Tag: Words of caution crossword clue

Bill’s time: 12m 25s

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Home to Kotoka International Airport : GHANA

Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, Ghana serves as the country’s primary international airport and a major aviation hub in West Africa. It was named after Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in Ghana’s 1966 coup d’état. The facility dates back to World War II, when it was constructed as a military airfield by the UK’s Royal Air Force.

6A Many a wearer of a long robe called a thawb : SAUDI

A thawb, or thobe, is a long, ankle-length robe commonly worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula, parts of North Africa, and the Middle East.

18A Coastal waterway : RIA

A drowned valley might be called a ria or a fjord, and both are formed as sea levels rise. A ria is a drowned valley created by river erosion, and a fjord is a drowned valley created by glaciation.

21A Subject of the Bouguereau painting “The Abduction of Psyche” : EROS

In the myth of Cupid (aka Eros) and Psyche, the two title characters must overcome many obstacles to fulfill their love for each other. Overcome them they do, and the pair marry and enjoy immortal love.

22A Colombian city of 2+ million : CALI

In terms of population, Cali is the third-largest city in Colombia (after Bogotá and Medellin). Santiago de Cali (the full name for the city) lies in western Colombia. Apparently, Cali is a destination for “medical tourists”. The city’s surgeons have a reputation for being experts in cosmetic surgery and so folks head there looking for a “cheap” nose job. Cali has also been historically associated with the illegal drug trade and money laundering.

23A Dutch artist Jan van der ___ : MEER

Johannes (also “Jan”) Vermeer was born in the city of Delft in 1632, and died there some 43 years later. The name “Vermeer” is a contraction of “van der meer”, which translates as “from the sea/lake”. I just love Vermeer’s paintings, and his wonderful use of light. A great example of such a work is his “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. If you haven’t seen it, I thoroughly recommend the 2003 movie “Girl with a Pearl Earring” starring Scarlett Johansson as the girl in the painting, and Colin Firth as Vermeer. The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, so it’s all just a great story as opposed to a documentary. The way the movie is shot really reflects the qualities of a Vermeer work of art.

31A Film with the tagline “Someone has taken their love for scary movies one step too far” : SCREAM

I don’t do horror films, so I haven’t seen any of the “Scream” movies …

41A Big name in chip production : LAY’S

Lay’s potato chips were introduced in 1938 by Herman W. Lay. Lay started selling his chips out the trunk of his car, traveling all over the US. In those days the chips were pretty much handmade, but Lay put an end to that in 1942. He invented the first continuous potato processor in 1948, and chips started to take over the world!

43A Sauce whose name derives from the Italian word for “crush” : PESTO

The Italian term “pesto” applies to anything made by pounding. What we tend to know as pesto sauce is more properly called “pesto alla genovese”, i.e. pesto from Genoa in northern Italy. I love, love pesto sauce …

44A Refuge : ARK

The term “ark”, when used with reference to Noah, is a translation of the Hebrew word “tebah”. The word “tebah” is also used in the Bible for the basket in which Moses was placed by his mother when she floated him down the Nile. It seems that the word “tebah” doesn’t mean “boat” and nor does it mean “basket”. Rather, a more appropriate translation is “life-preserver” or “life-saver”. So, Noah’s ark was Noah’s life-preserver during the flood.

45A Where much of “Brokeback Mountain” was filmed : ALBERTA

Alberta (Alta.) is a big province, one about the size of Texas. It is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Louise also donated her name to Lake Louise, the large glacial lake in the province, now within the bounds of Banff National Park.

“Brokeback Mountain” is a 2005 movie about the romantic and sexual relationship between two cowboys, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Matt Damon was asked to play one of the leads but declined. Damon gave the excuse, “I did a gay movie (The Talented Mr. Ripley), then a cowboy movie (All the Pretty Horses). I can’t follow it up with a gay-cowboy movie!”

52A Something blocked by censors : CURSE

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

53A 1944 Pacific battle site : LEYTE

When the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos discovered the islands of Leyte and Samar, he called them “Felipinas”, after King Philip II of Spain. Eventually, the name was used for the whole archipelago, becoming what we now call in English, the Philippines.

