Toured national parks perhaps crossword clue Archives - LAXCrossword.com (2024)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

8 One skilled at reading others : EMPATH

“Sympathy” and “empathy” are related but different terms. A person exhibiting sympathy acknowledges another person’s emotional distress. A person exhibiting empathy also acknowledges distress, but understands the emotions felt as they have had a similar experience, or can at least put themselves in the shoes of the person affected.

14 Seasonal drink : NOG

It’s not really clear where the term “nog” (as in “eggnog”) comes from although it might derive from the word “noggin”, which was originally a small wooden cup that was long associated with alcoholic drinks.

15 Kylo Ren’s mother : LEIA

The full name of the character played by Carrie Fisher in the “Star Wars” series of films is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and later Leia Organa Solo. Leia is the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker (aka “Darth Vader”) and Padmé Amidala. Leia is raised by her adoptive parents Bail and Breha Organa. She eventually marries Han Solo.

Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” universe. The character’s birth name was Ben Solo. He was trained as a Jedi knight by his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben came to embrace the Dark Side, and changed his name to Kylo Ren. Ren is played by actor Adam Driver.

17 “Son of a Preacher Man” artist : DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

“Son of a Preacher Man” is a 1968 song recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield. The song found a new audience in the mid-nineties when it was included in the soundtrack for the 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction”.

22 Middle East sultanate : OMAN

Oman lies on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is neighbored by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Oman is a monarchy, and the official name of the state is the Sultanate of Oman. All of the country’s legislative, executive and judiciary power resides with the hereditary sultan.

23 Actor Postlethwaite : PETE

Pete Postlethwaite was an English actor who started out in the business at the famous Liverpool Everyman Theatre. He was a contemporary of the likes of Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”, “Valkyrie”) and Julie Walters (“Educating Rita”, “Calendar Girls”). You might have seen Postlethwaite in 1993’s “In the Name of the Father” for which he earned an Oscar nomination. He is one of the few English actors that can put on a great Irish accent (my personal opinion), as he showed in that movie.

24 Antidepressant, for short : SSRI

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a category of drugs that are usually prescribed as antidepressants.

28 “September” artist : EARTH, WIND AND FIRE

Earth, Wind & Fire is a band that was founded in 1970 in Chicago as an evolution of a previous band called the Salty Peppers. The band’s name was chosen by founder Maurice White. White’s star sign is Sagittarius, which is the primary elemental quality of Fire and seasonal qualities of Earth and Air, hence the name Earth, Wind & Fire.

33 Jazz drummer Max : ROACH

Max Roach was a jazz drummer and pioneer of the bebop music genre. He was respected as a musician all over the world. He was awarded eight honorary doctorates in his life, including degrees from the University of Bologna and the Manhattan School of Music. Roach studied classical percussion at the latter in the 1950s.

34 With 38-Across, annual compilation often shared on social media, and an apt place for four of this puzzle’s long answers? : SPOTIFY …38 See 34-Across : … WRAPPED

Spotify Wrapped is a feature offered to Spotify users annually, early in December. It allows them to view their listening activity for the past ten months, showing the most-often listened to musicians, songs and genres.

42 “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” artist : SMASHING PUMPKINS

“Bullet with Butterfly Wings” is a 1995 song released by the Smashing Pumpkins that was to become the band’s first top-40 hit in the US.

49 “Peter Pan” pirate : SMEE

Smee is often portrayed as a bumbling, hapless character in adaptations of “Peter Pan”, but in the original play by J.M. Barrie, he is actually a skilled pirate who is second-in-command to Captain Hook.

50 Utah city with a biblical name : MOAB

Moab is a city in eastern Utah that attracts a lot of visitors each year, mainly those heading for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, which are nearby.

In the Bible, Moab was the first son of Lot, and the founder of the Kingdom of Moab. Moab was located on a plateau above the Dead Sea.

52 Frankenstein associate : IGOR

In the world of movies, Igor has been the assistant to Dracula, Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein among others. Igor is almost invariably portrayed as a hunchback.

