Day: May 12, 2024

Bill’s time: 22m 56s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Fruits exchanged on Chinese New Year : ORANGES

One of the traditional foods served at Chinese New Year is the orange, particularly the mandarin orange. The Chinese word for “orange” sounds very like the word for “success”. And, the spelling of the Chinese word for “tangerine” contains the character meaning “luck”.

21 Where to find signs with circles, squares and diamonds : SKI AREA

In North America, ski runs are given a standardized rating in terms of skiing difficulty. The ratings are:

• Green circles: easy to ski, often termed “bunny slopes”.
• Blue squares: medium difficulty
• Black diamond: steep and challenging terrain
• Double black diamond: experts only (I’ve never braved one!)

24 Young’s partner in accounting : ERNST

Ernst & Young is one of the Big Four accountancy firms, alongside Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ernst & Young is headquartered in London. The company was founded in 1989 with the merger of Ernst & Whinney with Young & Co.

25 Original host of MTV’s “Total Request Live” : CARSON DALY

Carson Daly is a radio and television personality who is perhaps best known today as host of the reality show “The Voice”. If you stay up late enough on New Year’s Eve, you might also know him from NBC’s “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly”.

“Total Request Live” (TRL) is a music video TV show that originally ran on MTV from 1998-2008, and was revived in 2017. The original manifestation of the show included an incredibly popular rundown of the top ten most requested music videos of the day based on votes from viewers.

30 They come in twice a day : TIDES

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the oceans. At neap tide, the smaller gravitational effect of the sun cancels out some of the moon’s effect. At spring tide, the sun and the moon’s gravitational forces act in concert causing more extreme movement of the oceans.

31 Metal ring that holds a pencil’s eraser : FERRULE

A ferrule is a circular ring, often made of metal. One might use a ferrule when plumbing to seal a joint, or as a reinforcing “strap” around say a wooden handle on a tool. The metal sleeve that holds an eraser on the end of a pencil is also a good example of a ferrule.

32 Title Disney character of 1998 : MULAN

“Mulan” is a 1998 animated feature film made by Walt Disney studios. The film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a woman who takes the place of her father in the army and serves with distinction for twelve years without reward. Disney’s lead character was given the name Fa Mulan. Donny Osmond provided the singing voice for one of the lead characters, after which his sons remarked that he had finally made it in show business as he was in a Disney film.

35 Tourist destination in Baja California Sur : CABO SAN LUCAS

Cabo San Lucas is a major tourist destination at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. “Cabo” is sometimes referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale of Mexico”.

41 Zoomed, perhaps : MET

Zoom is a videoconferencing app that became remarkably popular in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The market deemed Zoom to be the easiest to use of the free videoconferencing apps. I’ve been using it, but really prefer Google’s Meet offering …

42 Beam at a bar : JIM

Jim Beam is the world’s highest-selling brand of bourbon. Jim Beam whiskey has roots going back to around 1795 when Jacob Beam sold his first corn whiskey. The whiskey took on the name “bourbon”, possibly after Bourbon County in Kentucky.

43 Dr. ___, talk show host with the catchphrase “Get some” : RUTH

Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a German sex therapist who made a name for herself as a media personality. Westheimer is the daughter of Orthodox Jews and was sent away from Germany by her family just before WWII. She ended up in Palestine and participated in the 1948 Palestine War serving as a scout and sniper. Westheimer was seriously wounded, and spent several months unable to walk. She moved to France in 1950, and soon after arrived in the US. It was in the US where she did her training as a sex therapist.

44 Test for an M.A. seeker : GRE

Passing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is usually a requirement for entry into graduate school here in the US.

49 Lady Gaga vis-à-vis Billie Eilish, e.g. : LABEL-MATE

“Lady Gaga” is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta. Germanotta is a big fan of the band Queen, and she took her stage name from the marvelous Queen song titled “Radio Ga Ga”.

Billie Eilish is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. She has won several awards, and is the youngest person to have won all four major Grammy categories in the same year, i.e. Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

56 Dal ingredients : LENTILS

I love dal dishes, which are prepared from various peas or beans (often lentils) that have been stripped of their outer skins and split. Dal is an important part of Indian cuisines. I suppose in Indian terms, split pea soup (another of my favorites) would be called a dal.

