Day: June 4, 2023

Bill’s time: 20m 48s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14 Bit of bedroom furniture : ARMOIRE

“Armoire” is the French word for “wardrobe”, and is used in English for a standing closet that stores clothes.

15 Onetime set of 13 : COLONIES

The Thirteen Colonies were those founded by the British on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. The thirteen colonies eventually declared independence as a group in 1776, and formed the United States of America. The thirteen colonies were:

1. Virginia (founded 1607)
2. Massachusetts (founded as Plymouth Colony in 1620)
3. New Hampshire (1623)
4. Maryland (1634)
5. Connecticut (c. 1635)
6. Rhode Island (1636)
7. Delaware (1638)
8. North Carolina (1653)
9. South Carolina (1663)
10. New Jersey (1664)
11. New York (1664)
12. Pennsylvania (1682)
13. Georgia (1732)

18 They’re right on an election map … or a description of 17-Across? : RED STATES

On political maps, red states are usually Republican and blue states usually Democrat. The designation of red and blue states is a very recent concept, only introduced in the 2000 presidential election by TV journalist, the late Tim Russert. In retrospect, the choice of colors is surprising, as in other democracies around the world red is usually used to describe left-leaning socialist parties (the reds under the bed!), and blue is used for conservative right-wing parties. In election cycles, swing/battleground states are often depicted in purple.

30 Reference for exploring America : US ATLAS

The first modern atlas was published in 1570 by Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer. It was called “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” (Theater of the World).

33 Screwdriver component … or a description of 37-Across? : ORANGE JUICE 37 Olympics no-nos : STEROIDS

The cocktail called a screwdriver is a mix of fresh orange juice with vodka. Apparently the drink originated with a group of engineers in the late forties who used to spike small cans of orange juice with vodka, and then stir it in with their screwdrivers.

Steroids are found commonly in nature, with familiar examples being cholesterol and testosterone. The controversial class of drugs called anabolic steroids (known informally as “‘roids” or simply “steroids”) are artificially produced chemicals designed to mimic the effect of the male sex hormone, testosterone. They are termed “anabolic” as they build up cellular tissue (particularly muscle) in a process called anabolism. Taking anabolic steroids can be termed “juicing”, and the aggressive behavior that can be a side-effect is known as “‘roid rage”.

38 Actor/activist George : TAKEI

Mr. Hikaru Sulu was played by George Takei in the original “Star Trek” series. Takei has played lots of roles over the years, and is still very active in television. Did you know that he appeared in the 1963 film, “Pt-109”? He played the helmsman steering the Japanese destroyer that ran down John F. Kennedy’s motor torpedo boat. From destroyer helmsman to starship helmsman …

39 Prefix with -pod : OCTO-

The term “octopus” comes from the Greek for “eight-footed”. The most common plural used is “octopuses”, although the Greek plural form “octopodes” is also quite correct. The plural “octopi” isn’t really correct as the inference is that “octopus” is like a second-declension Latin noun, which it isn’t. That said, dictionaries are now citing “octopi” as an acceptable plural. Language does evolve, even though it drives me crazy …

40 Earthy pigment : OCHER

Ocher is a light, yellowish-brown color, although variations of the pigment are possible such as red ocher and purple ocher. “Ocher” is usually spelled “ochre” on the other side of the pond.

41 “The One,” in a sci-fi film series : NEO

Neo is the character played by Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix” series of films.

44 Private plane producer : CESSNA

The Cessna Aircraft manufacturing company was founded in 1911 by Clyde Cessna, a farmer from Kansas. Cessna is headquartered in Wichita and today has over 8,000 employees.

46 Part of the Statue of Liberty that’s about four feet long : TOE

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States. It was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and constructed in France by civil engineer Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). The statue was disassembled, shipped to the US, and reassembled on its pedestal on Bedloe’s Island (now “Liberty Island”). A ceremony of dedication was held in 1886. If you take a boat ride down the Seine in Paris you will probably see a one-third replica of Lady Liberty standing on a small island in the river, looking quite magnificent. That copy was given to the people of Paris by the city’s American community in 1889.’

