Advertisement
Advertisement
Constructed by: C.C. Burnikel
Edited by: Rich Norris
Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Study of Clues
Themed answers are each a field of study that has been reinterpreted in the clue with reference to the opening syllable in the name of the field:
Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers
Want to discuss the puzzle? Then …
… leave a comment
Bill’s time: 6m 57s
Bill’s errors: 0
Advertisement
Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. Goat quote : MAA!
“Maa” is the call of a goat.
9. Driving range instructors : PROS
That would be golf.
13. Central cooling systs. : ACS
Air conditioner (AC)
15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner : MEARA
Anne Meara married fellow comedic actor Jerry Stiller in 1954. The couple’s children are actors Ben and Amy Stiller. Meara co-starred with Carroll O’Connor and Martin Balsam in the eighties sitcom “Archie Bunker’s Place”, a spin-off from “All in the Family”.
16. Study of a portentous woodchuck? : PHILOLOGY (from “Punxsutawney Phil”)
Philology is the study of literature, and language used in literature. The Greek “philologia” translates as “love of words, speech”.
The woodchuck is also known as the groundhog, and is one in a group of large ground squirrels called marmots. Repeat after me:
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Punxsutawney is a borough in Pennsylvania that is located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney Phil is the famous groundhog that lives in the area. Phil comes out of his hole on February 2 each year and if he sees his shadow he goes back into his hole predicting six more weeks of winter weather. February 2 is known as “Groundhog Day”.
20. Prevents legally : ENJOINS
In legal terms, “to enjoin” means “to prohibit”, to issue an injunction prohibiting a specific act.
22. Hoppy brew, for short : IPA
India pale ale (IPA) is a style of beer that originated in England. The beer was originally intended for transportation from England to India, hence the name.
23. Study of tears? : CRYOLOGY (from “crying, shedding tears”)
Cryology is the study of snow and ice. An alternative term for the same study is “glaciology”.
24. Humanities maj. : SOC
Sociology (soc.)
The academic studies of human culture are collectively called the humanities. Subjects included in the humanities are languages, literature, philosophy, religion and music.
26. Dash gauge : TACH
The tachometer takes its name from the Greek word “tachos” meaning “speed”. A tachometer in a car measures engine revolutions per minute (rpm).
Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a board placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hoofs of the horses.
29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC : CRO
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses its own set of three-letter abbreviations for country names, e.g. HUN (Hungary) and CRO (Croatia).
The Republic of Croatia is a Balkan country. The Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia became a member of NATO in 2009, and a member of the European Union in 2013.
The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that is bordered by Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Given its geographic location, the country has been part of various realms over the centuries, most recently being part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, and is now a member of the European Union.
30. Player of The Bride in “Kill Bill” films, familiarly : UMA
Uma Thurman started her working career as a fashion model, at the age of 15. She appeared in her first movies at 17, with her most acclaimed early role being Cécile de Volanges in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”. Thurman’s career really took off when she played the gangster’s “moll” in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. My favorite of all Thurman’s movies is “The Truth About Cats & Dogs”, a less acclaimed romcom released in 1996. She took a few years off from acting from 1998 until 2002 following the birth of her first child. It was Tarantino who relaunched her career, giving her the lead in the “Kill Bill” films.
“Kill Bill” is a 3-part Quentin Tarantino movie (I haven’t seen it, as I really don’t do Tarantino). “Kill Bill” started off as one film, but as the running time was over four hours, it was split into two “volumes”, released several months apart in 2003 and 2004. There has been a lot of talk about making “Kill Bill: Volume 3”.
39. Fuzzy fruit : KIWIS
What we call kiwifruit today used to be called a Chinese gooseberry. Marketing folks in the fifties decided to call it a “melonette”, and then New Zealand producers adopted the name “kiwifruit”.
41. Exercise in a studio : YOGA
In the West we tend to think of yoga as a physical discipline, a means of exercise that uses specific poses to stretch and strengthen muscles. While it is true that the ancient Indian practice of yoga does involve such physical discipline, the corporeal aspect of the practice plays a relatively small part in the whole philosophy. Other major components are meditation, ethical behavior, breathing and contemplation.
42. Android operating system named for a cookie : OREO
The successive versions of the Android mobile operating system use confectionery-themed names:
- Cupcake
- Donut
- Eclair
- Froyo
- Gingerbread
- Honeycomb
- Ice Cream Sandwich
- Jelly Bean
- KitKat
- Lollipop
- Marshmallow
- Nougat
- Oreo
- Pie
46. “American Experience” network : PBS
“American Experience” is a documentary television program that has aired on PBS since 1988. Most of the shows in the “American Experience” collection are produced WGBH-TV in Boston.
