Tag: Your pick crossword clue

Bill’s time: 9m 35s

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Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A *Failed internet company? : DOT-COM BUST

The dot-com bubble was a phenomenon seen in 1997 to 2000 during which speculation led to the overvaluation of poorly-understood Internet stocks. The bubble burst on March 10, 2000. Within ten days, the value of the NASDAQ was down by over 10%.

18A Ingredient in shepherd’s pie : POTATO

Shepherd’s pie is one of my favorite dishes. It is a meat pie, usually made with minced lamb (although my wife makes a vegetarian version), with a crust made from mashed potato. Yum …

20A Pirate’s booty : LOOT

“Booty”, meaning “plunder, profit”, is derived from the Old French word “butin” that has the same meaning.

22A Swabbie’s tool : MOP

“Swabbie” (also “swabby, swab, swabber”) is a slang term meaning “sailor” that we’ve been using since the late 1700s. A swab was originally a member of the crew assigned to the swabbing (mopping) of the ship’s decks.

43A Ancient theater : ODEON

The term “odeon” originally referred to a building used for ancient Greek and Roman musical performances, poetry readings, and contests. These structures were often smaller and more roofed than traditional open-air theaters. The most famous is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, still used today on the slopes of the Acropolis in Athens.

45A Status ___ : QUO

“Status quo” translates from Latin as “state in which”, and in English is used to mean the existing condition or state of affairs.

46A *Illustrative story from an internet company? : DOT-COM PARABLE

A parable is a story told to illustrate a lesson or principle. It is similar to a fable, differing in that a fable uses mainly animals as characters, and a parable uses humans.

49A World War I Flying ___ (Snoopy alter ego) : ACE

Snoopy, the famous beagle in the “Peanuts” comic strip, has a number of alter-egos and is sometimes depicted as a World War I flying ace. Snoopy’s arch-enemy in the air is Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, and Snoopy can often be seen shaking his fist and crying out, “Curse you, Red Baron!”

51A ___ Guofeng, successor to Mao Zedong : HUA

In China, the term “paramount leader” has been used since the days of Mao Zedong to describe the person who holds several leadership offices concurrently. The paramount leaders have been:

1. Mao Zedong (1949 – 1976)
2. Hua Guofeng (1976 – 1978)
3. Deng Xiaoping (1978 – 1992)
4. Jiang Zemin (1989 – 2004)
5. Hu Jintao (2002 – 2012)
6. Xi Jinping (2012 – )

60A Shoe with a “kitten” variety : STILETTO

Kitten heels are short stiletto heels. As well as being shorter, the heel curves in slightly from the back of the shoe. They were introduced in the late 1950s, and popularized by the stylish actress Audrey Hepburn.

Down

1D Robber’s pursuer : 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”.

3D “Wall Street,” for the U.S. financial industry : METONYM

A metonym is a word that is used for something that is closely associated with that word. For example, “Broadway” is a metonym for “American theater” and “Washington” is a metonym for “the US government”.

6D Recipient of many dad jokes : SON

Here are a few dad jokes that I use to annoy my sons:

• When does a joke become a “dad joke”? When it becomes apparent.
• I had a happy childhood. My dad used to put me in tires and roll me down hills. Those were Goodyears.
• It’s a shame that the Beatles didn’t make the submarine in that song green. That would’ve been sublime.
• I told your mom she needs to start embracing her mistakes. So she hugged me.
• When your mom is depressed, I let her color in my tattoos. She just needs a shoulder to crayon.

7D “Little People, Big World” network : TLC

The cable channel TLC started out life as The Learning Channel. Programming on TLC originally focused on educational content, but today there is an emphasis on reality television.

8D Deep sleep : SOPOR

“Sopor” is a Latin word that we’ve absorbed into English. It translates as “deep sleep” or “lethargy”.

11D On a different network, say : ROAMING

A cell phone user may encounter a roaming charge when roaming, when using their phone outside of the geographic coverage offered by the user’s cell phone provider. Basically, a partner network is providing coverage when roaming, and may impose a charge for the privilege of using the partner’s service.

15D Coastal resort city in southern California : DEL MAR

“Del Mar” translates into English as “of the sea” aptly enough. Also aptly enough, the upscale beach town of Del Mar in San Diego County, California started out as a purpose-built resort in 1885 developed for the rich and famous. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball had a house there for many years, as did Burt Bacharach. Also, skateboarder Tony Hawk grew up in Del Mar.

23D Actor Efron : ZAC

Zac Efron is an actor from San Luis Obispo, California. Apparently, Efron is a heartthrob to “tweenyboppers”. His big break came with the hit Disney movie “High School Musical”.

24D “Mrs. Lennon” writer : ONO

After John Lennon married Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name by deed poll, adding “Ono” as a middle name. His official name became John Winston Ono Lennon, as he wasn’t allowed to drop the name “Winston” that was given to him at birth.

25D They’re on the docket : CASES

A docket is the official summary of proceedings in a court of law. The term is sometimes used (informally) to refer to a court’s calendar of cases.

26D Paper view? : OP-ED

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in the “New York World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

29D Where seeds might be placed : TOURNAMENT

A seeded player or team in a tournament is one given a preliminary ranking that is used in the initial draw. The intention is that the better competitors are less likely to meet each other in the early rounds.

35D Cabbage Patch Kid, e.g. : DOLL

The dolls known as the Cabbage Patch Kids were introduced in 1982, and were a huge fad through most of the eighties.

36D Part of URL : LOCATOR

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a uniform resource locator (URL).

38D The Road Runner, to Wile E. Coyote : NEMESIS

Nemesis was a Greek goddess, the goddess of retribution. Her role was to make those individuals who were either haughty or arrogant pay a price for their attitudes. In modern parlance, one’s nemesis (plural “nemeses”) is one’s sworn enemy, often someone who is the exact opposite in character but someone who still shares some important characteristics. A nemesis is often someone one cannot seem to beat in competition.

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Road Runner was created first, and Wile E. Coyote was invented as the necessary pursuer. I love this cartoon; it’s definitely one of the best …

39D Poles tossed in a Highland competition : CABERS

The caber toss must be the most recognizable event in the Scottish Highland Games. The tall pole is 19’ 6” long and weighs a whopping 175 pounds. The event may have originated with the practice of tossing large logs across chasms in order to cross them.

44D Elevator part : CAR

Elevators (simple hoists) have been around for a long time. What Elisha Otis did was come up with the “safety elevator”, a design that he showcased at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. At the Fair, Otis would stand on an elevated platform in front of onlookers and order his assistant to cut the single rope holding up the platform. His safety system kicked in when the platform had only fallen a few inches, amazing the crowd. After this demonstration, the orders came rolling in.

48D Derby drink : JULEP

A mint julep is a bourbon-based cocktail that is associated with the American South, and with the Kentucky Derby in particular. If you’d like to make yourself a mint julep, one recipe is:

• 3 oz of Bourbon
• 4-6 sprigs of mint
• granulated sugar to taste

51D Spot for a ship’s captain : HELM

In its broadest sense, the term “helm” describes the whole of a ship’s steering mechanism, including the rudder and tiller. In a more specific sense, the helm is the handle, tiller or wheel that is used to control the steering gear.

53D Control center? : TEE

The center of the word ‘’control” is a letter T (tee).

57D Trisolarans in “The Three-Body Problem,” e.g., informally : ETS

“The Three-Body Problem” is a 2008 science-fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin. An English translation by Chinese-born American author Ken Liu was published in 2014. It became the first translated work to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel.