Day: July 30, 2023

Bill’s time: 23m 33s

Bill’s errors: 2

• 84A TAT (tac!)
• 76D TIT (tic!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Org. that sells “Speaking up for those who can’t” T-shirts : ASPCA

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

6 Bread or pasta, informally : CARB

Only relatively small amounts of carbohydrate can be stored by the human body, but those stores are important. The actual storage molecule is a starch-like polysaccharide called glycogen, which is found mainly in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a quick source of energy when required by the body. Most of the body’s energy is stored in the form of fat, a more compact substance that is mobilized less rapidly. Endurance athletes often eat meals high in carbohydrates (carbo-loading) a few hours before an event, so that their body’s glycogen is at optimum levels.

10 Rae of “Vengeance” : ISSA

Issa Rae is a Stanford University graduate who created a YouTube web series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”. Rae also plays the title role in the series, a young lady named “J”. “Awkward Black Girl” was adapted into an HBO comedy-drama called “Insecure”, in which Issa Rae stars.

22 Christopher ___, director of “Oppenheimer” (2023) : NOLAN

British director Christopher Nolan is best known for “rescuing” the floundering Batman movie franchise. In that series, Nolan directed “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”. He was also at the helm of a couple of sci-fi movies that I really enjoyed, namely “Inception” (2010) and “Interstellar” (2014). And then, along came “Oppenheimer” …

23 “Hugh Hefner was quite the media mogul. They called him …” : MISTER BUNNY MAGS (from “Mister Moneybags”)

Hugh Hefner (often called “Hef”) was from Chicago. His first publishing job was in the military, where he worked as a writer for a US Army newspaper from 1944-46. He went to college after his military service and then worked as a copywriter for “Esquire” magazine. He left “Esquire” to found his own publication that he called “Playboy”, which first hit the newsstands in 1953. “Playboy” has been around ever since.

25 Leaf-wrapped Turkish dish : DOLMA

Dolmas are stuffed vegetable dishes from the Middle East. Strictly speaking, dolmas are made by hollowing out some vegetables before adding a stuffing. The derivative dish called “sarma” is made by wrapping vine or cabbage leaves around a filling. In many cuisines, the name “sarma” has been dropped in favor of “dolma”.

26 Chargeable cars, for short : EVS

Electric vehicle (EV)

31 Key item : FOB

A fob is attached to an object to make it easier to access. And so, a key fob is a chain attached to a key so that it can be retrieved easily. There are also watch fobs, and the pocket in a vest in which a watch can be placed is called a fob. In fact, the original use of the term “fob” was for a small pocket in which one could carry valuables.

34 Lauder in the cosmetics aisle : ESTEE

Estée Lauder was a very successful businesswoman, and someone with a great reputation as a salesperson. Lauder introduced her own line of fragrances in 1953, a bath oil called “Youth Dew”. “Youth Dew” was marketed as a perfume, but it was added to bathwater. All of a sudden women were pouring whole bottles of Ms. Lauder’s “perfume” into their baths while using only a drop or two of French perfumes behind their ears. That’s quite a difference in sales “volume” …

45 “General” with a spicy recipe : TSO

General Tso’s chicken is an American creation, and a dish often found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. The name General Tso may be a reference to General Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty, but there is no clear link.

46 De Armas who name-checked the New York Times crossword on “S.N.L.” : ANA

Ana de Armas is an actress from Cuba. Having attended the National Theater School of Cuba, she moved to Spain at the age of 18. Thre, she made a name for herself in a Spanish TV series called “El Internado”. De Armas moved to Los Angeles in 2014, after which her performance opposite Ryan Gosling in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” earned her critical acclaim.

48 Raison d’___ : ETRE

“Raison d’être” is a French phrase meaning “reason for existence”.

49 One of a record 2,297 for Hank Aaron : RBI

The great Hank Aaron (“Hammerin’ Hank” or “the Hammer”) has many claims to fame. One notable fact is that he is the last major league baseball player to have also played in the Negro League.

51 Bit of Old Norse : RUNE

A rune is a character in an alphabet that is believed to have mysterious powers. In Norse mythology, the runic alphabet was said to have a divine origin.

53 Columbus sch. : OSU

Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus was founded back in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The athletic teams of OSU are called the Buckeyes, named after the state tree of Ohio. In turn the buckeye tree gets its name from the appearance of its fruit, a dark nut with a light patch thought to resemble a “buck’s eye”. The school’s athletic mascot was introduced in 1965, and is an anthropomorphic buckeye nut named Brutus Buckeye.

56 “Do you really trust these Bitcoiners? Beware …” : GEEK BEARING GRIFTS (from “Greeks bearing gifts”)

Bitcoins are digital units of currency that are used on some Internet sites. They are the most popular alternative currency used on the Web today. More and more reputable online retailers are accepting bitcoins, including Overstock.com, Expedia, Dell and Microsoft.

The origin of the phrase “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” lies in the story of the Trojan Horse. According to Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid”, when the gift of the horse turns up outside the walls of Troy, a priest declares,”Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Danaans (Greeks) even if they bring gifts”.

65 Formation involving fibrin : CLOT

A blood clot is a very necessary response to an injury and is intended to prevent bleeding. Also called a thrombus (plural “thrombi”), the clot comprises aggregated blood platelets trapped in a mesh made from fibrin, a fibrous protein. If a thrombus forms in a healthy blood vessel, restricting blood flow, that condition is known as thrombosis.

83 Soothsayer : SEER

A soothsayer is someone who claims to have the ability to predict the future. The term “soothsayer” comes from “sooth”, an archaic word for “truth”. So a soothsayer was supposedly one who told the “truth” (about the future).

85 Big Apple fashion inits. : DKNY

Donna Karan is an American fashion designer, creator of the Donna Karan New York (DKNY) clothing label. Karan was very much raised in the fashion industry, as her mother was a model and her stepfather a tailor.

89 Home to Masada National Park: Abbr. : ISR

The name “Masada” comes from the Hebrew word for fortress, and describes a plateau in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is home to the ruins of ancient palaces and fortifications that date back to the days of Herod the Great, father of Herod who figured in the lives of Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist. After the Romans invaded Jerusalem, Jewish extremists settled on the mountaintop using it as a base to harass the invaders. Eventually Romans mounted an attack on the elevated fortress, building an elaborate wall and rampart to get to the encampment with some cover. After months of preparation, the Romans breached the walls only to discover the inner buildings all ablaze, and the 1,000 rebels and their families dead after a mass suicide.

90 Lead-in to Pen : EPI-

EpiPen is a brand of epinephrine auto-injector. An EpiPen delivers a measured dose of epinephrine, which is a common treatment for an extreme allergic reaction.

92 Sliced into thin strips, as carrots : JULIENNED

The culinary knife cut known by the French term “julienne” reduces food items into long thin strips similar to matchsticks. The addition of a horizontal cut produces diced cubes, and is known as a brunoise.

94 “Enjoy your stay on our horse farm. Hope it’s not too noisy. You can expect …” : … THREE MARE-SQUEALS A DAY(from “three square meals a day”)

A square meal is one that is substantial and nourishing. According to some sources, the phrase “square meal” originated with the Royal Navy, and the square wooden plates on which meals were served. However, this centuries-old practice is an unlikely origin as the phrase was first seen in print in the US, in 1856. An advertisement for a restaurant posted in a California newspaper offers a “square meal” to patrons, in the sense of an “honest, straightforward meal”. The “honest” meaning of “square” was well-established at the time, as in “fair and square”, “square play” and “square deal”.

100 Roman theater : ODEUM

In ancient Greece, an odeon (also “odeum”) was like a small theater, with “odeon” literally meaning “building for musical competition”. Odea were used in both Greece and Rome for entertainments such as musical shows and poetry readings.

105 Rain checks? : WIPERS

You may have seen the 2008 movie “Flash of Genius”, which outlined the troubles Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) had in making money from his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Well, Mary Anderson developed the original wiper and received a patent in 1903. She didn’t make any money either …

109 Kvass grain : RYE

Kvass is an alcoholic beverage made from rye bread that typically has a low-alcohol content (relative to beer, say). Kvass is popular in Eastern and Central European countries.

112 Story that goes over one’s head? : 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.

114 “Can you believe I sneaked into Buckingham Palace in a trunk and saw the king? I was a …” : … THRONE’S STOWAWAY (from “stone’s throw away”)

Buckingham Palace is a stately home that has been the official residence of the British monarch since the days of Queen Victoria. The building was originally a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, hence the name.

118 What was exited during Brexit : THE EU

The UK held a referendum in June 2016 in which 52% of voters chose to leave the European Union (EU). The term “Brexit” was used for the vote, a portmanteau of “Britain” and “exit”. The vote led to some debate about the future of the UK. The Scottish electorate voted for the UK to stay in the EU, and so that revived speculation about Scotland leaving the UK. There is also some discussion about Northern Ireland’s future in the UK, as the Northern Irish electorate also voted to stay in the EU.