58 Programming language used in government and banking : COBOL

COBOL is one of the oldest computer programming languages, with the name an acronym standing for COmmon Business-Oriented Language. COBOL was developed in 1959 by “the mother of the COBOL language”, programmer Grace Hopper.

60 Triple ___ : SEC

Triple sec is liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet oranges. I tend to use it in cocktails calling for Grand Marnier or Cointreau, as it is a cheaper alternative and tastes very similar …

61 Cloud nine, so to speak : EUPHORIA

“Euphoria” is a Greek word meaning “power of enduring easily”. In the 18th century, the term was imported into English medical jargon to describe a sick person’s condition when feeling healthy and comfortable. Today, “euphoria” is used more generally to describe any feeling of well-being or elation.

I don’t think that anyone is really certain of the etymology of the term “on cloud nine” meaning “elated”, but I do like the following explanation. The 1896 “International Cloud-Atlas” was a long-standing reference used to define cloud shapes that was based on a classification created by amateur meteorologist Luke Howard some decades earlier. The biggest and fluffiest of all cloud shapes (and most comfortable-looking to lie on) is cumulonimbus. And you guessed it, of the ten cloud shapes defined in the atlas, cumulonimbus was cloud nine …

66 Formula 1 tour stop since 2023, informally : VEGAS

In motor racing, the designation “formula” is a set of rules that all participants and cars must abide by. The definition of “Formula One” was agreed back in 1946, with the “one” designating that it is the most advanced of the “formulae”, and the most competitive.

68 O.C.’s region : SOCAL

California’s Orange County (OC) is home to famous destinations like Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. It is also home to John Wayne Airport, also known as Orange County Airport, with the IATA code “SNA”. The “SNA” is a reference to the city of Santa Ana, which is the airport’s mailing address. The airport itself resides in an unincorporated area of the county.

73 Boy band that went on hiatus in 2023 for army service : BTS

BTS is a boy band from South Korea with seven members. The initialism “BTS” stands for the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan”, which translates literally as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. BTS is the best-selling musical act in the history of South Korea.

77 “___ in the Rain” : SINGIN’

The song “Singin’ In the Rain” by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown was first published in 1929, predating the 1952 film of the same name by over two decades.

88 Actor Pascal of “The Last of Us” : PEDRO

Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal’s break came with a role on “Game of Thrones”, playing Oberyn Martell (aka “The Red Viper”). He then portrayed DEA agent Javier Peña on the biographic crime show “Narcos”. A third prominent role came with an offer to play the title character in the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian”.

“The Last of Us” is a post-apocalyptic drama TV show that is based on a video game of the same name. The apocalypse in the storyline is caused by mass fungal infection that developed into a pandemic. Those infected turn into zombie-like creatures. Ugh …

89 Author Rand : AYN

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist born “Alisa Rosenbaum”. Her two best known works are her novels “The Fountainhead” published in 1943 and “Atlas Shrugged” from 1957. Back in 1951, Rand moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Soon after, she gathered a group of admirers around her with whom she discussed philosophy and shared drafts of her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged”. This group called itself “The Collective”, and one of the founding members was none other than future Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan. Rand described herself as “right-wing” politically, and both she and her novel “Atlas Shrugged” have become inspirations for the American conservatives, and the Tea Party in particular.

90 Pulitzer-winning author Jennifer : EGAN

Jennifer Egan is an author who grew up in San Francisco. Egan’s 2010 work “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Usually termed a novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is structured in such a way that it is sometimes described as a collection of linked short stories.

92 Fair-hiring inits. : EEO

“Equal Employment Opportunity” (EEO) is a term that has been around since 1964 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

95 Wart-covered critter : TOAD

The “warts” on the skin of a toad have no relation to the viral infection that can occur on human skin. A toad’s warts are colored bumps that are believed to help the animal blend more effectively into its environment.

96 Digital “container” associated with Bitcoin : CRYPTO WALLET

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.

98 Dystopian classic whose title comes from “The Tempest” : BRAVE NEW WORLD

In Aldous Huxley’s 1931 masterpiece, “Brave New World”, the members of his future society are encouraged to partake of the drug called soma. The soma provides hangover-free escapes referred to as “holidays”.

