Day: February 18, 2023

Bill’s time: 22m 04s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 No big shot : BBS

A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.070″ in diameter) to size FF (.230″). Birdshot that is size BB (0.180″ in diameter) gives the airgun its name.

18 “Suitable for all ages” rating : TV-G

TV Parental Guidelines (TV-PG, TV-MA, etc.) were introduced in the US in 1997. Use of the rating system by broadcasters is entirely voluntary.

19 Non-beef steak option : AHI

Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are usually marketed as “ahi”, the Hawaiian name. They are both big fish, with yellowfish tuna often weighing over 300 pounds, and bigeye tuna getting up to 400 pounds.

33 With 53-Down, article of close-fitting attire : WET …
[53D See 33-Across : … SUIT]

Neoprene is the trade name given by DuPont to polychloroprene, a synthetic rubber made by polymerizing chloroprene. Neoprene is perhaps most-readily associated with the manufacture of wetsuits. The version used in wetsuits is foamed neoprene, a material containing gas cells that provide heat insulation.

34 State that many are in when they visit a national park : AWE

The highest number of National Parks (NPs) in any one state is nine, in California. Alaska comes in second with eight, and Utah comes in third with five. The five NPs in Utah are:

• Arches NP
• Bryce Canyon NP
• Canyonlands NP
• Capitol Reef NP
• Zion NP

37 Condition treated in speech therapy : APHASIA

Someone with aphasia has dysfunction in specific regions of the brain that result in an inability to use words as symbols of ideas. The most common causes of aphasia are strokes or head trauma.

40 Neighbor of the patellar tendon, in brief : ACL

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four major ligaments that support the knee.

53 Octave follower in a Petrarchan sonnet : SESTET

A sonnet is a short poem with varying rhyming schemes but always with 14 lines. The sonnet form has been around at least since the 13th century. The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three quatrains (4 lines) and a final couplet (2 lines). The Petrarchan sonnet comprises two quatrains (4 lines) followed by a sestet (6 lines), or two tercets (3 lines).

54 Many a prof : PHD

“Ph.D.” is an abbreviation for “philosophiae doctor”, Latin for “teacher of philosophy”. Often, candidates for a PhD already hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, so a PhD might be considered a “third degree”.

56 “Springtime With ___” (2004 Disney adaptation) : ROO

“Springtime with Roo” is a 2004 American animated musical comedy film produced by DisneyToon Studios based on the characters from A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

57 Quaint word whose syllables rhyme with consecutive numbers : UNTO

“Unto” rhymes with “one, two”.

65 Something wonderful, with “the” : … BEE’S KNEES

There was a whole series of phrases involving animals that developed in the 1920s, with all designed to indicate a superlative. Some are still around today, such as “the cat’s pajamas” and “the bee’s knees”. Others didn’t last too long, e.g. “the eel’s ankle” and “the snake’s hip”.

Down

2 Fruit popular in salads, but not fruit salads : OLIVE

The olive tree developed in and around the Mediterranean Basin, but has been cultivated in many locations around the world for thousands of years. The fruit of the olive tree is prized as a foodstuff, as well as a source of olive oil. Our word “oil” ultimately derives from the Greek “elaia” meaning “olive”.

4 “Just stop talking!” : TMI!

Too much information (TMI)

5 Home to Sicily’s Castello di Lombardia : ENNA

The city of Enna sits very high up in the hills of Sicily, overlooking the whole island below. Enna is the capital of the province that bears its name, which is the highest province in the whole of Italy. Some of the important buildings in and around the city are Lombardy Castle and the Duomo (cathedral).

7 Alternative to Lunesta or Quviviq : AMBIEN

“Ambien” is a brand name for the prescription drug zolpidem. I have a friend who used to swear by Ambien for helping cope with jet lag. I once had to deal with jet lag almost monthly and swear by the diet supplement melatonin, which you can buy over the counter here in the US. But, I am no doctor so don’t listen to anything I say …

8 “Saint” elsewhere : SAO

In Portuguese, the word “são” can mean “saint”, as in São Paulo (Saint Paul) and São José (Saint Joseph). If the saint’s name starts with a letter H or with a vowel, then the word “santo” is used instead, as in Santo Agostinho (Saint Augustine) and Santo Antônio (Saint Anthony).

