James P. Sharp's crosswords have been appearing in the
Washington Post, New York Times and
Los Angeles Times since 2002. In his puzzle today, "Disagree" is BUMPHEADS. "Bump" can follow the last word of each theme answer:
Racing bike: TENSPEED
Vodka brand with flying birds on the bottle: GREYGOOSE
One 'there on the sand' in a 1974 hit by First Class: BEACHBABY
Symbol of absolute rule: IRONFIST
"Ten-speed bike" is actually a misnomer. The bicycle has a shifting mechanism which allows for ten different resistance settings. The speed is determined by how fast the rider pedals.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/454293-what-is-a-10-speed-bike/Goosebumps, also known as goose pimples, are "a roughness of the skin produced by erection of its papillae especially from cold, fear or a sudden feeling of excitement." The word "goosebumps" dates from 1933. When a goose's feathers are plucked, small bumps are visible where the feathers were. The bumps on human skin resemble the bumps on a goose's skin. I wonder why nobody ever refers to the bumps on a
goose's skin as "
human bumps." In 1933, obviously nobody ever thought of that.
A "baby bump" is "the protusion of a woman's abdomen in the earlier months of pregnancy when it is first noticeable to other people." The term seems to have originated in Great Britain in the 1990s but
US Weekly editor Bonnie Fuller is credited with popularizing the term in the early 2000s.
A "fist bump" is "a gesture of greeting or affirmation in which two people lightly tap each other's clenched fist." In 2012,
New York Times writer Pagan Kennedy attempted to explain the origin:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/who-made-that-fist-bump.html"Midnight rider Paul" is REVERE. Today is July 4, the day we celebrate our nation's independence from Great Britain -- although independence was actually declared on July
2, 1776. Anyway, today is a perfect time to dispel the myths of Paul Revere's midnight ride. On April 18, 1775, there were
several riders who rode throughout Massachusetts to warn the populace of a British invasion. Revere did not even
complete his ride -- he was captured by British troops and interrogated.
Paul Revere's Ride, an 1860 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is highly fictionalized. Here is the true story of Paul Revere:
https://www.biography.com/news/paul-reveres-ride-factsHappy 4th of July, everyone! Enjoy the fireworks tonight. To get into the spirit of the holiday, I'm wearing my hair in bangs. (Yes, I know that was bad.)
