Day: January 21, 2023

Bill’s time: 15m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Major Indian tourist site : AGRA

Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India that was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The Taj Mahal: the famous mausoleum built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
• Agra Fort: the site where the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was seized.
• Fatehpur Sikri: a historic city that’s home to well-preserved Mughal architecture.

16 Part of La-La Land : TINSELTOWN

Back in the mid-1400s, the word “tinsel” applied to cloth into which was woven gold or silver thread. The term came from the Middle French word “estincelle” meaning “spark, spangle”, which ultimately derived from the Latin “scintilla” meaning “spark”. By the end of the 1500s, “tinsel” described thin strips of shiny metal. The word “Tinseltown” wasn’t applied to Hollywood until 1972.

19 Charles Schwab offering : INDEX FUND

The Charles Schwab investment company was founded in 1971 as First Commander Corporation. Investor and businessman Charles Schwab and four partners purchased First Commander and changed the name to Charles Schwab in 1973.

20 Transition effect famously used in “Star Wars” films : WIPE

A wipe is a transition used in cinematography to move from one shot to the next. Specifically, a wipe involves a gradual change from one clip to the next with the use of a shape or a line to introduce the new scene. For example, a diagonal wipe uses a diagonal line moving across the screen to bring in the new scene.

21 Their sales rose in 2021 and 2022, after two decades of decline : CDS

A certificate of deposit (CD) is like a less-flexible and higher-paying savings account. Instead of depositing money into a savings account and earning interest periodically, one can open a CD. With a CD one deposits a minimum amount of money but must leave it there for a specified length of time. In return for committing the funds for a fixed period, one is given a higher interest rate than a savings account and can redeem that interest and the initial deposit when the term has expired. CDs are relatively low-risk investments as they are FDIC insured, just like savings accounts.

26 Off! ingredient : DEET

“DEET” is short for “N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide”, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.

29 End-of-week greeting : SHABBAT SHALOM

Shabbat is the day of rest in the Jewish tradition, and is observed weekly from Friday evening through Saturday evening. Shabbat is welcomed a few minutes before Friday’s sunset, according to Jewish law, and bid farewell on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky.

“Shalom” is a Hebrew word meaning “peace” that is also used to mean “hello” and “goodbye”.

35 QB stats : INTS

Interception (INT)

36 Comic actor who co-created “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” : FEY

Comedian and actress Tina Fey was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Fey is perhaps best known to television viewers as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” (1997-2006), and as the creator and star of the sitcom “30 Rock” (2006-2013).

“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is a Netflix-made sitcom that was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (the latter worked with Fey on “30 Rock”). The title character, played by Ellie Kemper, is a young woman adjusting to life in New York City after she was rescued from an underground bunker in Indiana where she had been held for 15 years. I tried a few episodes and found that it didn’t really hold my attention. But, I may give it another go one day, as I hear good things …

44 Bordelaise, for one : WINE SAUCE

Bordelaise sauce is a French creation, one named for the region of Bordeaux. A classic Bordelaise sauce is made from red wine, bone marrow, butter and shallots in a demi-glace base.

47 Box with a view : LOGE

In most theaters and stadiums today, “loge” is the name given to the front rows of a mezzanine level. Loge can also be used for box seating.

51 Electrically flexible : AC/DC

There are two types of electric current. The 120V supply that is distributed throughout our homes provides us with alternating current (AC). The AC current moves back and forth every 1/60 second, in two different directions. AC is great for transmission around the country, and that’s the main reason that AC is piped into our homes. However, all of our electronic devices need direct current (DC), current that flows in one direction. That’s why those devices have adapters at the end of a power cable. The 120V AC supply is converted by the adapter into the DC supply used by the device.

52 Web portal released the same day as Windows 95 : MSN

MSN was originally called The Microsoft Network, and was introduced in 1995 as an integral part of Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system. MSN is a whole bundle of services including email, instant messaging as well as the MSN.com portal.

53 Elizabeth of “WandaVision” : OLSEN

“WandaVision” is a TV miniseries featuring characters from Marvel Comics. The title characters are Wanda Maximoff (aka Scarlet Witch) played by Elizabeth Olsen and Vision played by Paul Bettany. I am by no means a fan of screen adaptations of comic characters, but I might take a look at “WandaVision”. Wanda and Vision are living in suburbia, trying to conceal their superhero identities. Each episode progresses the storyline through several decades, using situations encountered in sitcoms of the day. Episodes use the format of shows such as:

• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• I Love Lucy
• Bewitched
• I Dream of Jeannie
• The Brady Bunch
• Good Times
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• Full House
• Malcolm in the Middle
• Modern Family
• Out of this World
• The Twilight Zone

Sounds very intriguing …

54 Fancy-y-y : POSH

No one really knows the etymology of the word “posh”. The popular myth that “posh” is actually an acronym standing for “port out, starboard home” is completely untrue, and is a story that can actually be traced back to the 1968 movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The myth is that wealthy British passengers traveling to and from India would book cabins on the port side for the outward journey and the starboard side for the home journey. This trick was supposedly designed to keep their cabins out of the direct sunlight.

