Tag: Like jumping without looking crossword clue

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Constructed by: Dennis Nullet
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme: To the Contrary

Themed answers are THE CONTRARY of common phrases, are prefixed by -UN:

• 24A Zombie armada? : UNDEAD IN THE WATER
• 31A Bad press? : UNCOMPLIMENTARY COPY
• 49A Scary place? : UNNERVE CENTER
• 69A Square dance halls? : UNHIP JOINTS
• 88A Faulty method? : UNSOUND SYSTEM
• 102A Instruction for putting away fishing tackle? : UNHOOK LINE AND SINKER
• 113A Wash gardening clothes? : UNDO THE DIRTY WORK

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

Bill’s time: 15m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

5 S. Korean gaming spot : PC ROOM

A PC bang, Korean for “PC room”, is a form of Internet café. A big feature is a Local Area Network that patrons can use to play video games together.

19 Patron saint of sailors : ELMO

Saint Elmo is the patron saint of sailors. More formally referred to as Erasmus of Formia, St. Elmo is perhaps venerated by sailors as tradition tells us that he continued preaching despite the ground beside him being struck by a thunderbolt. Sailors started to pray to him when in danger of storms and lightning. He lends his name to the electrostatic weather phenomenon (often seen at sea) known as St. Elmo’s fire. The “fire” is actually a plasma discharge caused by air ionizing at the end of a pointed object (like the mast of a ship), something often observed during electrical storms.

22 Doozy : LULU

We call a remarkable thing or a person a lulu. The term “lulu” was coined in honor of Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder, who was a stage magician active in the 1880s.

24 Zombie armada? : UNDEAD IN THE WATER

A zombie is a corpse that has been brought back to life by some mystical means. Our modern use of the term largely stems from the undead creatures featured in the 1968 horror movie called “Night of the Living Dead”. Now that film I haven’t seen, and probably never will …

“Armada” is a Spanish (and Portuguese) word meaning “naval fleet”.

38 Marsh plant : SEDGE

Sedges are a family of plants that resemble grasses and rushes. They are more properly called Cyperaceae.

41 Book after Joel : AMOS

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament’s Book of Amos is attributed to him.

42 Rhubarb dessert : PIE

We can eat the leaf stalks of the rhubarb plant, but not the leaves themselves. The leaves contain oxalic acid and are highly toxic.

44 New York Dolls genre : GLAM

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

The New York Dolls were a rock band that formed in New York City in 1971. Back in the band’s early days, they adopted the “glam rock” look. They dressed up in knee-length boots, high heels and platform shoes. There was a lot of spandex …

62 Elk : WAPITI

Wapiti, also known as elk, are one of the largest species of deer found in North America and East Asia. They are social animals and live in herds of up to 400 individuals. The herds are usually led by a dominant male, known as a bull, who defends his harem of females during the mating season.

66 Mandible : JAW

The human skull is made up of two parts: the cranium (which encloses the brain) and the mandible (or “jawbone”).

77 Disney queen whose powers are similar to Jack Frost’s : ELSA

“Frozen” is a 2013 animated feature from Walt Disney Studios that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. The film is all about the exploits of Princess Anna, the younger sister of Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle. Elsa was originally intended to be a villain, a malicious and power-hungry character. By the final version of the film, Elsa had transformed from a one-dimensional villain into a fully fleshed-out protagonist.

81 Actress Jessica : ALBA

Actress Jessica Alba got her big break when she was cast in the Fox science fiction show “Dark Angel”. Alba had a tough life growing up as she spent a lot of time in hospital and so found it difficult to develop friendships. As a youngster she twice had a collapsed lung, frequently caught pneumonia, suffered from asthma, had a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. On top of all that, Alba acknowledges that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child.

93 Bryn __: first U.S. college to offer graduate degrees to women : MAWR

Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania is a women’s liberal arts school that was founded in 1885. Bryn Mawr was the first women’s university in the nation to offer graduate education through to a PhD. While the undergraduate program is open only to females, the school opened up the postgraduate program to males in 1931.

95 Lhasa __ : APSO

The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

97 Top spot in Formula One : POLE

In motorsports, the car starting in pole position is the one starting in the most advantageous position on the track. In most cases, drivers earn the pole position by posting the best qualifying times. The term “pole position” originated in horse racing. The fastest qualifying horse was granted the inside part of the starting line, the one next to the pole marking that line.