Down

3D Ski town that shares its name with a tree : ASPEN

Aspen, Colorado used to be known as Ute City, with the name change taking place in 1880. Like many communities in the area, Aspen was a mining town, and in 1891 and 1892 it was at the center of the highest production of silver in the US. Nowadays, it’s all about skiing and movie stars.

The “quaking” aspen tree is so called because the structure of the leaves causes them to move easily in the wind, to “tremble, quake”.

4D “High” time : NOON

I am not a huge fan of western movies, but “High Noon” works for me. The film has a great cast, with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in the lead roles. I suppose I like the film because it doesn’t fit the mold as a typical western with lots of predictable action sequences. That said, when “High Noon” first hit theaters it was not popular with audiences, largely because moviegoers were expecting the formulaic western film. One interesting feature of the storyline is that the sequence of events takes place in approximate real time.

6D “Arrested Development,” e.g. : SITCOM

“Arrested Development” is a sitcom that originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006. Ron Howard was heavily involved in the show behind the camera, serving as executive producer and also as the show’s narrator. Fifteen new episodes of “Arrested Development” were filmed specifically for release on Netflix in 2013, and there may even be a movie on the way.

8D Relatives of banjoleles : UKES

The banjolele is also known as the banjo ukulele. It has a body like a banjo and a fretted neck like a ukulele.

9D Nebraska senator Fischer : DEB

Deb Fischer is a US Senator from Nebraska who has been serving since 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party.

10D Repeat : ITERATE

The verb “to iterate” means to repeat over again. The verb “reiterate” means the same thing. One might suspect that “reiterate” is one of those words that has crept into the language due to repeated (reiterated?!) misuse. Well, that’s not quite the case, but close. Back in the 1400s, “iterate” meant “repeat”, and “reiterate” meant “repeat again and again”. We lost the distinction between those two definitions over time.

11D Council, in Russian : SOVIET

The former Soviet Union (officially “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” or “USSR”) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and comprised fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

13D Sea shanty singer : SAILOR

A sea shanty (also “chantey”) is a song sung by sailors, often when they are working away on some repetitive task.

14D Skin layer with hair follicles : DERMA

The dermis is the middle layer of skin and lies beneath the epidermis. It’s a complex network of connective tissue, blood vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles, and sweat glands. This layer provides skin with its flexibility and strength, thanks to the presence of collagen and elastin fibers. The dermis also regulates temperature through blood flow and sweat production, and its nerve endings enable us to perceive touch, pressure, pain, and temperature.

31D Mohamed ___, Egyptian soccer star : SALAH

Mohamed Salah is a soccer player from Egypt who has played much of his professional career with European clubs. He joined Switzerland’s FC Basel in 2012, England’s Chelsea FC in 2014, Italy’s AS Roma in 2016, and England’s Liverpool FC in 2017. The Egyptian people are very proud of Salah, and have dubbed him the “Fourth Pyramid”.

32D Shade of red : CLARET

Clairet is a dark rosé wine. Although it is uncommon today, clairet used to be the most common wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. For centuries now, British consumers have used the derivative term “claret” to describe any red wine from Bordeaux.

33D Big name in fast food : RAY KROC

The original McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald as a barbecue restaurant. The brothers then moved into fast food hamburgers, eventually selling out to one of their franchise agents, Ray Kroc. It was Ray Kroc who really led the company to its worldwide success. He was played by Michael Keaton in the movie about Ray Kroc’s business life called “The Founder”.

34D “Honor Thy Father” writer, 1971 : TALESE

Gay Talese is an American author, one famous as a journalist in the sixties at “The New York Times”. His 1971 book “Honor Thy Father” is a tale about the Bonanno crime family.

43D Unwitting mark : PATSY

The etymology of the word “patsy” meaning “fall guy” isn’t really understood. One colorful theory suggests that the term comes from an 1890s vaudeville character named Patsy Bolivar. Patsy always got the blame when something went wrong.