Category: Susan Gelfand

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Constructed by: Susan Gelfand
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Exceptional Clues

Themed answers each start with a synonym of “EXCEPTIONAL”:

• 18A Exceptional lithograph? : FINE PRINT
• 27A Exceptional place to play tennis? : SUPREME COURT
• 44A Exceptional job vacancy? : GRAND OPENING
• 55A Exceptional plantain? : TOP BANANA

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 6m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

6 Take down with a wrecking ball : RAZE

To raze (“rase”, in UK English) is to level to the ground. I’ve always thought it a little quirky that “raise”, a homophone of “raze”, means “build up”.

10 Lickety-split : FAST

“Lickety-split” is the latest in a line of terms that come from the word “lick”, which was used in the sense of a “fast sprint in a race” back in the early 1800s. From “lick” there evolved “licketie”, “lickety-click”, “lickety-cut” and finally “lickety-split”, all just colorful ways to say “fast”.

16 Miscellany : OLIO

“Olio” is a term meaning “hodgepodge, mixture” that comes from the mixed stew of the same name. The stew in turn takes its name from the Spanish “olla”, the clay pot used for cooking.

17 Professional parker : VALET

A varlet was an attendant or servant, and perhaps a knight’s page. The term “varlet” comes from the Old French “vaslet” meaning “squire, young man”. “Vaslet” also gave us our contemporary word “valet”. The term “varlet” came to be pejorative, describing an unprincipled person.

18 Exceptional lithograph? : FINE PRINT

Lithography is a printing technique that was invented in 1796 as a cheap way to publish theatrical works. In the litho process the image is drawn on a metal plate, although originally it was drawn on a stone (hence the prefix “litho-“). The image is drawn in such a way that some regions of the plate repel ink, and then when paper is applied to the plate, those areas are ink-free. A “lithograph” is a print that is made using the technique, and is often a reproduction of a work of art.

27 Exceptional place to play tennis? : SUPREME COURT

The US Constitution doesn’t specify the size of the Supreme Court, but authorizes the Congress to determine the number of justices. The court started with six justices in 1789, and the size of the bench grew with the size of the country and the number of judicial circuits. There were as many as ten justices, from 1863 to 1866. There have been nine justices since 1869.

31 Foy of “The Crown” : CLAIRE

English actress Claire Foy is perhaps best known in North America for playing Queen Anne Boleyn in the miniseries “Wolf Hall”, and a young Queen Elizabeth II in the award-winning series “The Crown”.

“The Crown” is a historical drama produced for Netflix that covers the life of British Queen Elizabeth II from her marriage to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. For the first two seasons, Elizabeth is played by Claire Foy and Philip by Matt Smith. For the next two seasons, Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies take over as Elizabeth and Philip. The show finishes up with Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce in the roles.

36 __ Spunkmeyer cookies : OTIS

Otis Spunkmeyer is a company noted for producing muffins and cookies. Kenneth Rawlings founded the company in 1977 in Oakland, California. “Otis Spunkmeyer” isn’t a real person, and instead is a name that was made up by Rawlings’ 12-year-old daughter.

39 Gondolier’s stick : POLE

The word “gondola” was originally limited to the famous boats that travel along the canals of Venice. When man started to fly through the air in hot air balloons, “gondola” was used for the basket in which the passenger(s) traveled. By extension, the structure carrying passengers and crew under an airship is also called a gondola, as are the cars suspended from a cable at a ski resort.

42 Weather map line : ISOBAR

An isobar is a line on a weather map connecting points of equal barometric pressure.

46 Florida squad that was the first to win two World Series titles as a wild-card team : MARLINS

The Miami Marlins baseball team was founded in 1993 as the Florida Marlins. The franchise changed its name to the Miami Marlins in 2011 when it relocated to the newly constructed Marlins Park.

52 Abbr. in a high-rise address : APT

Apartment (apt.)

55 Exceptional plantain? : TOP BANANA

There is no botanical distinction between bananas and plantains. The terms simply describe fruit intended for eating raw (bananas) and fruit intended for cooking (plantains).

60 “Magic __ House”: kid-lit series : TREE

The “Magic Tree House” series of children’s books were written by Mary Pope Osborne.

63 Strong desires : YENS

The word “yen”, meaning “urge”, has been around in English since the very early 1900s. It comes from the earlier word “yin” imported from Chinese, which was used in English to describe an intense craving for opium.

65 On edge : TESTY

Somebody described as testy is touchy, irritably impatient. The term “testy” comes into English from Old French, ultimately deriving from “testu” meaning “stubborn, headstrong”, literally “heady”. So, our word “testy” comes from the same root as the French word “tête” meaning “head”.

Down

1 Morning cuppa : JAVA

Back in 1850, the name “java” was given to a type of coffee grown on the island of Java, and the more general usage of the term spread from then.

2 “Frozen” snowman who sings “In Summer” : OLAF

“In Summer” is a song from the 2013 animated hit film “Frozen”. It is sung by the snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), and expresses Olaf’s desire to experience the summer season. The irony is that warm weather makes the snowman disappear.

3 Bagpiper’s wear : KILT

The Scottish skirt called a “kilt” takes its name from the Middle English word “kilten” meaning “to tuck up”. The idea is that the kilt can be tucked up around the body to give freedom to the legs.

Bagpipes have been played for centuries all across Europe, in parts of Asia and North Africa, and in the Persian Gulf. However, the most famous versions of the instrument today are the Scottish Great Highland bagpipe and the Irish uilleann pipes (my personal favorite; I’m biased!). The bag in the Scottish version is inflated by blowing into it, whereas the Irish version uses a bellows under the arm.

