Day: September 1, 2024

Bill’s time: 22m 10s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

19 Magazine with “Maison” and “Enfants” spinoffs : MARIE CLAIRE

“Marie Claire” is a women’s magazine that originated in France in 1937, and is now published all over the world.

21 Save money on one’s city commute, say : SHARE A CAB

Our verb “to commute”, meaning “to go back and forth to work”, ultimately derives from the Latin “commutare”, meaning “to often change”. Back in the late 1800s, a “commutation ticket” was a season pass, so named because it allowed one to “change” one kind of payment into another. Quite interesting …

24 That’s a wrap! : TORTILLA

“Tortilla” translates literally from Spanish as “little cake”.

28 Hermanas de su padre : TIAS

In Spanish, the “hermana” (sister) of your “padre” (father) is your “tia” (aunt).

31 Ecosystem formed by polyps : REEF

Polyps are tiny sea creatures that are found attached to underwater structures or to other polyps. They have a mouth at one end of a cylindrical “body” that is surrounded by tentacles. Some polyps cluster into groups called stony corals, with stony corals being the building blocks of coral reefs. The structure of the reef comprises calcium carbonate exoskeletons secreted by the coral polyps.

37 West Coast N.C.A.A. conference that lost 10 teams in 2024 : PAC-12 (3×4)

“Pac-12” is an abbreviation for the Pacific-12 Conference, a college athletic conference in the western US. The Pac-12 has won more NCAA National Team Championships than any other conference. The Pac-12 was founded in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Over time as it grew, the conference went by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, Pacific-10 and became the Pacific-12 in 2011.

43 Newark alternative, in brief : LGA

The three big airports serving New York City (NYC) are John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR).

44 Typical length of February : 28 DAYS (7×4)

In terms of our Julian calendar, the Earth takes almost exactly 365¼ days to orbit the sun. For convenience, we use 365 days to define most of our years. We add an extra day at the end of every fourth February in order to sync our civil calendar with the astronomical calendar. Our contemporary leap day is in February because of tradition dating back to Roman times. The early Roman calendar started in March and ended in December, leaving much of the winter as a monthless period. When a later Roman calendar introduced a 365-day year, along with the new months of January and February, the leap day was placed right before the start of the year in March.

51 Visual file format : JPEG

The JPEG image file format (also “.jpg”) was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), hence the name.

54 Oscar-winning actor in Farmers Insurance ads : JK SIMMONS

J. K. Simmons is perhaps best known in recent years for his supporting role in the 2014 movie “Whiplash”, for which he won an Oscar playing an abusive music instructor. Simmons is also well known for playing the professor in the University of Farmers series of ads for the Farmers Insurance Group.

Farmers Insurance was set up in 1928 as Farmers Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange in Los Angeles. The intent was to provide cheaper insurance to farmers and ranchers, a group that the Farmers’ founders believed to be safer drivers.

56 Writer whose work is hell to get through? : DANTE

Dante’s epic narrative poem “Divina Commedia” (Divine Comedy) is divided into three parts: “Inferno”, “Purgatorio” and “Paradiso” (Hell, Purgatory and Paradise).

63 Podiatric woes : CORNS

Podiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the foot, ankle and lower extremities.

64 Tennis star Wawrinka : STAN

Stan Wawrinka is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. He has won three Grand Slam singles titles: the Australian Open (2014), the French Open (2015) and the US Open (2016).

69 Fermented Russian drink : KVASS

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.

71 Short nap : 40 WINKS (5×8)

Back in the early 1800s, folks took “nine winks” when getting a few minutes of sleep during the day. Dr. William Kitchiner extended this concept in his 1821 self-help book “The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life”. He suggested “A Forty Winks Nap”, which we seem to have been taking ever since. Mind you, I’m up to about eighty winks most days …

75 Genesis creator : SEGA

Genesis is a video game console sold in the US by the Japanese company Sega. Genesis is sold as Mega Drive in the rest of the world, as Sega couldn’t get the rights to the Mega Drive name in the US.

76 Location of elation, in an idiom : CLOUD 9 (3×3)

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 …

84 Expiate, with “for” : ATONE …

To expiate is to make amends for something. The term “expiate” comes from the Latin verb “expiare”, which has the same meaning.

86 Botanist’s study : FLORA

The fauna (plural “faunae”) is the animal life of a particular region, and the flora (plural “florae”) is that region’s plant life. The term “fauna” comes from the Roman goddess of earth and fertility who was called Fauna. Flora was the Roman goddess of plants, flowers and fertility.

96 Brief glimpses of stars, say : CAMEOS

Even in my day, a cameo role was more than just a short appearance in a movie (or other artistic piece). For the appearance to be a cameo, the actor had to play himself or herself, and was instantly recognizable. With this meaning it’s easy to see the etymology of the term, as a cameo brooch is one with the recognizable carving of the silhouette of a person. Nowadays, a cameo is any minor role played by a celebrity or famous actor, regardless of the character played.