48 Negative space? : DARKROOM
51 Marley in “Marley & Me,” e.g. … or a description of 48-Across? : YELLOW LAB

“Marley & Me” (subtitled “Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog”) is a 2005 autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan. It’s all about the up-and-down relationship that Grogran had over 13 years with his yellow Labrador retriever named “Marley”. The book spawned a 2008 movie “Marley & Me” starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and a lesser-known prequel “Marley & Me: The Puppy Years” that was released in 2011.

55 “Help!” : SOS!

The combination of three dots – three dashes – three dots, is a Morse signal first introduced by the German government as a standard distress call in 1905. The sequence is remembered as the letters SOS (three dots – pause – three dashes – pause – three dots). That said, in the emergency signal there is no pause between the dots and dashes, so “SOS” is really only a mnemonic. Similarly, the phrases “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship” are back-formations that were introduced after the SOS signal was adopted.

56 Actress Teri : GARR

Actress Teri Garr had a whole host of minor roles in her youth, including appearances in nine Elvis movies. Garr’s big break came with the role of Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and her supporting role in “Tootsie” earned Garr an Academy Award nomination. Sadly, Teri Garr suffers from multiple sclerosis. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

57 With 58-Across, what’s represented by this puzzle’s colored “stripes” : PRIDE …
58 See 57-Across : … FLAG

The best-known rainbow flag is the one representing gay pride. Such usage of the rainbow flag was popularized in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker. The varying colors of the flag represent the diversity of the gay community.

62 Something that can be “dead” that was never alive : MAIL

Dead letter mail is undeliverable, cannot be delivered to the addressee nor returned to the sender. Here in the US, once a letter has been deemed undeliverable, postal workers are permitted to violate the principle of secrecy of correspondence in an attempt to track down the letter’s origin or destination.

63 Competitor of The Vitamin Shoppe : GNC

General Nutrition Centers (GNC) is a retailer of health and nutrition supplements based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1935 as a small health food store in downtown Pittsburgh. There are now about 5,000 stores in the US. The GNC slogan is “Live Well”.

69 City between Gainesville and Orlando : OCALA

The city of Ocala, Florida was founded near a historic village with the same name. In the local Timucua language “Ocala” means “Big Hammock”. Back in the 1890s, Ocala was famous for its oranges, with over one third of that fruit shipped from Florida coming from the city. Also, thoroughbred horse farming in Florida started in Ocala, back in 1943. Some folks today call Ocala the “Horse Capital of the World”, but I bet that’s disputed by others …

The Florida city of Gainesville was established in 1853. The settlement was named for US Army officer Major General Edmund P. Gaines. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida.

Orlando in Central Florida is the largest inland city in the state. Orlando was the most visited city in the US in 2009. That’s mainly because it is home to many theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld. Orlando has a few nicknames, including “O-Town” and “Theme Park Capital of the World”.

71 Tarot card figure classically depicted in ragged clothing : FOOL

In a 78-card tarot deck, the picture cards are referred to as the Major Arcana. The remaining cards are known as the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana included The Fool, the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man, and Death.

72 Clickable address : URL

An Internet address (like NYXCrossword.com and LAXCrossword.com) is more correctly called a uniform resource locator (URL).

73 Bureaucracy surrounding environmental regulations … or a description of 76-Across? : GREEN TAPE
76 Device with a pair of spools : CASSETTE

Back in the days of yore in England, official documents were bound in bundles with red ribbon. So, getting through all the paperwork required “cutting through the red tape”.

The French for “box” is “casse”. So, a “cassette” is a “little box”.

79 Slow-moving creatures : SLOTHS

All four of the extant species of three-toed sloths are native to South and Central America. Cousins of the three-toed sloths are the two-toed sloths, of which there are two species still living.

82 Title TV character whose name is an acronym : ALF

“ALF” is a sitcom that aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.

85 Strike : SMITE

To smite is to strike with a firm blow. The term “smite” can also mean “strike down and slay”.

87 I, in the Greek alphabet : IOTA

Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet, and one that gave rise to our letters I and J. We use the word “iota” to portray something very small, as it is the smallest of all Greek letters.

