Day: April 20, 2023

Bill’s time: 14m 58s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9 Play with, as a catnip mouse : PAW AT

About 50% of all cats are affected in some way by the plant catnip. There is a terpenoid in the oil of the plant called nepetalactone that the cat inhales and that can cause anything from drowsiness to anxiety.

16 Olympics venue : ARENA

Our term “arena” comes from the Latin “harena”, a place of combat. Originally “harena” was used to describe sand or a sandy place. Those Ancient Roman places of combat were covered with sand to soak up blood.

19 Words before a deadline : DUE BY …

Our use of the term “deadline”, to mean “point in time before something must be done”, arose as jargon in the American newspaper industry in the 1920s. During the Civil War, a deadline was a do-not-cross line drawn on the ground in Confederate prisons.

20 Site of a Herculean task : NEMEA

“The Twelve Labors of Hercules” is actually a Greek myth, although Hercules is the Roman name for the hero that the Greeks called “Heracles”. The first of these labors was to slay the Nemean lion, a monster that lived in a cave near Nemea. Hercules had a tough job as the lion’s golden fur was impenetrable to normal weapons. One version of the story is that Hercules killed the lion by shooting an arrow into its mouth. Another version says that Hercules stunned the monster with a club and then strangled him with his bare hands.

23 Sparkly wine cocktail : SPRITZ

A spritz is a squirt, a brief spray of liquid. The term “spritz” ultimately comes from German, possibly via Yiddish, in which language “spritzen” means “to squirt, spout”. A spritzer is a glass of wine with a spritz of carbonated water, and is a drink we’ve been enjoying since the early sixties.

25 Praises to the heavens : LIONIZES

The term “lionize” dates back to the late 1700s when there were lions kept in the Tower of London. The lions were quite famous, and attracted many visitors. Hence the term “lionize” means “treat someone as a celebrity”.

33 Mideast federation since 1971, in brief : UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (states) in the Middle East. Included in the seven are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the city of Abu Dhabi being the UAE capital and cultural center.

39 Brand of congestion medication : SUDAFED

Pseudoephedrine is a drug with decongestant properties, although it is also a stimulant. It is the active ingredient in Sudafed and Mucinex.

41 Where wild animals are most likely to see you : ZOO

The world’s first zoo opened in Britain in 1820. Now known as “London Zoo”, the facility was referred to back then as the “Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London”. The term “zoo” is a shortening of “zoological”.

44 Capital of Brazil until 1960, informally : RIO

Brasília is the capital of Brazil, and is located in the central-west of the country. A decision was made in 1956 to move the nation’s capital from Rio de Janeiro on the coast, to a more central location. So, Brasília was founded in 1960, and is now the fastest growing city in the country.

48 Desert home to the legendary Mongolian death worm : GOBI

The Gobi, the large desert in Asia, lies in northern China and southern Mongolia. It is growing at an alarming rate, particularly towards the south. This “desertification” is caused by increased human activity. The Chinese government is trying to halt the desert’s forward progress by planting great swaths of new forest, the so-called “Green Wall of China”. The name “Gobi” is Mongolian for “waterless place, semidesert”.

61 Muppet named after a character in “Midnight Cowboy” : RIZZO

The Muppet “Rizzo the Rat” is named for Ratso Rizzo, a character in the movie “Midnight Cowboy” played by Dustin Hoffman.

The 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy” is a Hollywood adaptation of a novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It’s a pretty depressing story about a young Texan named Joe Buck (played by Jon Voight) who heads to New York City to make money as a hustler, hiring himself out to women for sex. Pretty soon the young man ends up selling his body for sex with males as well. Prior to release the MPAA gave the movie an R-rating, but the United Artists studio took advice and decided to release it with an X-rating. When “Midnight Cowboy” won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1969, it became the only X-rated film to be so honored.

65 Bamboozle : COZEN

“To cozen” is such a lovely verb! Meaning “to cheat. hoodwink”, it comes from the Middle English word “cosin” meaning “fraud, trickery”.

66 1977 Linda Ronstadt hit : IT’S SO EASY

Linda Ronstadt is a singer-songwriter from Tucson, Arizona. She really does have a lovely voice, and is someone who can make any song her own. In the late seventies, Ronstadt was the highest-paid woman in the world of rock music.

68 Org. endorsing P.P.E. for workers : OSHA

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

69 Jean who wrote “Wide Sargasso Sea” : RHYS

“Wide Sargasso Sea” was written by Jean Rhys and first published in 1966. It’s a clever work that was written as a sort of prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s famous “Jane Eyre”, which dates back to 1847.

Down

1 Moves quickly, as a cloud : SCUDS

To scud is a move swiftly as if propelled forward. The term is often used with reference to clouds, scudding across the sky.

Scud (also “pannus”) clouds are ragged, wispy, low-level clouds that form beneath nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds. They form as warmer, moist surface air is pulled upwards into a thunderstorm. As the moist air ascends, it condenses to create the scud clouds.

