Day: June 7, 2024

Bill’s time: 14m 20s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Lead-in to fish : CRAW-

“Crawdad” and “crawfish” are alternative names for crayfish, with “crawdad” being more common in the south of the country.

14 Best Actor winner Malek : RAMI

Actor Rami Malek’s big break came with the leading role in the television series “Mr. Robot”. In 2018, Malik gave an Oscar-winning performance playing Freddie Mercury in the hit biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”. That marked the first time that an actor of Egyptian descent won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

15 Curved blade : SABER

A saber (sometimes “sabre”) is a sword with a curved blade and a relatively large hand guard. It is thought that the term originated with the Hungarian verb “szabni” meaning “to cut”.

16 Partly: Prefix : DEMI-

Ever wonder what the difference is between the prefixes “hemi-”, “demi-” and “semi-”, all of which mean “half”? Well, the general observation is that words using the “demi-” prefix date back to the days of Norman influence over the English language. As a result, “demi-” turns up in the world of period costume and coats of arms. Words using “hemi-” tend to have Greek roots, and are prevalent in the world of the sciences and the medical field. Words with “semi-” tend to have Latin roots, and are most often found in music and the arts, and mathematics.

17 Noodle in miso broth : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

20 Memorable chase scene vehicle in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” : MINE CART

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is the second in the series of “Indiana Jones” movies, although the story is written as a prequel to the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

22 “I love mankind … it’s ___ I can’t stand”: Linus from “Peanuts” : PEOPLE

In Charles Schulz’s fabulous comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, and who operates a psychiatric booth that looks like a lemonade stand. Then there is Linus, Lucy’s younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.

26 The world’s largest one, produced by the coco de mer, weighs up to 55 pounds : SEED

Palms are perennial flowering plants that take many forms, some as shrubs and some as vines, for example. Some take on a tree-like shape, with a woody stem topped by a crown of leaves. Such palms are usually referred to as “palm trees”. The coco de mer palm tree has the largest seeds of any plant on the planet. We are more familiar with the coconut palm tree, which has the second-largest plant seeds known.

27 First woman to land a triple axel in major competition : ITO

Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. She was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact, Ito landed her first triple jump in training when she was only 8 years old. Ito won Olympic silver in 1992, and was chosen as the person to light the Olympic cauldron at the commencement of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

32 Figure of speech? : SOAPBOX PREACHER

Back in the 1650s, a soapbox was just that, a wooden box for holding or transporting soap. Empty soapboxes were carried easily by a potential orator and used as a stand from which to deliver an address.

37 Feature of many haute couture dresses : BIAS CUT

“Haute couture”, literally “high dressmaking” in French, is a name given to the creation of exclusive fashions. A couturier is someone who creates or sells such fashions.

38 Picked-up item : TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

40 Removes out of respect, perhaps : DOFFS

One doffs one’s hat, usually as a mark of respect. To doff is to take off, with “doff” being a contraction of “do off”. The opposite of “doff” is “don”, meaning “to put on”.

44 Like an anecdote, one hopes : AMUSING

An anecdote is a short account of an event, usually something amusing. The term ultimately derives from the Greek “anekdota” meaning “things unpublished”, or more literally “things not given out”.

46 Immoderate amount : SURFEIT

A surfeit is an excess quantity. The term “surfeit” comes into English from Old French “sur” (over) and “faire” (do).

48 His #12 is retired for the Jets : NAMATH

Legendary quarterback Joe Namath played most of his professional football games with the New York Jets. He was dubbed “Broadway Joe” in 1965 by offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett, a reference to Namath’s appearance on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”. Namath had played college football with the University of Alabama but left school without finishing his degree, to play professionally. Many years later he enrolled in Alabama’s External Degree program, and graduated with a BA in December 2007, at 64 years of age. Well done, Joe!

52 Massachusetts college specializing in engineering : OLIN

Olin College of Engineering is a private school in Needham, Massachusetts. The college was established in 1997 with funds provided by the F. W. Olin Foundation. Franklin W. Olin was the founder of the chemical and manufacturing company known as the Olin Corporation.

Down

2 Trigonometry unit : RADIAN

The radian is a unit of angular measure. The unfortunate radian has been demoted, as the SI unit of angular measure is the steradian.