49. Bart’s bus driver : OTTO
Otto Mann drives the school bus on the TV show “The Simpsons”. Otto is a Germanic character voiced by Harry Shearer, and his name is a play on “Ottoman Empire”. Whenever Bart sees him, he greets Otto with the words “Otto, man!”
51. Study of common articles? : THEOLOGY (from “‘the’ definite article”)
Theology is the study of religious faith. The term comes from the Greek “theos” meaning “god” and “-logia” meaning “study”.
57. Echo Dot-waking words : HI, ALEXA
Amazon’s Alexa is a personal assistant application that is most associated with the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Apparently, one reason the name “Alexa” was chosen is because it might remind one of the Library of Alexandria, the “keeper of all knowledge”.
58. Cornell’s home : ITHACA
The city of Ithaca sits right at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake in New York State. Named for the Greek island, Ithaca is famous as home to Cornell University, which is located just south of the city.
61. Others, in Cuba : OTROS
In Spanish, when answering a survey, one “opción” (option) might be “otro” (other).
62. Study of hiking choices? : PATHOLOGY (from “hiking path”)
Pathology is the study of disease and its causes. The term ultimately comes from the Greek “pathos” meaning “suffering” and “-logia” meaning “study”.
66. “At the Movies” co-host : EBERT
The film review TV show “At the Movies” has been around since 1988 in various forms with various hosts, most famously Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert. Siskel and Ebert used the iconic “thumbs up and thumbs down” rating system from the very first show.
67. Shepherd’s pie piece : PEA
Shepherd’s pie, also known as “cottage pie”, is one of my favorite dishes. It is a meat pie (although my wife makes a vegetarian version), with a crust made from mashed potato.
68. Craftsy website : ETSY
Etsy.com is an e-commerce website where you can buy and sell the kind of items that you might find at a craft fair.
69. Brother in Roman lore : REMUS
According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born, perhaps instead of “Reme”!
Down
5. Romeo or Juliet : ROLE
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t end well for the title characters. Juliet takes a potion as a ruse to fool her parents, to trick them into thinking she is dead. The potion puts her in a death-like coma for 24 hours, after which Juliet plans to awaken and run off with Romeo. Juliet’s sends a message to Romeo apprising him of the plan, but the message fails to arrive. Romeo hears of Juliet’s “death”, and grief-stricken he takes his own life by drinking poison. Juliet awakens from the coma, only to find her lover dead beside her. She picks up a dagger and commits suicide. And nobody lives happily ever after …
6. “A Sorta Fairytale” singer Tori : AMOS
Tori Amos is an American pianist and singer. Amos started playing the piano at two years old, and was composing piano pieces by age five. She was playing in piano bars (chaperoned by her father) when she was 14. I’m going to have to find some of her music …
7. New car stat : MPG
Miles per gallon (mpg)
9. Study of literary tools? : PENOLOGY (from “penned literature”)
“Penology” is the study of the punishment of crime and the management of prisons.
15. The Masters, e.g. : MAJOR
Golf’s Masters Tournament is the first of the four major championships in the annual calendar, taking place in the first week of April each year. It is played at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, and has a number of traditions. One is that the winner is awarded the famous “green jacket”, but he only gets to keep it for a year and must return it to the club after twelve months.
17. Carmex target : LIP
Carmex is a lip balm that was introduced in 1937. It is available in the usual stick form, but also in a jar and tube.
21. MoMA location : NYC
The founding of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was very much driven by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller, son of the oil magnate. Working with two friends, Abby managed to get the museum opened in 1929, just nine days after the Wall Street Crash. The MoMA’s sculpture garden bears the name of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and has done so since 1949.
24. Heavyweight fight? : SUMO
Sumo is a sport that is practiced professionally only in Japan, the country of its origin. There is an international federation of sumo wrestling now, and one of the organization’s aims is to have the sport accepted as an Olympic event.
25. “Rubáiyát” poet : OMAR
Omar Khayyam was a Persian with many talents. He was a poet as well as an important mathematician, astronomer and physician. A selection of his poems were translated by one Edward Fitzgerald in a collection called “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam”. Here are some famous lines from that collection:
Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse — and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness —
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.
27. First rescue boat : 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.
28. Football Hall of Famer Carter : CRIS
Cris Carter is a retired NFL wide receiver. At the time of his retirement, Carter was second only to Jerry rice in terms of career receptions and touchdowns.
36. Christian of “The Big Short” : BALE
Christian Bale is an actor from Wales in the UK, although he is better known for his work on this side of the Atlantic. Bale’s big break in movies came in 1987 with the starring role in Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun” at only 13 years of age. He has also played Batman three times, in “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012).
“The Big Short” is a 2015 film based on a 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, both of which reveal the main players behind the creation of the credit default swap market that profited so heavily from the financial crisis of 207-2008.
