"Tiny Bubbles"
4. It's often worn with a hood and mortarboard: ACADEMIC ROBE. 10-6 or 0.000001
10. Computer screen array: DESKTOP ICONS. 10-12 or 0.000000000001
25. Longtime late-night host: CONAN OBRIEN. 10-9 or 0.000000001
26. Don Ho's signature song ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: TINY BUBBLES.
The circled answers are three of the twenty metric system "unit prefixes" used in the International System of Units (SI). The prefixes are used for multiples or fractions of the seven base units of measurements, which include second for time, meter for length, kilogram for mass, etc. In case you missed the news, big changes occurred yesterday, May 20, 2019 as the redefinition of the base units went into effect.
However, the theme is Tiny Bubbles, and we have:
- Microbubbles - Used in biomedical imaging and for targeted drug delivery.
- Nanobubbles - Change the characteristics of water molecules, with widespread potential uses.
- Picobubbles - Being studied to improve extraction in phosphate production.
If you aren't buying in, just count all of those zeros in the SI unit prefixes as Tiny Bubbles.
Moving on...
Across:
1. Fur-protesting org.: PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
5. Criminals, to cops: PERPS. Perpetrators. Perps, to cruciverbalists: perpendicular answers.
10. Idiotic: DUMB.
14. With, in France: AVEC.
15. Paying careful attention: ALERT.
16. Biblical twin: ESAU. The hirsute one that sold his birthright.
17. California county known for vineyards: NAPA.
18. JFK Library architect: I.M. PEI. As you are aware, he died last week at 102. Jackie Kennedy chose an unknown architect named I.M. Pei to design the Kennedy Library
19. Talked like a rat?: SANG.
20. Shoe brand with a three-stripe logo: ADIDAS.
22. Jabbing rudely: POKING.
24. Rescue helicopter: MEDEVAC.
26. Something for serving the English breakfast?: TEA TRAY.
27. Spanish hand: MANO. Anatomy. Mano a Mano: hand to hand.
28. Crushing on: INTO. Adoring on, or idolizing.
29. Fronton game word: ALAI. Didn't know the word fronton. Had the clue been "Cesta game word" jai alai would have come to mind. As it was, perps provided the answer. If you are looking for a venue where you can watch a match, here's a list: Frontons in the USA
32. Like about-to-be-toppled dominoes: ON END.
34. Surreptitious summons: PSST.
38. Branded wares, informally: MERCH. Merchandise.
40. American gymnast Raisman with three Olympic gold medals: ALY. Three Golds, Two Silvers and a Bronze in Olympic competition:
41. Magazine name: TITLE. Caught me thinking of masthead names.
42. Preface, briefly: INTRO.
43. Tip of a quill: NIB.
44. Ensure the win: ICE IT.
45. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO. Shakespeare. That's about all I know about it.
47. Send to iCloud: UPLOAD.
49. "Doctor Who" airer, familiarly: THE BEEB. "...a nickname originally coined by Peter Sellers...and popularised by radio DJ Kenny Everett."
50. Smoothie maker: BLENDER.
52. Gained altitude: ROSE.
53. "Survivor" faction: TRIBE. If interested, here's a list of the tribes of "Survivor" through the years. I think I've watched perhaps a total of 10 minutes of it in the 38 "seasons" it has been on TV. They must average about two seasons a year, since Wiki tells me it has been on since 2000. Apparently it's a very popular reality series.
55. Stud farm stud: SIRE.
56. Latin art: ARS.
57. Not yet sleeping: STILL UP.
59. Chicago ballplayer: CUB.
60. Show on which Tina Fey co-starred for six seasons: SNL.
61. Cooks' prep tools: PEELERS.
62. India pale __: ALE.
63. "Yo!": HEY !
64. Bar tender in Tokyo?: YEN. Two words for the currency clue rather than the singular word for an occupation.
65. For instance: SAY. FREX, as JzB would abbreviate FoR EXample.
66. Blanc who voiced Bugs: MEL.
Down:
1. Former Delta rival: PAN AM. Never flew Pan Am, but was a Delta frequent flyer member. The only thing I got from them in return was lost and misrouted luggage at Hartsfield. Still have my card
2. Give the slip: EVADE.
3. Lukewarm: TEPID.
5. Italian chum: PAISANO.
6. Massachusetts state tree: ELM. They also have a state rock. It's called Plymouth. And a state cream pie and terrier dog, both called Boston.
7. U.S. House member: REP.
8. Cursor beginning?: PRE. Precursor - a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.
9. Grad student's income: STIPEND.
11. Delta rival, as it was once known: US AIR. US Airways, nee Allegheny Airlines, merged with American Airlines. I remember the expansions of Pittsburgh International in the 70s and 80s, largely to support Allegheny / US Air. TWA was the other major carrier that had a hub at Pittsburgh.
12. Exodus food: MANNA.
13. Glitch-ridden, as software: BUGGY. Hopefully the bugs are caught in Beta Testing.
21. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.
23. Bread grain: OAT.
29. "What __ missing?": AM I.
30. "Stormy Weather" singer: LENA HORNE.
31. In a naive way: ARTLESSLY.
33. Giants QB Manning: ELI. The New York Giants of the National Football League.
35. Stabilizer for movie shooters: STEADICAM. Invented by Garret Brown. He also invented Skycam, "the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events."
36. Outmoded calculator: SLIDE RULE.
37. Hanoi New Year: TET.
39. Sharpen: HONE.
41. Shower wall piece: TILE.
46. Divan kin: SETTEE.
48. Thorax membrane: PLEURA. More anatomy. Thank you perps. The Crossword Corner's resident physician wouldn't need to look these up, but I had to. The last anatomy class I had was in high school...
- Thorax - "the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen, including the cavity enclosed by the ribs, breastbone, and dorsal vertebrae, and containing the chief organs of circulation and respiration; the chest.
- Pleura - "each of a pair of serous membranes lining the thorax and enveloping the lungs in humans and other mammals."
49. Garbage: TRASH.
51. Defy authority: REBEL.
54. __-at-ease: ILL.
57. MI6 agent: SPY.
58. "Gangnam Style" musician: PSY. The video, if you care to watch it. Now with 3,349,033,725 views and counting. That's 3.349 billion (109) or 3.349 gigaviews, if one were to use the SI unit prefix.