4 Video game franchise starring major-league baseballers : THE BIGS

“The Bigs” are the big leagues, in baseball.

6 Surname of father/son actors James and Scott : CAAN

James Caan was an actor from the Bronx, New York City. He was noted for his appearances in some very big movies such as “The Godfather”, “Misery”, “A Bridge Too Far”, “Rollerball” and more recently “Elf”. Caan was quite the sportsman. He played golf with an 8 handicap, and was a 6-Dan Black Belt Master of Gosoku Karate.

Scott Caan is the actor who plays “Danno” in the remake of the cop show “Hawaii Five-0”. On the big screen, he is perhaps best known for playing Turk, one of the Malloy Brothers. Scott is the son of Hollywood actor James Caan.

7 Henry Ford’s sole heir : EDSEL

Edsel Ford was the only child of automobile manufacturing pioneer Henry Ford. Edsel became president of Ford Motors, as Henry’s sole heir, and served in that capacity from 1919 until his death in 1943. Henry’s name is very much associated with the Model T, the Tin Lizzie. Edsel was the man behind the subsequent development of the more fashionable Model A. However, despite Edsel’s many successes, his name is inextricably linked with the highly unsuccessful Edsel line of cars.

12 Sambuca flavoring : ANISE

Sambuca is an Italian liqueur that is flavored with anise. Sambuca is often served straight up with three coffee beans floating on the surface. The beans are said to represent health, happiness and prosperity. A more “saucy” representation for the beans is the husband, wife and mistress.

21 *Longtime Mazda catchphrase : EOONEOON (rotates to ZOOM-ZOOM)

“Zoom-zoom” is a catchphrase used by the automaker Mazda. Mazda is based in the Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The ballpark where the Hiroshima baseball team plays was for many years known as the MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium.

24 *Annual gathering of superhero fans : ZOUUHEOU (rotates to COMIC-CON)

San Diego’s Comic-Con was founded in 1970 as the Golden State Comic Book Convention. Held over four days each summer, I hear it is the largest show in North America.

26 Member of TV’s Addams Family : ITT

In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor named Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. He was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

31 Mer makeup : EAU

In French, “eau” (water) might be found in the “mer” (sea).

34 Where the smallest bones in the body are found : EAR

The middle ear is the portion of the ear immediately behind the eardrum. The middle ear contains three small bones called the ossicles, the three smallest bones in the human body. The ossicles’ job is to transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. The shape of the bones gives rise to their names: the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes).

45 Lot in Genesis, e.g. : WIDOWER

Lot was a nephew of Abraham, with his story appearing in the Book of Genesis. At one point Lot had to flee the doomed city of Sodom with his wife. God gave instructions that the couple should not look back as they left the city, but Lot’s wife disobeyed and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

47 Papal emissary : NUNCIO

The Latin word for “envoy” is “nuntius”. The Vatican used “nuntius” for the title of Papal Nuncio, or more correctly “Apostolic Nuncio”, a permanent representative of the Holy See to a particular state or even to an international organization. In 1961, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations declared that a Papal Nuncio is an ambassador like those from any other country, and affords them the same rights and privileges.

49 Swindle : BUNKO

“Bunco” (also “bunko”) is a term dating back to the 19th century with the meaning “confidence trick”. It’s very possible that “bunco” comes from the Italian word “banco” meaning “bank”.

50 More or less, in time : CIRCA

“Circa” is a Latin word meaning “around, near, about the time of”. We use “circa” directly in English to mean “about the time of”, as well as in derivative words such as “circle” and “circus”.

51 Señor’s send-off : ADIOS

The term “adiós” is Spanish for “goodbye”. “Adiós” comes from the phrase “a Dios vos acomiendo” meaning “I commend you to God”.

52 River deposits : SILTS

Today, we mostly think of silt as a deposit of sediment in a river. Back in the mid-1400s, silt was sediment deposited by seawater. It is thought that the word “silt” is related to “salt”, as found in seawater.

54 N.B.A. Hall-of-Famer Thomas : ISIAH

Isiah Thomas played his whole professional career with the Detroit Pistons. He retired from playing the game in 1994, and took up coaching in 2000, initially with the Indiana Pacers. When you’re out shopping for popcorn, keep an eye out for the Dale & Thomas brand, as it’s co-owned by Isiah Thomas.

56 Components of a hard six, in craps : TREYS

A trey is a three in a deck of cards. The term “trey” can also be used for a domino with three pips, and even for a three-point play in basketball.

If one considers earlier versions of craps, then the game has been around for a very long time and probably dates back to the Crusades. It may have been derived from an old English game called “hazard” also played with two dice, which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” from the 1300s. The American version of the game came here courtesy of the French and first set root in New Orleans where it was given the name “crapaud”, a French word meaning “toad”.

64 Farm delivery letters : CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)