100 Word with rock or space : … OPERA

Space opera is a type of science fiction with storylines that resemble those in Westerns, but set in outer space in the future. The term “space opera” derives from “horse opera”, which is used to describe formulaic Western films.

108 Tres plus cuatro : SIETE

In Spanish, “tres plus cuatro” (three plus four) is “siete” (seven).

109 Irish actor Stephen : REA

Stephen Rea is an actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His most successful role was Fergus in 1992’s “The Crying Game”, for which performance he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. In “The Crying Game”, Fergus was a member of the IRA. In real life, Rea was married to IRA bomber and hunger striker Dolours Price at the time he made the movie.

110 Color of corroded iron : RUST RED

Rust is iron oxide. Rust forms when iron oxidizes, reacts with oxygen.

120 Capital of Fiji : SUVA

Suva is the capital city of Fiji, and is located on the island of Viti Levu. Suva is the largest city in the southern Pacific Ocean.

121 “Bridgerton” actor __-Jean Page : REGE

Regé-Jean Page is a Zimbabwe-born, English actor who had his career breakthrough playing the male lead in the period drama “Bridgerton”.

“Bridgerton” is a fascinating period drama TV series based on a series of historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. Most of the action takes place in London’s high society during the Regency Era. An intriguing element is the show’s approach to race. There is a common, albeit unfounded, assertion that King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte was of African descent. “Bridgerton” runs with this assertion, portraying the era’s society as quite diverse.

123 Evening affair : SOIREE

“Soir” is the French word for “evening” and a soirée is an evening party. The French word “soirée” has an acute accent over the first “e”, but we tend to drop this when using the word in English.

125 C in C : PRES

Commander in Chief (C IN C)

128 Sister of King Charles III : ANNE

Anne, Princess Royal was born in 1950 and is the only daughter of British Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Anne has been in the public spotlight for many things, including her success as an equestrian. Princess Anne was the first member of the British Royal Family to have competed in an Olympic Games. Her daughter Zara Phillips continued the tradition and competed as a member of the British equestrian team in the 2012 Olympic Games. Zara’s medal was presented to her by her own mother, Princess Anne.

Down

1 Squad whose colors match the New York City flag : METS

The flag of the City of New York was adopted in 1915, and slightly modified in 1977. It is a vertical tricolor of blue, white and red stripes, with the Seal of New York at the center. The intent of the design is to reflect the city’s Dutch and English roots, while being distinctly American.

The city of New Amsterdam was taken over by the English from the Dutch in 1664. the city was promptly renamed to “New York” in honor of the Duke of York, who was destined to become King James II of England.

5 Subject of a 2006 demotion : PLUTO

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was welcomed as the ninth planet in our solar system. Pluto is relatively small in size, just one fifth of the mass of our own moon. In the seventies, astronomers began to discover more large objects in the solar system, including Eris, a “scattered disc object” at the outer reaches. Given that Eris is actually bigger than Pluto, and other objects really aren’t that much smaller, Pluto’s status as a planet was drawn into question. In 2006 there was a scientific definition for a “planet” agreed for the first time, resulting in Pluto being relegated to the status of “dwarf planet”, along with Eris. This relegation led to the word “pluto” being used as a noun meaning “give a less important position than before”.

8 Honor for David and Victoria Beckham: Abbr. : OBE

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry in the UK that was established in 1917 by King George V. There are five classes within the order, which are in descending seniority:

• Knight Grand Cross (GBE)
• Knight Commander (KBE)
• Commander (CBE)
• Officer (OBE)
• Member (MBE)

David Beckham is a retired professional soccer player who started his career with Manchester United in 1992 at 17 years old. He debuted for the England international team in 1996, and served as the team captain for six years. He married Victoria Adams, Posh Spice of the Spice Girls, in 1999.

Victoria Beckham (nee Adams) became famous as a member of the Spice Girls girl group, using the stage name Posh Spice. She married football legend David Beckham in 1999, not long after the celebrity couple had earned the nickname “Posh and Becks”. Their main home for several years was a large mansion on 24 acres of Hertfordshire countryside called Rowneybury House. After a multimillion-dollar renovation, the media dubbed the home “Beckingham Palace”. Oh, when she was a young girl, Victoria used to have her father drop her off at school each day in his Rolls Royce. All very posh …

9 Iberian “Hello” : OLA

The Iberian Peninsula in Europe is largely made up of Spain and Portugal. However, also included is the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrénées, a small part of the south of France, and the British Territory of Gibraltar. Iberia takes its name from the Ebro, the longest river in Spain, which the Romans named the “Iber”.