89 I, in the NATO alphabet : INDIA

The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

93 Double-breasted outerwear : PEACOATS
95 N.H.L. team from Ohio … or a description of 93-Across? : BLUE JACKETS

A peacoat (also “pea jacket”) is a heavy woolen outer jacket originally associated with sailors. Nowadays anyone wears them (they’re very comfortable and warm). The female equivalent of a peacoat is often called a Jackie O jacket, after Jackie Onassis.

The Blue Jackets are the professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The name “Blue Jacket” is a reference to the uniforms worn by Ohio and Columbus soldiers during the Civil War.

97 D.M.V. issuances : ID CARDS

In most states, the government agency responsible for vehicle registration and the issuing of driver’s licenses is called the DMV. This initialism usually stands for the Department of Motor Vehicles, but there are “variations on the theme”. For example, in Arizona the responsible agency is called the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), and in Colorado the familiar abbreviation “DMV” stands for Division of Motor Vehicles.

98 T.S.A.-offered program, familiarly : PRE

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates its precheck program known as “TSA Pre✓” (or “TSA PreCheck”). Members of the program receive expedited screening at most airports. In order to become a member, a traveler must apply online, appear in person at a designated office for a background check and fingerprinting, and pay a fee for a 5-year membership.

99 Lil ___ X : NAS

“Lil Nas X” is the stage name of rapper Montero Lamar Hill. He was born and raised just outside of Atlanta. His first hit was “Old Town Road”, which is classified as country rap.

101 Subject line abbr. : ATTN

Attention (attn.)

105 2014 boxing documentary : I AM ALI

“I Am Ali” is a 2014 documentary covering the life of professional boxer Muhammad Ali. It was directed by Clare Lewins.

108 Bygone medical device used in electrotherapy … or a description of 111-Across? : VIOLET RAY
111 “The Martian Chronicles” author : BRADBURY

Author Ray Bradbury was best known for his speculative fiction works, including “Fahrenheit 451”, “The Martian Chronicles” and “The Illustrated Man”. Bradbury earned his first payment as a writer when he was just 14 years old. That was when he was hired by comedian George Burns to write for the “Burns and Allen” show.

115 Unfaithful sort? : ATHEIST

The term “atheism”, meaning “disbelief in the existence of a god or gods”, comes from the Greek “atheos” meaning “without god”.

116 Spayed, say : DESEXED

Our verb “to spay”, meaning “to surgically remove the ovaries of” (an animal), comes from an old Anglo-French word “espeier” meaning “to cut with a sword”.

117 R.S.V.P. tally : YESSES

“RSVP” stands for “répondez s’il vous plaît”, which is French for “answer, please”.

Down

1 Heavy cart pulled by a carriage : DRAY

A dray is a sideless 4-wheeled cart that is used for hauling goods.

6 Get a better rate, for short : REFI

Refinance (refi)

8 Silty soil : LOESS

Loess is a wind-blown accumulation of silt. The word “loess” is German in origin and was first used to describe silt along the Rhine Valley.

9 Sharon who has a Pulitzer Prize for poetry : OLDS

Poet Sharon Olds won a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2013. She was also the first American woman to win the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

12 Actress Long of “Boyz N the Hood” : NIA

Nia Long is an actress who is probably best known for playing Will Smith’s sometime girlfriend and fiancee Lisa Wilkes on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

“Boyz N the Hood” is a 1991 movie about gang culture in South Central LA. Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Ice Cube have starring roles, and the director was John Singleton. Singleton was only 23 years old at the time of filming, and his resulting nomination for a Best Director Oscar made him the youngest ever nominee for that category of Academy Award.

14 Parka relative : ANORAK

Anoraks really aren’t very popular over here in America. Everyone has one in Ireland! An anorak is a heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur (or fake fur), and is an invention of the Inuit people.

A parka is a hooded jacket that is often lined with fur, and that is worn in cold weather. The original parka was a pullover design, but nowadays it is usually zipped at the front. “Parka” is the Russian name for the garment, and it was absorbed into English in the late 1700s via the Aleut language.

17 Catherine of “Schitt’s Creek” : O’HARA

Catherine O’Hara is an actress and comedian from Toronto, Ontario. One of O’Hara’s more famous film roles is Kevin’s mother in the Christmas classic “Home Alone”. She also plays a lead character (Moira) in the excellent sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” alongside Eugen Levy.