There is a speech by Miranda in “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare that is the source for the title of the dystopian novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley:

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.

100 Metonym for the U.S. Congress, with “the” : … HILL

The designer of Washington D.C., Pierre L’Enfant, chose the crest of a hill as the site for the future Congress House. He called the location “Jenkins Hill” and “Jenkins Heights”. Earlier records show the name as “New Troy”. Today, we call it “Capitol Hill”.

A metonym is a word that is used for something that is closely associated with that word. For example, “Broadway” is a metonym for “American theater” and “Washington” is a metonym for “the US government”.

104 Tarot card featuring a howling wolf : THE MOON

Tarot cards have been around since the mid-1400s, and for centuries were simply used for entertainment as a game. It has only been since the late 1800s that the cards have been used by fortune tellers to predict the future. The list of tarot cards includes the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged Man and the Lovers.

105 Mountain nymph : OREAD

The Oreads were the mountain nymphs that accompanied the ancient Greek goddess Artemis on her hunting expeditions. Each Oread dwelled on a different mountain, for example:

• Daphnis (on Mount Parnassos)
• Echo (on Mount Cithaeron)
• Ida (on Mount Ida)

108 Picture book with characters like Odlaw, Wizard Whitebeard and Woof : WHERE’S WALDO?

The series of children’s illustrated books called “Where’s Waldo?” was originally titled “Where’s Wally?” in Britain, where the books originated. Each book contains page after page of illustrations with crowds of people surrounding famous landmarks from around the world. The challenge is to find Waldo/Wally, who is hidden in the crowd.

112 Batter-fried bento dish : TEMPURA

Tempura is a style of Japanese cuisine that features seafood, meat and vegetables that have been deep-fried in batter. The use of batter in fried foods was introduced into Japan by the Portuguese in the late 1500s.

A bento is a single-person meal that is eaten quite commonly in Japan. A bento can be purchased as a take-out meal, or it may be packed at home. A bento is usually sold as a “bento box”.

116 Nike and others : DEITIES

Nike was the Greek goddess of victory, and was often referred to as “the Winged Goddess of Victory”. The athletic shoe company Nike uses the “Nike swoosh” as its logo, a logo that is inspired by the goddess’ wing.

117 Palm tree product used in skin care : COCONUT OIL

The coconut is the fruit of the coconut palm. The term “coconut” comes from “coco” and “nut”, with “coco” being 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese for “head”, and more specifically “grinning face”. The three holes found in the base of a coconut shell might be said to resemble a human face.

119 Safe investment options, informally : T-NOTES

A Treasury note (T-note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-bond matures in 20-30 years.

120 Secret option? : AEROSOL

Strictly speaking, the term “aerosol” defines a suspension of either liquid droplets or solid particles in a gas. A good example of an aerosol is smoke. We tend to use the “aerosol” to describe what comes out of a spray can, even though the liquid droplets usually fall out of the gas and don’t stay suspended.

Secret is an antiperspirant/deodorant made by Procter & Gamble, first introduced in 1956 as a cream that was applied with the fingers (ick!). There followed a roll-on version in 1958, a spray in 1964 and the solid stick in 1978.

122 “Barbie” director Gerwig : GRETA

Greta Gerwig is an actress, screenwriter and director from Sacramento whose best-known acting role is probably opposite Russell Brand in the remake of the film “Arthur”. Gerwig has turned to directing, and was at the helm for the 2019 movie “Little Women”. And then, she co-wrote and directed the hit 2023 film “Barbie”.

The 2023 fantasy comedy movie “Barbie” stars Margo Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken. It was directed by Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach. I highly recommend this one …

Down

3 Civil rights activist Baker : ELLA

Ella Baker was a human rights activist and champion of civil rights for African Americans. As well as fighting racism in America, she fought sexism within the civil rights movement.

5 Schedules : SLATES

Back in the early 1800s, “to slate” meant “to nominate”, perhaps by writing a name on a slate. By the end of the 1800s, this usage of “slate” extended to “propose, schedule”.