5 Oregon Trail traveler, e.g. : SETTLER

The Oregon Trail was established by fur trappers and traders as early as 1811. The first migrant wagon train traveled the route in 1836, starting off in Independence, Missouri and going as far as Fort Hall, Idaho. In the coming years, the trail was extended for wagons as far as the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

8 Extremely chill : ZEN

Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. “Zen” is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

11 “Are you calling me __?” : A LIAR

Nope …

19 Early Renaissance painter __ della Francesca : PIERO

Piero della Francesca was an Early Renaissance painter and mathematician from modern-day Tuscany in Italy.

22 Mortgage, often : HOME LOAN

Our word “mortgage” comes from the Old French “mort gaige” which translated as “dead pledge”. Such an arrangement was so called because the “pledge” to repay “dies” when the debt is cleared.

24 Jewish ceremony for a newborn son : BRIS

A mohel is a man who has been trained in the practice of brit milah (circumcision). Brit milah is known as “bris” in Yiddish. The brit milah ceremony is performed on male infants when they are 8 days old.

27 Flat-bottomed boat : SCOW

A scow is a flat-bottomed boat with squared-off ends that’s often used for transportation, usually pushed or pulled by a barge. Often, a scow can be seen carrying junk or garbage.

28 “The Possibilities Are Beautiful” cosmetics superstore : ULTA

Ulta Beauty is an American chain of beauty stores that was founded in 1990 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I am not part of the company’s target demographic …

29 Picked up the tab : PAID

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

30 Swiss __: leafy vegetable : CHARD

Chard is a lovely leafy vegetable, in my humble opinion. It is the same species as the garden beet, but chard is grown for the leaves and beet is grown for the roots. Chard also goes by the names Swiss chard, silverbeet, mangold. In some parts of Australia, it’s even known as spinach.

33 Asian desert : GOBI

The Gobi, the large desert in Asia, lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. It is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This “desertification” is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert’s forward progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so-called “Green Wall of China”. The name “Gobi” is Mongolian for “waterless place, semidesert”.

34 “Succession” actor Ruck : ALAN

Actor Alan Ruck’s big break came when he was cast as the title character’s best friend (Cameron Frye) in the excellent 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. On TV, Ruck’s big role was playing the power-grabbing member of the mayor’s staff in the sitcom “Spin City”. In real life, Ruck married fellow actor Mireille Enos in 2008.

“Succession” is a very popular dark comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. It’s about a family-owned, global media company. The “succession” in question is who will get to run the empire after the passing of the ailing family patriarch. The marvelous Scottish actor Brian Cox plays the head of the company Logan Roy. Great stuff, albeit quite depressing and terrifying …

35 Glacier chunk : BERG

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that is floating freely after having broken away from a glacier or ice shelf. Our use of “iceberg” comes from the Dutch word for the same phenomenon “ijsberg”, which translates literally as “ice mountain”.

A glacier is a body of ice that persists throughout the seasons, and which moves under its own weight. The term “glacier” ultimately derives from the Latin “glacies” meaning “ice”.

39 Chincoteague horse : PONY

The Chincoteague Pony is a breed living in the wild on Assateague Island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. Apparently the name “Chincoteague Pony” is mainly used in Virginia, whereas the “Assateague horse” is preferred in Maryland.

41 Ballerina descriptor : PRIMA

The title “prima ballerina” is the second-highest awarded to a female dancer in a company. The more prestigious “prima ballerina assoluta” is only awarded to the most notable dancers.

45 Waters between continents : OCEANS

The seven continents, in order of size, are:

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia

46 “The Secret Life of Walter __” : MITTY

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a short story by James Thurber that was first published in 1939 in “The New Yorker”. The story was made into a film in 1947 with Danny Kaye in the title role. The Danny Kaye film was remade in 2013 with Ben Stiller playing Mitty. Mitty is a mild-mannered man with a very active fantasy life.

51 Patella’s place : KNEE

The patella is the kneecap. The bone’s Latin name “patella” is a diminutive form of “patina”, the word for “pan”. The idea is that the kneecap is pan-shaped.

52 Targets of Terro bait traps : ANTS

Terro is a borax-based bait used to treat ant infestation. Borax is toxic to ants, and acts very slowly. Because it is slow-acting, worker ants carry it back to the nest and poison the colony.

54 Donald Glover’s “Community” role : TROY

Actor and singer Donald Glover also uses the stage name “Childish Gambino”. He perhaps came to the public’s attention when created and took on the starring role in the comedy-drama TV series “Atlanta” in 2016.

“Community” is a sitcom created that ran for 110 episodes over six seasons, from 2009 to 2015. The title refers to Greendale Community College, a school located in the fictional town of Greendale, Colorado. “Community” was canceled by NBC after five seasons, and then Yahoo! picked it up to stream the final sixth season.

56 Commandment word : NOT

In the Christian and Jewish traditions, the Ten Commandments are a set of principles relating to worship and ethics that the faithful should observe. Also known as the Decalogue, the Book of Exodus describes the revelation of the principles by God to Moses on Mount Sanai. Also according to Exodus, the Ten Commandments were inscribed by the finger of God onto a pair of stone tablets that were kept in a chest known as the Ark of the Covenant.

57 Body spray brand : AXE

Axe Body Spray was launched in France in 1983 under the name “Ego.” The brand was later rebranded as Axe in 1996 and introduced in the United States.