"Volumize" is one of those words which, like "crispy" and "hydrated" and "wholesome" and "nutritious," is seldom heard anywhere outside of television commercials. Merriam-Webster defines "volumize" as "to add fullness or volume to (something), especially, to make (hair) thicker or fuller in appearance." Today's crossword by Alex Bajcz is titled "Volumizing" and includes seven familiar phrases with BODY added:
Snoop's job? BUSYBODYWORK
Immunology-themed gathering? ANTIBODYSOCIAL
Central garage item? BODYSHOPLIFT
Royal with a broadcasting award" PRINCESSANDTHEPEABODY
Obstruct one's buddies during a hockey game? BODYCHECKMATES
Crimson Tide wrestler? ALABAMABODYSLAMMER
Benchmark for a movie daredevil? BODYDOUBLESTANDARD
The annual Peabody Awards, named for American banker and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, were first presented in 1940 by the National Association of Broadcasters to honor excellence in radio broadcasting. In 1948, the Awards were extended to television stations and networks. Cable television was added in 1981 and online media were added in 2003. Each year's winners can be seen at
http://www.peabodyawards.com/awardsThe Alabama Slammer is a cocktail which became popular in the 1980s. It's made with Southern Comfort peach liqueur, sloe gin, amaretto, and orange juice. According to legend, the drink was created in 1975 by a student at the University of Alabama and imbibed to celebrate victories of the university's Crimson Tide football team.
"Eccentric sort" is GEEZER. We often hear someone referred to as an "old geezer." Apparently there is no such thing as a
young geezer. Merriam-Webster defines the word as "an odd or eccentric person, especially an elderly man." It is an alteration of the Scottish word
guiser ("one in disguise") and, in some American dialects, is still pronounced like "geyser" instead of "geezer." In the UK, especially around London, "geezer" is a slang term meaning "a guy; a bloke" and is also used as a term of address in the same way that many Americans call each other "Dude."
"Pres. and veep" is LDRS -- awkward. "'_____ where it hurts!'" is HITEM -- awkward. "90 degrees from norte" is ESTE -- not used in English. "Beseeches" is OBTESTS, The word "obtest" dates from around 1540 and is now rare. It comes from the Latin
obtestārī ("to protest");
ob- ("against") +
testārī ("to witness"). Used with an object, "obtest" means "to invoke as witness; to supplicate earnestly; beseech." Used without an object, the word means "to protest."
Alex Bajcz -- his Hungarian name is pronounced like "Badges" -- was fascinated by plants and insects as a child. In 2010, he earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Two years later, he earned a master's degree in terrestrial ecology. He is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Maine, teaching classes in plant taxonomy and studying the reproductive behavior of fruiting plants. And that explains why his Sunday crosswords appear in the
New York Times and
Los Angeles Times so infrequently -- he's busy with bugs and blooms!