119 King who said “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” : LEAR

In William Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”, the title character is betrayed by two of three daughters. He refers to this betrayal, by Goneril in particular, with the words:

If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen, that it may live
And be a thwart disnatur’d torment to her!
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth,
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks,
Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt, that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child!

120 Annual New Year’s celebration in Pasadena : ROSE PARADE

The first Rose Parade was staged in 1890 on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. The initial parades were organized by the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club, whose members wanted to highlight the mild winter weather in the area. The initial parades did not feature flowers, but these were added to underscore the favorable climate. It was the inclusion of the flowers that gave rise to the name “Tournament of Roses”. The first Rose Bowl football game was played in 1902.

121 ___ Haute, Ind. : TERRE

Terre Haute, Indiana is a city close to the state’s western border with Illinois. The city is home to a state prison which in turn is home to the state’s death row. The name “Terre Haute” was chosen by French explorers in the 18th century to describe the location, as “terre haute” is French for “high ground”.

122 Titular Austen heroine : EMMA

Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel. Emma interfered in that troubled courtship.

124 Forest nymph : DRYAD

In Greek mythology, dryads are tree nymphs. The term comes from the Greek “drys” meaning an oak tree, but “dryad” tends to be used for the nymphs of all trees and not just the oak variety.

Down

1 Fictional supplier of Jet-Propelled Pogo Sticks and Dehydrated Boulders : ACME

The Acme Corporation is a fictional company used mainly by Looney Tunes, and within the Looney Tunes empire it appears mostly in “Road Runner” cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is always receiving a new piece of gear from Acme designed to finally capture the Road Runner, but the equipment always leads to his downfall.

2 Makeshift knife : SHIV

“Shiv” is a slang term describing a weapon fashioned crudely to resemble a knife. Mostly we hear of shivs that have been fashioned by prison inmates to do harm to others.

6 Die, e.g. : CUBE

The numbers on dice are arranged so that the opposite faces add up to seven. Given this arrangement, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 all meet at a common vertex. There are two ways of arranging the 1, 2 and 3 around the common vertex, a so-called right-handed die (clockwise 1-2-3) or a left-handed die (counterclockwise 1-2-3). Traditionally, dice used in Western cultures are right-handed, whereas Chinese dice are left-handed. Quite interesting …

17 Leaf-wrapped Mexican dish : TAMALE

A tamale is a traditional dish from Central America composed of a starchy dough that is steamed or boiled in a wrapper made from a corn husk or banana leaf. The dough is called masa, and can include many different ingredients including meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. A hot tamale is a kind of tamale that originated in the Mississippi Delta. It is particularly spicy, and the masa is replaced with corn meal.

24 Himalayan sight … or maybe not : YETI

The yeti, also known as the abominable snowman, is a beast of legend. “Yeti” is a Tibetan term, and the beast is fabled to live in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our equivalent legend in North America is that of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch. The study of animals whose existence have not yet been substantiated is called cryptozoology, and a cryptid is a creature or plant that isn’t recognized by the scientific community, but the existence of which has been suggested.

32 The Magic, on scoreboards : ORL

The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …

33 Kind of whale with two blowholes : BALEEN

A baleen whale feeds by taking in massive amounts of water through its open mouth. It then expels that water with the mouth almost closed. There are two plates of bristles hanging down from the upper jaw that filter out small animals, such as krill, that serve as food for the whale. The filtering bristles are made of a substance similar to keratin (found in human hair and nails), and is referred to as “baleen”.

40 Restrain, as breath : BATE

To bate is to restrain, as in “with bated breath” meaning “with restrained breath”. “Bate” can also mean “lessen”, and is a shortening of “abate”.

49 Kind of cat with short, curly fur : REX

“Rex cat” is the name given to a number of different breeds. The common characteristic is that, due to a genetic mutation, every rex cat has wavy or curly hair.

52 Fleece-lined boots : UGGS

Uggs are sheepskin boots that were first produced in Australia and New Zealand. The original Uggs have sheepskin fleece on the inside for comfort and insulation, with a tanned leather surface on the outside for durability. “Ugg” is a generic term Down Under, although it’s a brand name here in the US.

57 Faith that preaches religious unity : BAHA’I

The Baha’i Faith is relatively new in the scheme of things, and was founded in Persia in the 1800s. One of the tenets of the religion is that messengers have come from God over time, including Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and most recently Bahá’u’lláh who founded the Baha’i Faith. Baha’i scripture specifies some particular architectural requirements for houses of worship, including that the building have a nine-sided, circular shape. It is also specified that there be no pictures, statues or images displayed within a temple.

