Day: September 4, 2024

Bill’s time: 11m 11s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Visitor to Mecca : HAJI

“Haji” (also “Hajji” and “Hadji”) is the term used for someone who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and it is sometimes also used as a form of address for such a person. The journey itself goes by the name “haj”, “hajj” or “hadj”.

14 Lamar ___, ex of Khloé Kardashian : ODOM

Lamar Odom is a basketball forward in the NBA. Apparently Odom loves candy, and that’s how he earned his nickname, “The Candy Man”. Odom was married to Khloé Kardashian, and the couple’s wedding featured on an episode of the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”. Not a show that I have ever seen …

15 Top pilot : AIR ACE

A flying ace (also “air ace”) is an aviator who has shot down a number of enemy planes during combat. The qualifying number of kills seems to vary, but five is common. The first use of “ace” was during WWI, when the French newspapers dubbed pilot Adolphe Pegoud “l’as” (French for “the ace”) when he shot down his fifth German plane.

16 Rapper Lil ___ Vert : UZI

“Lil Uzi Vert” is the stage name of rapper Symere Woods from Philadelphia.

20 Throw one’s hands up, say : FLAIL

To flail about is to swing wildly, either literally or figuratively. The verb comes from the noun “flail”, which is an implement for threshing grain.

21 Foreign policy grp. : NSC

The National Security Council (NSC) was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1947. It is chaired by the sitting president and meets in the White House Situation Room.

22 Floral bubble tea flavoring : ROSE MILK

Bubble tea, sometimes called “boba tea”, is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. The “bubbles” are chewy tapioca balls that are usually added to the drink.

26 Spiral-horned antelope : ELAND

The eland (plural “eland, elands”) is a large African antelope, in fact the largest antelope on the planet. Both male and female eland have horns, and those horns have a steady spiral ridge along their length.

28 Point of no return on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” : FINAL ANSWER

How about a question mark, after “Millionaire”?

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” is a worldwide game show franchise that started out in the UK in 1998. The US version of the show debuted in 1999 with Regis Philbin as the host. The Indian version is one of the most famous, having provided the setting for the incredibly successful Danny Boyle film “Slumdog Millionaire” that was released in 2008.

32 Garment that might have a built-in bra, for short : CAMI

A camisole (also “cami”) is a sleeveless undershirt worn by women that extends down to the waist. “Camisole” is a French word that we imported into English that ultimately derives from the Latin “camisia” meaning “shirt, nightgown”.

40 AirPod holder : EAR

AirPods are Apple’s line of bluetooth earbuds. When AirPods were introduced in 2016, the market reacted with some skepticism. The left and right AirPods are not connected by any wire, so there was concern that individual earbuds could fall out of the ear, and possibly get lost. Another concern was Apple’s stated intent to abandon the wired headphone socket on new iPhone models. That was then, and this is now …

43 “A Hard Day’s Night” songwriter : LENNON

John Lennon and Paul McCartney made an agreement before they became famous that they would always give joint credit for their songs. In the early days, the duo wrote their songs together, working alongside each other. Soon they would write songs individually, with one giving the other limited input. Regardless, the Lennon-McCartney attribution was used for all the songs they wrote either individually or together right up to 1974. The partnership was officially dissolved in December 1974, in the Polynesian Resort in Walt Disney World, Florida. There, John Lennon put his signature to official documents couriered to him by Apple’s lawyers (Apple being the Beatles record label).

45 U.K. military arm : RAF

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the oldest independent air force in the world (i.e. the first air force to become independent of army or navy forces). The RAF was formed during WWI on 1 April 1918, a composite of two earlier forces, the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service. The RAF’s “finest hour” was the Battle of Britain, when the vastly outnumbered British fighters fought off the might of the Luftwaffe causing Hitler to delay his plan to cross the English Channel. This outcome prompted Winston Churchill to utter the memorable words

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

51 Microwave no-no : METAL

The first household microwave oven was introduced to the market in 1955, by the Tappan Stove Company in Ohio.

52 Cleaning product made in “Fight Club” : LYE SOAP

“Fight Club” is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk about an insomniac who uses an underground fighting club as psychotherapy for his sleeping disorder. Palahniuk’s novel was adapted into a famous 1999 movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.

57 V fliers : GEESE

A collection of geese is referred to as a “gaggle” when on the ground. When geese are in V-formation in flight, they are referred to collectively as a “skein”.

Apparently, birds that fly in a V-formation do so for a couple of reasons. One is that it makes for efficient flight and conserves energy. The leading bird gets no advantage, but every following bird gets to “slipstream” a little. It has been noted that the lead bird drops to the back of the formation when he/she gets fatigued. It’s also thought that the flock can stick together more easily when in formation, so it is more difficult to lose someone along the way.

61 Symbol seen on eight national flags (though, ironically, not the U.S. flag) : EAGLE

The bald eagle is sometimes referred to as the American eagle. It is both the national bird and the national animal of the USA, and appears on the US Seal.

62 Writer 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.

63 First- and third-quarter moons, e.g. … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme : SEMICIRCLES

The phases of the moon have been given the following names, in order:

• New moon
• Waxing crescent moon
• First quarter moon
• Waxing gibbous moon
• Full moon
• Waning gibbous moon
• Third quarter moon
• Waning crescent moon
• Dark moon

66 Call that might precede “first service” : LET!

Our modern sport of tennis evolved from the much older racquet sport known as real tennis. Originally just called “tennis”, the older game was labeled “real tennis” when the modern version began to hold sway. Real tennis is played in a closed court, with the ball frequently bounced off the walls.