15 Mel who voiced Bugs Bunny : BLANC

Mel Blanc was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”. We’ve all heard Mel Blanc at one time or another, I am sure. His was the voice behind such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Woody Woodpecker, Elmer Fudd and Barney Rubble. And the words on Blanc’s tombstone are … “That’s all folks”.

33 Miner’s dream : LODE

A lode is a metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure. The mother lode is the principal deposit in a mine, usually of gold or silver. “Mother lode” is probably a translation of “veta madre”, an expression used in mining in Mexico.

34 “Break a leg!” preceder : I’M ON!

There are many, many colorful theories for the origins of the expression “break a leg” that’s used in the world of theater to mean “good luck”. Regardless of the origin, what is clear is that using the phrase “good” luck is considered to be very “bad” luck.

35 Milk sweetener : MALT

Walgreens claims to have introduced the malted milkshake, back in 1922.

37 “Gladiator” setting : ROME

“Gladiator” is an epic drama film released in 2000 starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. Veteran British actor Oliver Reed played a supporting role, the final performance before his death. In fact, Reed died before all of his scenes had been shot, requiring the use of a CGI body double and changes in the script for completion of the film.

44 Free : GRATIS

Something provided gratis is supplied free of charge. “Gratis” is a Latin term, a contraction of “gratiis” meaning “for thanks”.

47 Many a musical composition by Czerny : ETUDE

Carl Czerny was a composer and pianist from Austria. although his parents were Czech, a heritage that influenced his music. Czerny began playing the piano at three years of age, and composing at the age of seven. He was a student of Ludwig van Beethoven from the age of ten to thirteen. In fact, Czerny is reputed to be the first person to report Beethoven’s deafness, many years before the affliction became common knowledge.

48 Colorado town near Snowmass : ASPEN

Snowmass Village in Colorado is on the map for a few reasons. Perhaps most notably, it is home to the Snowmass ski area. It is also home to the Snowmastodon site where important Ice Age fossils were discovered, starting in 2010. Tens of thousands of vertebrate fossils were unearthed over the next few years, including fossils of mammoth and mastodons. Sadly, Snowmass was also where serial killer Ted Bundy carried out one of his abductions and murders, in 1975.

50 Bald eagle, e.g. : ERN

The bald eagle is sometimes referred to as the American eagle. It is both the national bird and the national animal of the USA, and appears on the US Seal.

52 Happening place? : VENUE

A venue is a specified locale used for an event. The term “venue” came into English via French from the Latin “venire” meaning “to come”. So, a “venue” is a place to which people “come” for an event.

53 Actor Peters of the “X-Men” franchise : EVAN

Evan Peters is an actor from St. Louis who is best known for playing several roles on the TV series “American Horror Story”. More recently, he took on the role of Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver in the “X-Men” series of films. Peters was in a relationship for several years with actress Emma Roberts, the niece of Julia Roberts.

54 “Silas Marner” author : ELIOT

“Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe” is a novel written by George Eliot and first published in 1861. There’s an excellent BBC TV version of the tale (shown on PBS) starring Ben Kingsley in the title role, with Patsy Kensit playing Eppie, the young orphaned child that Marner takes under his wing.

56 Humerus locale : ARM

The humerus (plural “humeri”) is the long bone in the upper arm. The bones in the forearm are the radius and ulna. “Ulna” is the Latin word for “elbow”, and “radius” is Latin for “ray”.

59 Malleable metal : TIN

The Latin word for tin is “stannum”, and so tin’s atomic symbol is “Sn”. One of the ores used as a source of tin is “stannite”.

62 Wright brother : WILBUR

Wilbur was the older of the two Wright brothers, and he was born in 1867 in Millville, Indiana. By the time that Orville was born in 1871, the family was living in Dayton, Ohio. The Wrights spent a few years of their youth back in Richmond, Indiana, before settling in Dayton for the rest of their lives. The brothers both died in Dayton; Wilbur in 1912 and Orville in 1948.

63 Like many drones : APIAN

Drone bees (and ants) are fertile males of the species, whose sole role in life seems to be to mate with a queen. Given that drone bees make no honey, we sometimes use the term “drone” figuratively, to describe a lazy worker, or someone who lives on the labors of others.

64 Sleepover duds, for short : PJS

“Duds” is an informal word meaning “clothing”. The term comes from the word “dudde” that was used around 1300 as the name for a cloak.