“Schitt’s Creek” is a very entertaining Canadian sitcom created by two of the four leading actors: Dan Levy and his father Eugene Levy. The other two leads are played by Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy. It is about a very wealthy family who lose their money and relocate to a small town called Schitt’s Creek, which they had once purchased as a joke. Recommended …

19 Glam rock band with six #1 hits in England in the 1970s : SLADE

Slade is a favorite band from my youth, a rock band from the north of England who made it big during the seventies. One of Slade’s hallmark marketing techniques was a deliberate misspelling of their song titles. A couple of those titles are “Gudbuy T’Jane” and my personal favorite “Cum On Feel the Noize”.

I remember the days of glam rock so well, as it was a hugely popular genre of music in Britain and Ireland during the early seventies. Artistes wore the wildest of clothes, big hair, shiny outfits and really high platform boots. Names associated with glam rock are T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music and the infamous Gary Glitter.

24 Canadian gas brand : ESSO

The Esso brand has its roots in the old Standard Oil company as it uses the initial letters of “Standard” and “Oil” (ESS-O). The Esso brand was replaced by Exxon in the US, but ESSO is still used in many other countries.

35 Ornamental tree with fan-shaped leaves : GINKGO

The ginkgo tree is quite remarkable in that it is regarded as a living fossil. This means that it has not evolved as a living organism and, based on fossil evidence, is the same species today as it was millions of years ago. It is a remarkably successful species, having survived many extinction events that wiped out so much of life on the planet.

36 Agenda bit : ITEM

“Agenda” is a Latin word that translates as “things to be done”, coming from the verb “agere” meaning “to do”.

45 Aleppo’s land : SYRIA

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and is located not far from Damascus, the nation’s capital. Aleppo owes its size and history of prosperity to its location at the end of the Silk Road, the trade route that linked Asia to Europe (and other locations). The Suez Canal was opened up in 1869 bringing a new route for transport of goods, and so Aleppo’s prosperity declined over the past one hundred years or so. The city’s population has suffered terribly since the start of the Syrian Civil War, with the Battle of Aleppo raging from 2012 to 2016.

49 Fall bloom : ASTER

Apparently, most aster species and cultivars bloom relatively late in the year, usually in the fall. The name “aster” comes into English via Latin from the Greek word “astéri” meaning “star”, a reference to the arrangement of the petals of the flower.

52 Tiny building blocks : LEGOS

Lego produces some wonderful specialized sets with which you can build models of celebrated structures, including:

• The Statue of Liberty (2,882 pieces)
• The Sydney Opera House (2,989 pieces)
• The Eiffel Tower (3,428 pieces)
• Tower Bridge (4,295 pieces)
• The Taj Mahal (5,922 pieces)

53 Language from which Alaska gets its name : ALEUT

The Aleuts live on the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific, and on the Commander Islands at the western end of the same island chain. The Aleutian Islands are part of the United States, and the Commander Islands are in Russia.

54 Support for a dancer : BARRE

A barre is a handrail used by ballet dancers for warm-up exercises and to provide support when practicing certain moves.

55 Bay Area airport code : SFO

The San Francisco Bay Area is served by three major airports: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).

57 Kind of diet that eschews processed foods : PALEO

The paleolithic (or “paleo, caveman”) diet is a fad diet that became popular in the 2000s. The idea is to eat wild plants and animals that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (roughly the Stone Age). This period precedes the introduction of agriculture and the domestication of animals. As a result, someone on the diet avoids consuming grains, legumes, dairy and processed foods. The diet consists mainly of lean meat (about 45-65% of the total calorie intake), non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

62 12th-most-common street name, per the U.S. Census Bureau : MAPLE

The most common street name in the US is “Second Street”. “First Street” comes in only at number three, and this is because many cities and towns forgo the use of “First” and instead go with “Main” or something more historical in nature. The spooky “Elm Street” appears on the list at number fifteen.

65 Dungeons & Dragons figure : CLERIC

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D, DND) is a complex role-playing game (RPG) introduced in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Incorporated (TSR). Dungeons & Dragons was probably the first of the modern role-playing games to be developed, and the most successful. It is still played by lots of people today, including my youngest son …

74 Belgian painter James : ENSOR

James Ensor was a Belgian painter who was active in the first half of the twentieth century. He lived in Ostend for almost all of his life. In fact, Ensor only made three brief trips abroad, to Paris, London and Holland.