9 Rx chain : CVS

CVS receipts are famous for their length and the amount of information they contain and have become somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon. They are so long because they are designed to include as much information as possible about purchases, including details about the products, discounts, and rewards earned. This is part of CVS’s ExtraCare program, which is a marketing tool designed to promote customer loyalty.

11 Prominent figure at the Academy Awards : OSCAR STATUE

Legend has it that actor Emilio Fernández was the model for the Oscar statuette. Cedric Gibbons, art director at MGM, created the design and supposedly convinced a reluctant Fernández to pose nude for “Oscar”.

12 Studio behind “Bringing Up Baby” : RKO

The RKO Pictures studio was formed when RCA (RADIO Corporation of America) bought the KEITH-Albee-ORPHEUM theaters (and Joe Kennedy’s Film Booking Offices of America). The RKO initialism then comes from the words “Radio”, “Keith” and “Orpheum”.

14 Low points : NADIRS

The nadir is the direction pointing immediately below a particular location (through to the other side of the Earth for example). The opposite direction, that pointing immediately above, is called the zenith. We use the terms “nadir” and “zenith” figuratively to mean the low and high points in a person’s fortunes.

19 Spiritual hermitage : ASHRAM

“Ashram” is a term used in the Hindu tradition to describe a place of spiritual retreat, one that is typically located in a remote location conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation.

32 They’re kept under wraps : MUMMIES

We use the word “mummy” for a dead body that has been embalmed in preparation for burial, especially if done so by the ancient Egyptians. The term “mummy” comes from the Persian word “mumiyah” meaning “embalmed body”.

37 Actor Eric : BANA

Eric Bana is an Australian actor who enjoyed a successful career in his home country before breaking into Hollywood playing an American Delta Force sergeant in “Black Hawk Down”. A couple of years later he played the lead in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie “Hulk”, the role of Dr Bruce Banner. More recently he played the Romulan villain Nero, in the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

39 Trawl for personal information : PHISH

Phishing is the online practice of stealing usernames, passwords and credit card details by creating a site that deceptively looks reliable and trustworthy. Phishers often send out safe-looking emails or instant messages that direct someone to an equally safe-looking website where the person might inadvertently enter sensitive information. “Phishing” is a play on the word “fishing”, as in “fishing for passwords, PINs, etc.”

46 Many an attendee of Gertrude Stein’s Paris salons : EXPAT

Gertrude Stein was a great American writer who spent most of her life in France. Gertrude Stein met Alice B. Toklas in Paris in 1907, and the two were life partners until Stein died in 1946. Cleverly, Stein published her own memoir in 1933 but called the book “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”. It was to become Stein’s best selling title.

55 Group of witches : COVEN

“Coven” is an old Scottish word meaning simply “gathering”. The first known application of the word to witchcraft came during the trial of a Scotswoman in 1662 accused of being a witch. At that time, “coven” came to mean a group of 13 witches.

59 Frequent antagonist of Winnie-the-Pooh : BEE

Winnie-the-Pooh’s favorite food is “hunny”, i.e. “honey”.

62 Home to the University of Montana : MISSOULA

Missoula, Montana is home to the University of Montana. Missoula was the birthplace of Jeannette Rankin, who became the first woman to hold high government office when she was elected to the US congress in 1916. Mike Mansfield was another famous Missoula resident, the longest-serving Majority Leader in the history of the US Senate.

63 Enlighten : EDIFY

To edify is to provide instruction in order to improve spiritually, morally or intellectually. The intent is to “build up” someone’s faith or morality, and so “edify” comes from the Latin “aedificare” meaning “to build, construct”. This Latin root also gives us our word “edifice”, meaning “massive building”.

65 Breakfast brand with a rhyming slogan : EGGO

Eggo is a brand of frozen waffles that was introduced by Kellogg in 1953. The brand experienced a surge in popularity in the 1980s due to a successful ad campaign featuring a family sitting down to breakfast together and enjoying Eggo waffles. The tagline of the commercials, “Leggo my Eggo”, is still recognized today.