65 British __ : ISLES

The “British Isles” comprise over six thousand islands off the northwest coast of Europe, the two largest being the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Back in my homeland of Ireland, we’re not too fond of the term “British Isles”, as it tends to awaken memories of the Norman invasion and the Tudor conquest. We tend to go instead with the term “Britain and Ireland”.

68 Strauss piece : WALTZ

Of the many classical composers with the Strauss name, “The Waltz King” was Johann Strauss II from Austria. Among the many beautiful waltzes that Strauss penned are “The Blue Danube” and “Tales from the Vienna Woods”. He also composed the famous operetta “Die Fledermaus”.

70 Actor Holbrook : HAL

Hal Holbrook was an actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Although Holbrook was well known for many roles on the big and small screens, he is best known for a series of plays that he developed called “Mark Twain Tonight!”. Holbrook depicted Twain on stage giving recitations from several of Twain’s writings, varying the script for each performance. “Mark Twain Tonight!” was first performed in 1959, and Holbrook last portrayed Twain in the work in 2017, just before he retired at the age of 92. With well over 2,000 appearances in 58 years, Holbrook portrayed Twain longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens himself.

82 Elements in live edge wood slabs : KNOTS

If a piece of cut lumber has an unfinished edge, that edge is known as a “live edge”. Live-edge wood pieces are often incorporated in a design to give a rustic feel.

84 Soothsayer : SEER

A soothsayer is someone who claims to have the ability to predict the future. The term “soothsayer” comes from “sooth”, an archaic word for “truth”. So a soothsayer was supposedly one who told the “truth” (about the future).

85 Village People song covered by the Minions : YMCA

“YMCA” was released in 1978 by Village People and has been adopted as an anthem by the gay community. The song was written by Victor Willis, a straight member of the mostly gay band, and he clarifies that the lyrics extol the virtues of the “YMCA” as a source of recreation for black urban youth. I think he might have been winking when he said that …

“Despicable Me 2” is a 2013 animated comedy movie, and the second film in the “Despicable Me” media franchise. Steve Carell reprises his voice role as Felonious Gru, the boss of the Minions.

87 Wild and crazy : AMOK

The phrase “to run amok” (sometimes “to run amuck”) has been around since the 1670s and is derived from the Malay word for “attacking furiously”, “amuk”. The word “amok” was also used as a noun to describe Malay natives who were “frenzied”. Given Malaya’s troubled history, the natives probably had a good reason for that frenzy …

89 First name in the freezer aisle : SARA

In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

94 “Straight Outta Lynwood” singer : WEIRD AL

“Straight Outta Lynwood” is a 2006 album released by Weird Al Yankovic. The title is a parody of N.W.A’s 1988 hit album “Straight Outta Compton”.

101 Poodle pampering place : PET SPA

The standard poodle breed of dog is considered by many to be the second-most intelligent breed, after the border collie. The name “poodle” comes from a Low German word meaning “to splash about”, reflecting the original use of the breed as a water retriever.

102 Grab power : USURP

To usurp is to seize and hold by force. The term “usurp” comes to us from Latin via French, from “usus” (a use) and “rapere” (to seize).

103 NFLer supported by Sourdough Sam : NINER

Sourdough Sam is a mascot for the San Francisco 49ers football team. Sam is named for San Francisco’s famous sourdough bread.

106 Sam of “Jurassic Park” : NEILL

Sam Neill is a very talented actor from New Zealand, although he spent the first few years of his life in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed Neill in a 1983 television miniseries called “Reilly, Ace of Spies”, about a British spy operation during WWI. He is perhaps better-known for his roles in the movies “Omen III”, “Dead Calm”, “Jurassic Park” and “The Hunt for Red October”.

107 Microwaved : NUKED

The microwave oven was invented in 1946 by Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon. While he was standing beside an active radar unit, which used microwaves, he noticed that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. Spencer proceeded to expose various foods to microwaves in tests that would lead to the development of the first commercial microwave oven.

111 “I can’t __” : EVEN

Me neither …

116 Baking soda amt. : TSP

“Bicarb” is a familiar term for sodium bicarbonate. Another name for the same compound is “baking soda”. When sodium carbonate is added to a batter, it reacts with acids and releases carbon dioxide which gives baked goods texture, all those “holes”.

117 “__ do __” : YOU

The idiomatic phrase “you do you” means “you do what you think is best, what best suits you”.

118 Bon mot deliverer : WIT

“Bon mot” translates from French as “good word”. We use “bon mot” (and sometimes just “mot”) to mean “quip, witticism”.