Down

1 Labor leader Jimmy : HOFFA

Jimmy Hoffa headed off to meet with two Mafia leaders at a restaurant in a suburb of Detroit on July 30, 1975. The two men he was supposed to meet denied any appointment was made, and they were seen in public in other locations far from the restaurant. Hoffa was spotted by passers-by in the restaurant parking lot, the last time he was ever seen. His wife reported him missing later that night, and the resulting police investigation failed to find Hoffa or his body. Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982, seven years after he disappeared.

2 What Peter Pan refuses to become : ADULT

J.M. Barrie’s stage play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” premiered in London in 1904. Barrie adapted the play into a 1911 novel titled “Peter and Wendy”. The character Peter Pan actually predated the play, having been introduced by Barrie as a baby in his 1902 adult novel called “The Little White Bird”.

3 Pop rock’s ___ Brothers : JONAS

The Jonas Brothers Pop rock band comprises brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas. They recorded their first song in 2005, and really achieved fame a few years later due to repeated appearances on the Disney Channel. They split up in 2013, citing “creative differences”, but came back as a trio in 2019.

5 … rho, sigma, ___, upsilon … : TAU

Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and the letter that gave rise to our Roman “T”. Both the letters tau (T) and chi (X) have long been symbolically associated with the cross.

8 Painter Duchamp : MARCEL

Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose works are associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. One of his most celebrated “works” is simply what he called “readymade” art, a urinal which he titled “Fountain”. Even though this work is considered to be “a major landmark in 20th century art”, the original that was submitted for exhibition was never actually displayed and had been lost forever. Replicas were commissioned by Duchamp, and are on display in many museums around the world. I have no further comment …

10 Hot peppers : SERRANOS

The serrano chili pepper is native to the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo. The name “serrano” comes from the Spanish “sierra” meaning “mountain”.

11 Caregiver for a pregnant woman : NURSE MIDWIFE

A midwife is someone trained to assist women in childbirth. The term comes from Middle English “mid wif” meaning “with woman”.

13 Like much cotton candy : PINK

What we call “cotton candy” here in the US has some interesting names in the rest of the world. Back in Ireland it is candyfloss, in France it is “barbe à papa” (Dad’s beard), and in Australia it is called fairy floss. “Fairy floss” is actually the original name for cotton candy, a name first used when the confection was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.

18 “Frozen” snowman : OLAF

In the 2013 animated film “Frozen”, Olaf is a happy-go-lucky snowman who provides a lot of comic relief in the movie. He is voiced by actor and comedian Josh Gad.

23 General Motors subsidiary with emergency services : ONSTAR

The OnStar system was developed as a joint venture between GM, EDS and Hughes. The product itself was launched in 1996. Today, OnStar is only available on GM cars, although it used to be offered on other makes of car through a licensing agreement. OnStar is a subscription service that packages vehicle security, telephone, satellite navigation and remote diagnostics.

25 Its parent company is Hyundai : KIA

Kia Motors is the second-largest manufacturer of cars in South Korea, behind Hyundai (and Hyundai is a part owner in Kia now). Kia was founded in 1944 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts, and did indeed produce Korea’s first domestic bicycle. The company’s original name was Kyungsung Precision Industry, with the Kia name introduced in 1952.

29 Asteroids made a big impact on it in the 1980s : ATARI

I remember being quite addicted to the Atari video arcade game called Asteroids back in the early eighties. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as Asteroids was Atari’s best selling game of all time.

32 H.S. course in which one might be graded on a curve? : CALC

The Latin word “calculus” was originally used for a reckoning or an account, and originally applied to a pebble that was used to maintain a count. The Latin word came from the Greek for a pebble, “khalix”.

34 Mount Rushmore and the Taj Mahal, e.g. : MONUMENTS

The four presidents whose faces are carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore are (from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the presidents is about 60 feet in height, although they might have been larger. The original intent was for each president to be depicted from head to waist, but the project lost funding.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is a magnificent marble mausoleum. It was built in the mid-17th century by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to her 14th child in 1631. When Shah Jahan himself died in 1666, he was buried in the Taj Mahal, alongside his wife.

39 Red-haired toon who is always seeing red : YOSEMITE SAM

Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character who frequently goes up against Bugs Bunny. As Sam himself would say, “I’m the fastest gun north, south, east, aaaaaaand west of the Pecos.” Yosemite Sam made his debut appearance in a 1945 cartoon short titled “Hare Trigger”.

44 Secretive org. : NSA

National Security Agency (NSA)

46 Tina of “30 Rock” : FEY

“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey plays an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.

53 Comic actor ___ Baron Cohen : SACHA

Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian and comic actor from England. He is perhaps most famous for playing the characters Borat and Ali G on the small and large screens. I’m wasn’t a fan, but I must admit that I really enjoyed 2020’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”.

56 Cancún coins : PESOS

Cancún is a city and island on the east coast of Mexico, on the other side of the Yucatan Channel from Cuba. The city is growing rapidly due to its booming tourist business. Cancún is the center of what’s often called “The Mexican Caribbean” or the “Mayan Riviera”.

64 ___ Moskowitz, a.k.a. “Hawk” on Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” : ELI

“Cobra Kai” is a TV show that premiered in 2018 as a sequel to “The Karate Kid” series of films, the first of which was released in 1984. Actor Ralph Macchio reprises his role from the movies, playing protagonist Daniel LaRusso. William Zabka also reprises his role from the big screen, playing Johnny Lawrence, LaRusso’s rival in karate competitions. The title of the show “Cobra Kai” is the name of the karate dojo in which Johnny Lawrence trained as a youth, and which he decides to reopen 34 years later.

65 Computer addresses: Abbr. : IPS

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label assigned to every device on a computer network. The device that you’re using to read this blog post on has been assigned a unique IP address, as has the computer that I’m using to make this post …