38. Study of lids and caps? : TOPOLOGY (from “lids and caps, tops”)
Topology is a field of mathematics concerned with the study of surfaces, and properties that are preserved when surfaces are deformed. It’s all beyond me …
44. Throw back some Absolut, say : DO SHOTS
I must admit, if I ever do order a vodka drink by name, I will order the Absolut brand. I must also admit that I do so from the perspective of an enthusiastic amateur photographer. I’ve been swayed by the Absolut marketing campaign that features such outstanding photographic images.
48. Chi __ : SOX
The Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team was established in Chicago in 1900 and originally was called the White Stockings. The name was changed because the abbreviation “Sox” for “Stockings” was regularly used in newspaper headlines.
56. Evil film computer : HAL
In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer. Even though, Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.
60. Screenwriter James : AGEE
James Agee was a noted American film critic and screenwriter. Agee wrote an autobiographical novel “A Death in the Family” that won him his Pulitzer in 1958, albeit posthumously. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1951 classic movie “The African Queen”.
63. Wartime prez : ABE
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, elected in 1860 as the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln’s electoral support came almost exclusively from the north and west of the country, winning only 2 out of 996 counties in the Southern slave states. Lincoln led the country through Civil War, and then was assassinated in 1865 just a few days after Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia. President Lincoln was succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson.
64. Veer off course : YAW
The word “yaw” means to deviate from the line of a course and is used mainly at sea and in the air. “Yaw” is derived from the Old Norse word “jaege” which means “to drive, chase”. As such, “yaw” is etymologically related to our word “yacht”.
Read on, or …
… return to top of page
Advertisement
Complete List of Clues/Answers
Across
1. Goat quote : MAA!
4. Monorail users : TRAMS
9. Driving range instructors : PROS
13. Central cooling systs. : ACS
14. Kick : OOMPH
15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner : MEARA
16. Study of a portentous woodchuck? : PHILOLOGY (from “Punxsutawney Phil”)
18. Opposition group : ANTIS
19. Submits returns online : E-FILES
20. Prevents legally : ENJOINS
22. Hoppy brew, for short : IPA
23. Study of tears? : CRYOLOGY (from “crying, shedding tears”)
24. Humanities maj. : SOC
26. Dash gauge : TACH
29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC : CRO
30. Player of The Bride in “Kill Bill” films, familiarly : UMA
31. Made a blunder : ERRED
33. Take suddenly : GRAB
37. Small store : MART
39. Fuzzy fruit : KIWIS
41. Exercise in a studio : YOGA
42. Android operating system named for a cookie : OREO
43. Trusty mount : STEED
45. Shaving cream type : GEL
46. “American Experience” network : PBS
49. Bart’s bus driver : OTTO
50. Draw upon : USE
51. Study of common articles? : THEOLOGY (from “‘the’ definite article”)
55. That woman : SHE
57. Echo Dot-waking words : HI, ALEXA
58. Cornell’s home : ITHACA
61. Others, in Cuba : OTROS
62. Study of hiking choices? : PATHOLOGY (from “hiking path”)
65. Tells all : SINGS
66. “At the Movies” co-host : EBERT
67. Shepherd’s pie piece : PEA
68. Craftsy website : ETSY
69. Brother in Roman lore : REMUS
70. Give a darn : SEW
Down
1. It may have an “X” : MAP
2. Physical discomfort : ACHE
3. “Whatever!” : AS IF I CARE!
4. “Missed your chance!” : TOO LATE!
5. Romeo or Juliet : ROLE
6. “A Sorta Fairytale” singer Tori : AMOS
7. New car stat : MPG
8. More timid : SHYER
9. Study of literary tools? : PENOLOGY (from “penned literature”)
10. 7:11, e.g. : RATIO
11. Circular gasket : O-RING
12. Impertinent : SASSY
15. The Masters, e.g. : MAJOR
17. Carmex target : LIP
21. MoMA location : NYC
23. Puppy plaything : CHEW TOY
24. Heavyweight fight? : SUMO
25. “Rubáiyát” poet : OMAR
27. First rescue boat : ARK
28. Football Hall of Famer Carter : CRIS
32. Count calories : DIET
34. Officers who follow their own code : ROGUE COPS
35. Many months : AGES
36. Christian of “The Big Short” : BALE
38. Study of lids and caps? : TOPOLOGY (from “lids and caps, tops”)
40. Matching group : SET
44. Throw back some Absolut, say : DO SHOTS
47. Sanctify : BLESS
48. Chi __ : SOX
51. “All __ in favor … ” : THOSE
52. Bandleader’s cue : HIT IT
53. Works for : EARNS
54. Rubbernecker : GAPER
56. Evil film computer : HAL
58. Thing : ITEM
59. Dead-end sign word : THRU
60. Screenwriter James : AGEE
63. Wartime prez : ABE
64. Veer off course : YAW
Leave a comment (below), or …
… return to top of page
Advertisement