPA brewed with milk sugar (lactose). MIlkshake IPAs tend to be smoother on the palate, and often contain added fruit.

27 Cal. ender : DEC

December is the twelfth month in our calendar but was the tenth month in the old Roman calendar, hence the name (“decem” is Latin for “ten”). Back then there were only ten months in the year. “Ianuarius” (January) and “Februarius” (February) were then added as the eleventh and twelfth months of the year. Soon after, the year was reset and January and February became the first and second months.

30 ___ Annie, role for which Ali Stroker was the first wheelchair user to win a Tony : ADO

Ado Annie is a character in the Rodgers and Hammerstein smash hit musical “Oklahoma!” Ado Annie was played by Gloria Grahame in the 1955 film. If you don’t remember the character, you might remember one of her songs, namely “I Cain’t Say No”.

Actress Ali Stroker won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her performance in the 2019 Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Oklahoma!” In doing so, Stroker became the first wheelchair-bound actor to win a Tony. She is paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury incurred in a car accident when she was just two years old.

35 Oktoberfest establishment : BEER HALL

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival in Munich that actually starts in September. About six million people attend every year, making it the largest fair in the world. I’ve attended twice, and it really is a remarkable party …

38 “I Don’t Know How to Love ___” (“Jesus Christ Superstar” song) : HIM

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is a rock opera that was first released in album form in 1970, before being adapted for the stage in 1971. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the lyrics by Tim Rice.

43 His birthday is celebrated as National Science Day in Serbia : TESLA

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in a village located in modern-day Croatia, and later moved to the US. Tesla’s work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

44 English filmmaker David or Peter : YATES

David Yates is an English film director, most famous now for having directed the last four of the “Harry Potter” movies. However, he was also responsible for the outstanding 2003 TV political thriller series “State of Play” and the excellent made-for-TV drama “The Girl in the Café”.

Peter Yates was an English film director and producer. His first film as a director is very well known by folks back in my part of the world. Released in 1963, the film “Summer Holiday” is a very lightweight vehicle for the singer Cliff Richard. Over in the US Yates is better remembered for directing the likes of “Bullitt” (1968), “Breaking Away” (1979) and “The Deep” (1977).

46 Cool : ALOOF

I suppose one might guess from the feel of the word “aloof” that it has nautical roots. Originally “aloof” meant “to windward” and was the opposite of “alee”. A helmsman might be instructed to stay aloof, to steer the boat into the weather to keep a distance from a lee-shore. It is from this sense of maintaining a distance that aloof came to mean “distant” in terms of personality. Interesting, huh …?

49 Slugger with 609 career home runs : SOSA

Sammy Sosa was firmly in the public eye in 1998 when he and Mark McGwire were vying to be the first to surpass the home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire fell out of public favor due to stories of steroid abuse (stories which he later admitted were true) while Sosa fell out of favor when he was found to be using a corked bat in a 2003 game.

53 “___ Fleurs du Mal” (Charles Baudelaire poetry collection) : LES

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet noted not only for his own work but also for translating the work of American poet Edgar Allan Poe.

54 Part of OOO : TAC

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.