3 ___ St. Brown, N.F.L. star nicknamed “Sun God” : AMON-RA

Amon-Ra St. Brown played college football with the University of Southern California Trojans before being drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2021. Amon-Ra’s brother Osiris played college football at Stanford, and his brother Equanimeous played at Notre Dame. Equanimeous was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2018.

4 Muscat, for one : WINE GRAPE

Muscat grapes are used to make wine, and are also grown for raisins and table grapes. Muscat is used a lot in Chilean table wines, and relatively rarely in Italian or Californian table wines. However, muscat is used extensively in fortified wines in all wine-growing regions of the world. The sweet dessert wine made from muscat in Spain is called muscatel.

5 2007 Alicia Keys release featuring the #1 hit “No One” : AS I AM

“Alicia Keys” is the stage name of Alicia Cook, an R&B and soul singer from Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.

8 Like male summer tanagers : RED

The scarlet tanager is a beautiful-looking bird in the cardinal family. It is truly scarlet in color, other than its wings and tail.

9 Ingredient in a Long Island iced tea : 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 …

The mixed drink known as a Long Island iced tea uses the name “iced tea” as it physically resembles and somewhat tastes like sweetened iced tea. The “Long Island” reference in the name is disputed, but no doubt there is a connection to the New York island. A Long Island iced tea can be very alcoholic indeed, with the recipe calling for tequila, vodka, light rum, triple sec and gin, with some sour mix and a splash of cola.

10 Extension : Chrome :: ___ : Firefox : ADD-ON

Firefox is an open-source web browser produced by Mozilla. It was developed in 2002, and is in effect the successor to Netscape’s groundbreaking Navigator browser. Firefox was extremely popular in 2009, and challenged the domination of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer before succumbing to Google’s Chrome.

Google’s Chrome is the most popular web browser by far, with Mozilla Firefox in second place and Apple’s Safari in third. I find Chrome to be much, much more user-friendly than Safari, and more featured than Firefox. Chrome also works very seamlessly with other Google products and with Android phones.

21 Actor McLaughlin of “Stranger Things” : CALEB

“Stranger Things” is a sci-fi horror TV show made for Netflix that aired its first season in 2016. I don’t do horror, and so haven’t seen it …

24 They might be pint-size : BEERS

A US pint comprises 16 fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces. The term “pint” comes into English via Old French, ultimately from the Latin “picta” meaning “painted”. The name arose from a line painted on the side of a beer glass that marked a full measure of ale.

26 Green party figure, for short? : ST PAT

The first Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in the US was held in 1600, in St. Augustine, Florida. There is some evidence that the first St. Paddy’s Day parade was held the following year, in the same locale. The annual parade in Boston dates back to 1737, in New York City dates back to 1762, and in Chicago dates back to 1843.

29 Legendary figure whose first name sounds like something he’s known for doing : ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood is a figure from English folklore who is celebrated in story and song. Some stories suggest that Robin Hood the outlaw was actually a real nobleman, the Earl of Huntingdon. Robin Hood’s famous companion was Maid Marian. Interestingly, the legend of Maid Marian (full name Lady Marian of Leaford) had been around for centuries before she became associated with Robin Hood starting in the 1700s.

32 Theme in “Rosemary’s Baby” : SATANISM

“Rosemary’s Baby” is a novel by Ira Levin. It is a horror story, and was made into a very creepy 1968 film of the same name starring Mia Farrow. Levin published a sequel in 1997 titled “Son of Rosemary”, and dedicated that sequel to Mia Farrow.

34 Picture on a sleeve : ALBUM ART

The Latin word “album” translates as “white”. Back in the 17th century, public notices and lists of names were written on a board painted white, or in a souvenir book with white pages known as an “albo” (from “album”). Over time, the term “album” came to be used in English for a blank book created to collect signatures or other mementos. By the end of the 19th century, albums were used to collect photographs. The term “album” was applied to long-playing gramophone records in the early 1950s, because the record sleeves resembled large photographic albums.

35 Lorde of feminist literature : AUDRE

Audre Lorde was an American feminist author and civil rights activist who spent many years in Germany. She held a visiting professorship at the Free University of Berlin, and while holding that position became a leading light in the Afro-German movement.

39 Eponym of a popular vodka brand : TITO

Tito’s Vodka is a brand that was founded in Austin, Texas in 1997 by Bert “Tito” Beveridge. Yes, Beveridge became a beverage maker …

41 Chap : FELLOW

“Chap” is an informal term meaning “lad, fellow” that is used especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.