76 French pet name that means “cabbage” : CHOU

“Mon petit chou” is a term of endearment in French meaning “sweetheart, darling”, but translating literally as “my little cabbage”.

77 Word with gas or think : … TANK

A think tank is a research institute. The use of the term “think tank” dates back to 1959, and apparently was first used to describe the Center for Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California.

80 Dominoes, e.g. : TILES

White masks with black spots were commonly seen in the old Venetian Carnival. The masks were known as “domini”. The domini loaned their name to the game of dominoes, due to the similarity in appearance between the mask and a domino tile.

82 Samoan capital : APIA

Apia is the capital city, and the only city, of the Pacific island-nation of Samoa. The harbor of Apia is famous for a very foolish incident in 1889 involving seven naval vessels from Germany, the US and Britain. A typhoon was approaching so the safest thing to do was to head for open water away from land, but no nation would move its ships for fear of losing face in front of others. Six of the ships were lost in the typhoon as a result and 200 American and German sailors perished. The British cruiser HMS Calliope barely managed to escape from the harbor and rode out the storm safely. Apia is also known as the home of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, for the last four years of his life.

88 Palindromic Steely Dan album title : AJA

Steely Dan’s heyday was in the seventies when they toured for a couple of years, although the group mainly focused on studio work. The band was formed in 1972 and broke up in 1981. The core of the band reunited in 1993, and is still performing today despite the passing of founding member Walter Becker in 2017. Steely Dan’s best-selling album is “Aja” (pronounced like “Asia”), which was released in 1977.

91 Major wine-producing country : ITALY
92 Province in 91-Down : ASTI

Asti is in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante sparkling white wine. Moscato d’Asti is produced from the same grape (Moscato Bianco). Moscato is a much sweeter wine with a lower alcohol content, and is usually served as a dessert wine.

94 Did some paddling : CANOED

The boat known as a canoe takes its name from the Carib word “kenu” meaning “dugout”. It was Christopher Columbus who brought “kenu” into Spanish as “canoa”, which evolved into our English “canoe”.

96 Theatrical lines that break the fourth wall : ASIDES

In the theater world, the fourth wall is an imaginary plane at the front of the stage through which the audience experiences the action. When a character acknowledges the existence of the audience, perhaps by addressing them, he or she is said to have broken the fourth wall.

103 Triceratops contemporary, informally : T REX

The most popular dinosaurs depicted in the movies, especially the older ones, are the Tyrannosaurs and the Allosauruses. They look very similar, with the former being the really big guy. One difference between the two, is that they weren’t around at the same time. The allosaurus was around during the Jurassic period, but the T. rex didn’t appear on Earth for another 100 million years or so, during the Cretaceous period.

A triceratops was a dinosaur that kind of looked like a rhinoceros, but with three horns. The name “triceratops” is derived from the Greek for “three-horned face”.

104 Consumer-to-consumer marketplace : EBAY

eBay was founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb. One of the first items purchased was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. The buyer was a collector of broken laser pointers …

106 “Irish Rose” lover : ABIE

“Abie’s Irish Rose” is a comedy play by Anne Nichols that opened in 1922 on Broadway and ran for over five years. Back then, that made it the longest run for any show in New York. The show then went on tour, and stayed on tour for an amazing 40 years. The play tells of a young Jewish man called Abie Levy who marries an Irish Catholic girl called Rosemary Murphy. Abie lies to his family and pretends that his “Irish Rose” is Jewish.

109 Letters by some bars : LTE

In the world of telecommunications, the initialism LTE stands for Long-Term Evolution, and is wireless broadband communication standard. In general terms, LTE improves broadband speeds. As I understand it, LTE technology allows a 3G network to perform almost as well as a true 4G network, and so LTE is sometimes marketed as 4G LTE, even though it’s really “3G plus”.

110 “Twist and Shout” and “Yesterday,” for the Beatles : EPS

An extended-play (EP) record, CD or download contains more music than a single, but less than an LP.

112 GPS suggestion: Abbr. : RTE

A global positioning system (GPS) might point out a route (rte.).