98 Bucko : TIGER

“Bucko” was originally a nautical term of address. It dates back at least to 1883 when it referred to a cocky, swaggering sort of guy.

99 Surfing move with all of one’s toes off the board : HANG 10 (5×2)

“To hang ten” is a verb used in surfing. A surfer hangs ten when he or she is able to walk forward and hang ten toes over the nose of the board because the back of the board is covered by the waves being ridden.

112 Aussie boot brand : UGG

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.

113 Vodka sold in blue bottles : SKYY

Skyy Vodka is produced in the US, although the operation is owned by the Campari Group headquartered in Italy. Skyy first hit the shelves in 1992 when it was created by an entrepreneur from San Francisco, California.

117 Like Dashboard Confessional’s music : EMO

Dashboard Confessional is an emo band from Boca Raton, Florida.

118 Not viable from the start, for short : DOA

Dead on arrival (DOA)

123 Specialty of Bordeaux : MERLOT

Merlot is one of the main grapes used to make Bordeaux wines, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

131 Midtown Manhattan hot spot … or each of this puzzle’s three shaded regions? : TIMES SQUARE

Times Square in New York City isn’t a square at all, but rather a triangle. When the New York Times newspaper opened new headquarters in the area in 1904, the city agreed to the name “Times Square”, changing it from Longacre Square.

134 Colada fruit : PINA

“Piña colada” is a Spanish term that translates into “strained pineapple”. The piña colada cocktail was introduced in the Caribe Hilton San Juan in 1954, and since 1978 it has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico. The mocktail version of the drink is known as a nada colada.

135 Bicycles built for two : TANDEMS

Back in the mid- to late-1700s, a tandem was a horse-drawn carriage, one with the two horses harnessed one behind the other. A century later, we applied the term “tandem” to a bicycle with two seats, and the two riders one behind the other.

Down

4 Pac-Man platform : ATARI

The Pac-Man arcade game was released first in Japan in 1980, and is as popular today as it ever was. The game features characters that are maneuvered around the screen to eat up dots and earn points, while being pursued by ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The name of the game comes from the Japanese folk hero “Paku”, who is known for his voracious appetite. The spin-off game called Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981.

8 Do in, biblically : SMITE

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

10 Like one Freudian stage : ORAL

According to Freudian psychology, we have an instinctive sexual appetite that develops in five phases, named for the erogenous zones that are the source of the drive in each phase. They are:

1. the oral stage (~ 0-2 years)
2. the anal stage (~ 1-3 years)
3. the phallic stage (~ 3-6 years)
4. the latency stage (~ 6 years – puberty)
5. the genital stage ( ~ puberty – adult life)

I’m not so sure …

15 Winter Olympics event : BIATHLON

A biathlon is an event requiring expertise in two sporting disciplines. The most common biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. This traditional biathlon was born out of an exercise for Norwegian soldiers.

16 Filmmaker Aster : ARI

Ari Aster is a film director from New York City. He is into horror films, and I am not …

22 Weight gained at the start of college, informally : FRESHMAN 15 (5×3)

25 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 Hundred Acre Wood resident : ROO

Hundred Acre Wood is where Winnie-the-Pooh lives with his friends. According to a map illustrating the books by A. A. Milne, Hundred Acre Wood is part of a larger forest, with Owl’s house sitting right at the center. Piglet also lives in the Hundred Acre Wood, in a beech tree next to a sign that says “TRESPASSERS W”. Piglet says this is short for Trespassers William, which is his grandfather’s name.

35 Awards feat, for short : EGOT

Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Awards (EGOT)

47 Early I.S.P. : AOL

AOL was a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The company does still provide dial-up access to the Internet for some subscribers, but most users now access AOL using faster, non-AOL ISPs.

50 Squad for the Invisible Woman and the Thing : FANTASTIC 4 (2×2)

Sue Storm is a superhero whose superpowers result in her taking on the persona Invisible Woman. As well as invisibility, she has the ability to create powerful force fields. She first appeared in print in 1961, as a founding member of the Fantastic Four.

The Thing is a superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe, and the alter ego of a New Yorker named Ben Grimm. When Grimm becomes the Thing, he takes on a rock-like appearance and has superhuman strength. He also heads into a fight crying out, “It’s clobberin’ time!” The thing is a founding member of the Fantastic Four, and first appeared in print in 1961.

58 Web feed inits. : RSS

Many websites and blogs publish content in a format known as Rich Site Summary (RSS). The “feed” can be read using an RSS reader. The advantage of using an RSS reader is that the user doesn’t have to check the website for new content. That new material is fed to the RSS reader as soon as it is published.

62 Wake-up times, for short : AMS

Something described as “antemeridian” takes place before noon. The related term “ante meridiem” means the same thing, and is abbreviated to “a.m.”