58 Nunavut people : INUIT

Nunavut is a Canadian territory that dates back to 1999 when it was separated from the Northwest Territories. That makes Nunavut the youngest of all Canada’s territories. It is also the nation’s largest territory, the least populous, as well as the furthest north. Even though it is the second-largest country subdivision in North America (after Greenland), Nunavut is home to just over 30,000 people, who are mostly Inuit.

59 Himalayan river : INDUS

The Indus river rises in Tibet and flows through the length of Pakistan before emptying into the Arabian Sea, a part of the Indian Ocean lying to the west of the Indian subcontinent. The Indus gives its name to the country of India, as “India” used to be the name of the region along the eastern banks of the river. Paradoxically, the Indus lies entirely within the borders of what is now Pakistan.

60 Curmudgeon’s countenance : SCOWL

“Curmudgeon” is a favorite word used by my wife to describe me. A curmudgeon is a bad-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions. I am sure she uses the term very affectionately …

61 ___ Centauri : ALPHA

The Alpha Centauri star system is a mere 4.37 light-years from the Sun, making it the closest star system to our solar system. Sometimes referred to as the closest “star”, Alpha Centauri is actually a binary star system, with two stars orbiting a common center. It is likely that Alpha Centauri is in fact a triple star system, as a third star called Proxima Centauri was discovered in 1915 that is probably linked gravitationally. It is Proxima Centauri that is actually the closest star to our own solar system, being just 4.24 light-years from the Sun.

67 Mont Blanc, par exemple : ALPE

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. The name “Mont Blanc” translates from French into “white mountain”. The mountain lies on the border between France and Italy, and it has been generally accepted for decades that the summit lies within French territory. However, there have been official claims that the summit does in fact fall within the borders of Italy.

69 Big name in chicken : PERDUE

The meat-processing company Perdue Farms was founded in 1920 by husband and wife Arthur and Pearl Perdue in 1920. The business started out as a supplier of eggs from chickens in the couple’s backyard in Maryland.

75 U.S. intelligence org. : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

80 Choctaw word for “people,” as seen in a U.S. state name : OKLA

The state of Oklahoma takes its name from the Choctaw words “okla humma” meaning “red people”.

81 Kapoor of “Slumdog Millionaire” : ANIL

Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor who is probably best known in North America for playing the game show host in the 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire”. He also played the president of the fictional nation of Kamistan in the eighth season of the hit TV show “24”.

The brilliant film “Slumdog Millionaire” is a screen adaptation of a 2005 novel by Indian author Vikas Swarup. A low-budget movie, it ended up winning eight Oscars in 2008. I reckon it turned a profit …

87 Oolong or Darjeeling : TEA

The name for the Chinese tea called “oolong” translates into English as “black dragon” or “dark dragon”.

Darjeeling tea comes from the Darjeeling district of West Bengal in India.

88 Ice cream entrepreneur Joseph : EDY

Edy’s is a brand of premium ice cream that was founded in 1928 in Oakland, California. The company’s two signature brands, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, are named after its founders, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.

93 Dundee denial : NAE

The city of Dundee lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay in Scotland. The origins of the name “Dundee” are a little obscure, although the omnipresent “dùn” in place names all over Scotland and Ireland is the Celtic word for “fort”.

95 Prynne of “The Scarlet Letter” : HESTER

The main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” is Hester Prynne. After the birth of her illegitimate daughter Pearl, she is convicted by her puritanical neighbors of the crime of adultery. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet “A” (for “adultery”) on her clothing for the rest of her life, hence the novel’s title “The Scarlet Letter”.

98 “I want,” in Oaxaca : QUIERO

Oaxaca is a state in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific coast. The state takes the name of Oaxaca, its largest city.

99 Comedian Cenac : WYATT

Wyatt Cenac is a comedian and writer from New York City who was raised in Dallas. Cenac worked for three years as a writer for the TV show “KIng of the Hill” before joining “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as writer and correspondent.

106 Latin 101 infinitive : ESSE

“Esse” is the Latin for “to be”.

107 GPS suggestions: Abbr. : RTES

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

111 Word with eagle or green : -EYED

Eagles have extraordinary eyesight that is several times stronger than that enjoyed by humans. The average eagle weighs about ten pounds, and yet has eyes that are about the same size as human eyes.

William Shakespeare was one of the first to associate the color green with envy. He called jealousy the “green-eyed monster” in his play “Othello”.

115 Italian unit of time : ORA

In Italian, an “ora” (hour) is 1/24 of “un giorno” (a day).

117 Pirate’s exclamation : ARR!

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19th every year, a “holiday” that was created in 1995. The event started out as an inside joke between John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon, but when they shared the notion with columnist Dave Barry, he promoted the idea and it took off.