67 Refused to answer questions : STONEWALLED

Manassas, Virginia was the site of two major battles during the Civil War: the First and Second Battles of Bull Run (also known as the Battles of Manassas). In the first battle, one of the southern brigades was led by Brigadier General Thomas Jackson. His brigade was well-trained and disciplined, so much so that as the Union troops made advances, a fellow-general encouraged his retreating men to hold their positions yelling “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer”. There are reports that the actual quote was less complimentary, but regardless, from that day on Jackson was known as “Stonewall”.

72 Van Halen’s contract once had one that specified no brown M&M’s : RIDER

Van Halen is a heavy metal band formed in Pasadena, California back in 1972. Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally called the band Mammoth, changing the name to Van Halen in 1974 when they found out there was another Mammoth playing the circuit. Early on, the brothers were renting a sound system from David Lee Roth, and they decided to save some money by bringing him into the band and saving on the rental fee!

74 Olympic event since 1968 : SKEET

Skeet shooting is one of three types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports, along with trap shooting and sporting clays. The word “skeet” comes from the Scandinavian word “skot,” which means “to shoot.”

83 Russia’s ___ Mountains : URAL

The eastern side of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan is generally regarded as the natural divide between the continents of Europe and Asia.

84 Maiden name of an 1860s first lady : TODD

Mary Todd moved in the best of the social circles in Springfield, Illinois and there met the successful lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. The path to their marriage wasn’t exactly smooth, as the engagement was broken once but reinstated, with the couple eventually marrying in 1842.

97 Al ___, discus thrower in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame : OERTER

Discus thrower Al Oerter is one of only three competitors to have won a gold medal in four consecutive Olympic Games in the same individual event. The other two sportsmen to have achieved the feat are Carl Lewis in the long jump and Paul Elvstrom in sailing.

98 1995 blockbuster with numerous historical inaccuracies : BRAVEHEART

“Braveheart” is an entertaining 1995 historical drama that was directed by and stars Mel Gibson. “Braveheart” tells the story of William Wallace, the warrior who led the Scottish against King Edward I of England. Much of the movie was filmed on location in Ireland, and I visited Trim Castle not so long ago where that filming took place …

101 ___ Joliot-Curie, chemist daughter of Marie : IRENE

Along with her husband Frederick, Irene Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Irene was the daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, who also won Nobel Prizes. Irene died when she was 58 years old, suffering from leukemia brought on by her exposure to high doses of radiation. Her mother, Marie, died from aplastic anemia, also caused by high exposure to radiation. To this day, Marie’s personal papers are kept preserved in lead-lined boxes as they are highly radioactive, even her personal cookbook.

102 Primate that exists only on the world’s fifth-largest island : LEMUR

Lemurs are unusual-looking creatures that are native to the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa. With their white fur and dark eyes that are very reflective at night, they have a “ghostly” appearance. Indeed, the animals take their name from Roman mythology in which “lemures” were spirits of the restless dead.

Madagascar is a large island nation lying off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The main island of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo).

106 Daft Punk and Outkast, for two : DUOS

Daft Punk was an electronic music duo from Paris, France that formed in 1993, with members Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The pair split up in 2021.

OutKast is a hip hop duo consisting of rappers André 3000 and Big Boi.

108 Polemology is the study of them : WARS

Polemology is the study of war and human conflict. The term comes from the Greek “polemos” meaning “war”.

109 Word on some yogurt labels : LITE

Yogurt (also “yoghurt”) is produced by fermenting milk using bacteria known as yogurt cultures. The bacteria act on the sugars in the milk, producing lactic acid. The lactic acid acts on the proteins in the milk to give the characteristic texture and acidity of yogurt.

110 Bug bite preventer : 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.

111 Greek peak : OSSA

Mount Ossa in Greece is located between Mount Pelion in the south, and the famed Mount Olympus in the north. Mount Ossa is also known as Kissavos.

113 Where Simone Biles won four golds : RIO

Simone Biles holds the record for the most gold medals (4) won by an American gymnast in a single Olympic Games. She achieved the feat at the 2016 games held in Rio. Biles has also won more World medals than any other gymnast in history.

115 Source of much U.S. immigration in the 1840s: Abbr. : IRE

Simone Biles holds the record for the most gold medals (4) won by an American gymnast in a single Olympic Games. She achieved the feat at the 2016 games held in Rio. Biles has also won more World medals than any other gymnast in history.