Down

1 Top story : ATTIC

An attic or loft is a room or space located below the roof of a building. The term “attic” is a shortened form of “attic story”, the uppermost story or level of a house. This term “attic story” originally applied to a low, decorative level built on top of the uppermost story behind a building’s decorative facade. This use of decoration at the top of buildings was common in ancient Greece, and was particularly important in the Attica style. That Attica style was so called because it originated in the historical region of Attica that encompassed the city of Athens. And that’s how our attics are linked to ancient Greece.

3 Pickled watermelon parts : RINDS

The watermelon that we find in the grocery store is actually a berry produced by the flowering, vine-like watermelon plant. Seedless watermelons were developed by Japanese scientists in 1939, and now seedless varieties account for over 80% of watermelon sales in the US.

4 Place for a prayer : APSE

An apse of a church or cathedral is a semicircular recess in an outer wall, usually with a half-dome as a roof and often where there resides an altar. Originally, apses were used as burial places for the clergy and also for storage of important relics.

9 ID on a filing : SSN

Social Security number (SSN)

11 Alternative to bread crumbs in some gluten-free recipes : CHEERIOS

Cheerios breakfast cereal has the distinction of being the first oat-based cereal introduced into the market, hitting the grocery store shelves in 1941. Back then, Cheerios were known as CheeriOats.

20 Quarter Pounder qualifier : WITH CHEESE

The Quarter Pounder sandwich was created just down the road here, in a McDonald’s restaurant in Fremont, California. The franchise owner felt that there was a market for a hamburger with more meat in the bun, and so introduced a meat patty that weighed a quarter pound prior to cooking. He advertised the Quarter Pounder in his restaurant using the slogan, “Today Fremont, tomorrow the world”. Prophetic words …

26 Georgia team, to fans : DAWGS

The University of Georgia (UGA) is primarily located in Athens, Georgia. UGA was founded in 1785 and was the nation’s first state-chartered university. UGA’s sports teams are called the Georgia Bulldogs (sometimes just “Dawgs”).

29 First winner of the Canadian Comedy Awards’ Person of the Year (2008) : SETH ROGEN

Seth Rogen is a Canadian comedian who got a lot of credit for his supporting role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”. That led to him being cast as the lead in the 2007 film “Knocked Up”. Rogen also co-directed and co-starred in “The Interview”, a movie that created a huge ruckus in the North Korean regime.

31 Sea line? : AHOY!

“Ahoy!” is a nautical term used to signal a vessel. When the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, he suggested that “ahoy” be used as a standard greeting when answering a call. However, Thomas Edison came up with “hello”, and we’ve been using that ever since.

32 Some fellows, informally : POSTDOCS

A postdoc is someone carrying out research or study after receipt of a doctorate.

33 “Illmatic” rapper : NAS

Rapper Nas used to go by an earlier stage name “Nasty Nas”, and before that by his real name “Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones”. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001.

40 Kaley ___, co-star of “The Big Bang Theory” : CUOCO

Kaley Cuoco is an actress from Camarillo, California who is best known for playing Penny, the female lead on the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory”. Cuoco’s love interest in the show is played by Johnny Galecki, and the two were romantically involved in real life for a couple of years. Cuoco is also getting a lot of exposure playing William Shatner’s daughter on priceline.com ads, and playing a genie in Toyota RAV4 commercials.

44 Feature of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial : WALL

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC was designed by Maya Lin. Lin is a Chinese American born in Athens Ohio, and is an artist and architect. She was only 21-years-old when she won a public design competition in 1981 to create the memorial. Although her design is very fitting, sadly Lin was not a popular choice for the work given her Asian heritage. As she said herself, she probably would not have been picked had the competition been judged with the knowledge of who was behind each submission.

47 Flight : LAM

To be on the lam is to be in flight, to have escaped from prison. “On the lam” is American slang that originated at the end of the 19th century. The word “lam” also means “beat” or “thrash”, as in “lambaste”. So “on the lam” might derive from the phrase “to beat it, scram”.