53 Mother __ : TERESA

Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in the city that is now called Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. At birth she was given the name Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (“Gonxha” means “little flower” in Albanian). She left home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto, and headed to Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham in Dublin, Ireland in order to learn English. Her goal was to teach in India, and English was the language used there for instruction by the nuns. After Mother Teresa passed away in 1997 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. She was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016, and is now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

55 “Crash Into Me” artist : DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

“Crash Into Me” is a 1996 song recorded by the Dave Matthews Band. Appropriately enough, it was included in their album “Crash”, which they released earlier the same year.

60 Live feed from the San Diego Zoo : APE CAM

The world-famous San Diego Zoo opened its doors to visitors for the first time in 1916. It was founded in the Balboa Park area of the city, on the site of the Panama-California Exposition that was held the prior year. The zoo was needed to care for the abandoned exotic animal exhibits from the exposition.

64 CVS orders : MEDS

The name of the drugstore chain CVS once stood for “Consumer Value Stores”, although these days the company uses the initialism to denote “Convenience, Value and Service”.

65 Wood __ mushrooms : EAR

Wood ear mushrooms are also known as tree ear and cloud ear mushrooms. They are a type of edible fungus commonly used in Asian cuisines, particularly in stir-fries, soups, and cold dishes. They have a distinctive ear-like shape and a gelatinous, rubbery consistency when fresh.

Down

1 Simple camera stand : UNIPOD

A monopod (sometimes “unipod”) is a one-legged support used for cameras, binoculars etc.

2 California wine limo destination : SONOMA

Did you know that there are far more wine grapes produced in Sonoma than Napa? Within Sonoma County some of the more well-known appellations are Chalk Hill, Anderson Valley and Russian River Valley. Personally, when I want to visit the wine country, I head for the Russian River Valley as it’s far less crowded and much more fun than Napa Valley.

10 Social science subj. : PSY

The social sciences are the collection of academic disciplines devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within societies. Included in the collection are anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, psychology and political science.

19 Sephora rival : 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 …

26 Onigiri component : RICE

Onigiri is an item from Japanese cuisine, one often served in a bento box. It comprises white rice, usually formed into the shape of a pyramid or cylinder. The rice is wrapped in nori, dried edible seaweed.

29 Search after a metal detector beeps, perhaps : FRISK

Back in the 1500s, the verb “to frisk” meant “to dance, frolic”, a sense that carries through to our contemporary adjective “frisky”. “Frisk” somehow took on the meaning “pat down in a search” in the late 1700s.

30 Abbr. in reproductive health : IVF

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the process in which egg cells are fertilized by sperm cells outside of the body in vitro. The phrase “in vitro” translates from Latin as “in glass”. The process is usually carried out in a glass culture dish.

35 Chutney fruit : PLUM

Chutney is a typically southern Asian condiment made from spices with vegetables or fruit. The term “chutney” comes from the Sanskrit “caṭnī” meaning “to lick”.

37 Cassette : TAPE

The French for “box” is “casse”. So, a “cassette” is a “little box”.

39 Genetic messenger : RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA. An added complication is that small changes in the sequence of amino acids specified by DNA sometimes takes place in a process known as RNA editing. This RNA editing occurs after the nucleotide sequence has been transcribed from DNA, but before it is translated into protein.

41 Russia, once : TSARDOM

The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, which was led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

44 Midday : NOON

Our word “noon”, meaning “midday”, comes from the Latin “nona hora” that translates as “ninth hour”. Back in ancient Rome, the “ninth hour” was three in the afternoon. Over the centuries, traditions such as church prayers and “midday” meals shifted from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m., and so “noon” became understood as 12 noon.

46 Cooling-off period? : ICE AGE

Ice ages are periods in the Earth’s history when there are extensive ice sheets present in the northern and southern hemispheres. One might argue that we are still in an ice age that began 2.6 million years ago, as evidenced by the presence of ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica.

47 “Keeping it real since forever!” drink brand : NESTEA

Nestea is a brand of iced tea made by Nestlé. The name is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “tea”.

48 Handy tool for making latkes : GRATER

A latke is a delicious potato pancake (I’m Irish, so anything made with potatoes is delicious, to be honest).

54 Unadon fish : EELS

“Unadon” is the Japanese word for “eel bowl”. “Unadon” is actually a contraction of “unagi no kabayaki” (grilled eel) and “donburi” (rice bowl dish).