10 It’s played with a few strings : BLUEGRASS

Bluegrass is a subgenre of country music, and has its roots in the traditional music brought over from Britain and Ireland. The style of music really evolved quite recently, just before WWII. Musician Bill Monroe is referred to as its “founding father”, and indeed bluegrass takes its name from Monroe’s band, the Blue Grass Boys.

11 Art of cutting cards? : BARBED WIT

A very amusing person might be referred to as a card, stitch, wag or riot.

15 Big export of Ecuador and Nigeria : CACAO

The flowers of the cacao tree grow in clusters, directly on the trunk and on older branches. The pollinated flowers turn into ovoid cacao pods, each of which contain 20-60 seeds or beans. The seeds are used as the main ingredient in chocolate.

21 Story line : ARC

A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that runs through a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media.

26 Actress de Matteo of “The Sopranos” : DREA

Drea de Matteo is an actress who is most familiar to me for playing Adriana la Cerva on HBO’s wonderful series “The Sopranos”. De Matteo also played Joey’s sister on the short-lived “Friends” spin-off called “Joey”, and the character Angie Bolen on “Desperate Housewives”.

29 Mares, e.g. : SEAS

A mare is a large dark area on the moon. “Mare” is the Latin for “sea”. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility.

30 Valley where David fought Goliath : ELAH

In the story of David and Goliath, the Israelites and the Philistines faced each other in battle at the Valley of Elah. Goliath was the warrior champion of the Philistines and each day he challenged the Israelites to send out their champion to decide the battle in a one-on-one fight. No one was courageous enough to accept the challenge until young David agreed to face the mighty Goliath. David felled the giant soldier with a stone from his sling.

39 Novelist Jean : AUEL

As Jean Auel prepared her first book in the “Earth’s Children” series, she did a lot of research about the Ice Age, the setting for her stories. She went as far as taking a survival course in cold conditions, learning to build an ice cave and how to make fire, tan leather and knap stone.

42 “O fairest beauty, do not fear ___ fly!”: “Henry VI, Part I” : NOR

The consensus seems to be that William Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in all. Seven of the plays are about kings called “Henry”:

• Henry IV, Part 1
• Henry IV, Part 2
• Henry V
• Henry VI, Part 1
• Henry VI, Part 2
• Henry VI, Part 3
• Henry VIII

45 Shirley of “Goldfinger” : EATON

English actress Shirley Eaton was one of the original Bond Girls, and is perhaps one of the most memorable as she appeared as Jill Masterson in “Goldfinger”. It is Masterson who is murdered by covering her body in gold paint.

47 Pal of Scooby-Doo : DAPHNE

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” is a series of cartoons produced for Hanna-Barbera Productions, first broadcast in 1969. The title character is a great Dane dog owned by a young male called Shaggy Rogers. The character’s name was inspired by the famous “doo-be-doo-be-doo” refrain in the Frank Sinatra hit “Strangers in the Night”. Shaggy was voiced by famed disk jockey Casey Kasem. Shaggy and Scooby’s friends are Velma, Fred and Daphne.

50 Dunne of classic screwball comedies : IRENE

Irene Dunne was a wonderful Hollywood actress. She played a variety of roles, but I always think of her as the leading lady with Cary Grant in the movies “The Awful Truth”, “My Favorite Wife” and “Penny Serenade”. Irene Dunne was great friends with fellow actress Loretta Young, and the two often attended church together. Dunne is often described as the best actress never to win an Oscar, even though she was nominated five times for the Best Actress Academy Award.

The original screwball was a delivery in the sport of cricket. That term “screwball” was imported into baseball in the 1920s, and applied to an erratic baseball pitch. By the 1930s, a screwball was an eccentric and erratic person.

59 Noggin : NOB

Slang terms for “head” include “bean”, “coconut”, “gourd”, “noodle” and “noggin”.

61 Company connection inits. : LAN

You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.