66 Noted leader of the Onondaga : HIAWATHA

Hiawatha was a real-life Native American leader, although much of his reputation is based on legend. He was a leader of the Onondaga and/or the Mohawk peoples, and played a key role in the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy that brought together the Five Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. It is important to know that the great leader Hiawatha has nothing to do with the fictional Hiawatha in Longfellow’s famous poem “The Song of Hiawatha”.

72 Always-open workout spots : 24-HOUR GYMS (8×3)

Our word “gymnasium” comes from the Greek “gymnasion” meaning “public place where exercise is taken”. The Greek term comes from “gymnos” meaning “naked”, as that physical training was usually done unclothed in ancient Greece.

74 Soft leather : SUEDE

Suede is leather made from the underside of an animal’s skin, usually the skin from a lamb. As such it is very soft, although not as durable as leather made from the exterior skin. The soft leather was, and is still used for making gloves. Back in 1859 these gloves were called “gants de Suede” in France, or “gloves of Sweden”. So, the name “suede” comes from the French word for Sweden.

76 Big-budget expense for a Marvel movie, for short : CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

79 ___ de vie (fruit brandy) : EAU

Eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy. The name “eau de vie” is French for “water of life”.

81 Surrealist 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.

87 Smartphone service inits. : 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”.

90 Picket line crosser : SCAB

We first started calling strikebreakers scabs in the early 1800s, and before that a scab was a person who refused to join a trade union (back as early 1777). The word “scab” probably comes from the use of “scab” as a symptom of a skin disease, and so is a term that is meant to insult.

92 Lynne Cheney portrayer in 2018’s “Vice” : AMY ADAMS

Amy Adams is an American actress, although she was actually born in Vicenza, Italy while her father was a US serviceman stationed on an Italian base. My favorite Amy Adams film so far is the outstanding “Julie & Julia” in which she acted alongside Meryl Streep. I highly recommend this truly delightful movie.

Lynne Cheney is the wife of former vice president Dick Cheney. Ms. Cheney was actually mentioned as a possible running mate on the George W. Bush ticket in 2000. Dick Cheney headed up the nominating committee for the VP nominee, and ended up getting the slot himself.

“Vice” is a very interesting and entertaining 2018 biopic that tells the story of the road Dick Cheney took to become possibly the most powerful US vice president in history. Christian Bale does a remarkable job playing Cheney, with Amy Adams playing Cheney’s wife Lynne Vincent Cheney. Anyone thinking about viewing “Vice” should be aware that there’s a lot of satire included …

97 Crime series spinoff with more seasons than the original : SVU

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is a spin-off from the TV crime drama “Law & Order”. “SVU” has been on the air since 1999, and is set in New York City. Interestingly (to me), there is a very successful Russian adaptation of the show that is set in Moscow.

100 One-fifth of a British pound : 20 PENCE (5×4)

The official name of our smallest denomination coin is “cent”, and our use of the word “penny” is just a colloquialism derived from the British coin of the same name. In the UK, the plural of penny is “pence”, whereas we have “pennies” in our pockets.

103 Letters of pride : LGBTQ

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ)

105 Where Ross teaches paleontology on “Friends,” in brief : NYU

Ross Geller is the character on “Friends” played by David Schwimmer. The role was actually written with Schwimmer in mind, and so Ross was the first of the “Friends” to be cast.

108 Exclamation after misunderstanding some Gen Z slang, say : I’M OLD

Me too …

Definitions vary, but it seems that the term “Generation Z” is reserved for the children of “Generation X”, and for the generation that follows the “Millennials” (Generation Y). Gen-Zers are also known as “Zoomers”, a portmanteau of “Z” and “boomer” (as in “baby boomer”).

109 Starchy side, familiarly : TOTS

Ore-Ida’s founders came up with the idea for Tater Tots when they were deciding what to do with residual cuts of potato. They chopped up the leftovers, added flour and seasoning, and extruded the mix through a large hole making a sausage that they cut into small cylinders. We eat 70 million pounds of this extruded potato every year!

111 Ned who composed an operatic version of “Our Town” : ROREM

American composer Ned Rorem is famous for his musical compositions, but also for his book “Paris Diary of Ned Rorem” that was published in 1966. Rorem talks openly about his sexuality in the book, and also about the sexual orientation of others including Noël Coward, Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber, much to some people’s chagrin.

119 Lhasa ___ : APSO

The Lhasa apso breed of dog originated in Tibet and is named after “Lhasa” (the capital city) and “apso” (a Tibetan word meaning “bearded”). The Lhasa apso has been around since 800 BC and is one of the oldest breeds in the world, one very closely related to the ancestral wolf.

124 Golfer Jon : RAHM

Jon Rahm is a golfer from Basque Country in Spain who climbed to the world number one ranking in 2020. He attended Arizona State University, and now lives in Scottsdale. Rahm is often referred to by his nickname “Rahmbo”.