Day: September 22, 2024

Bill’s time: 17m 13s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

11 Data sought in phishing attempts, in brief : SSNS

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.”

27 Colorful ingredients in some cookie recipes : M AND MS

Forrest Mars, Sr. was the founder of the Mars Company. Forrest invented the Mars Bar while living over in England and then developed M&M’s when he returned to the US. Mars came up with the idea for M&M’s when he saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating chocolate pellets. Those pellets had a hard shell of tempered chocolate on the outside to prevent them from melting. Mars got some of the funding to develop the M&M from William Murrie, the son of the president of Hershey’s Chocolate. It is the “M” and “M” from “Mars” and “Murrie” that give the name to the candy.

32 Part of H.M.S. : HER

The prefix “HMS” is used by the warships of the Royal Navy, and stands for “Her/His Majesty’s Ship/Submarine”. The prefix “RMS” is used by ships of the merchant navy, and stands for “Royal Mail Ship/Steamer”.

35 Texter’s alternative to an eye roll emoji : SMH

Shaking my head (SMH)

36 Olympians on stunt bikes, informally : BMX’ERS

“BMX” stands for “Bicycle Motocross”. It’s the sport where folks on bicycles race around what is in effect a regular motocross track. Medals were awarded for BMX for the first time at the Beijing Olympics, with a Latvian winning for the men, and a Française winning for the women.

38 Genre for Fall Out Boy : EMO POP

Fall Out Boy is a rock band from Chicago that formed in 2001. They take their name from a character on “The Simpsons”, a superhero called “Fallout Boy”.

41 U.S. currency: Abbr. : DOL

The dollar sign ($) was first used for the Spanish-American peso, in the late 18th century. The peso was also called the “Spanish dollar” (and “piece of eight”). The Spanish dollar was to become a model for the US dollar that was adopted in 1785, along with the dollar sign.

50 Houdini’s signature feat … or a hint to the circled squares in this puzzle : ESCAPE ACT

“Harry Houdini” was the stage name of Hungarian-born escapologist and magician Erik Weisz (later changed to “Harry Weiss”). Many people are under the impression that Houdini died while performing an escape that went wrong, an impression created by the storyline in a couple of movies about his life. The truth is that he died of peritonitis from a burst appendix. It is also true that a few days prior to his death Houdini took a series of punches to his stomach as part of his act, but doctors believe that his appendix would have burst regardless.

64 Brainy bunch : MENSANS

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

66 Electronica pioneer Brian : ENO

Brian Eno started his musical career with Roxy Music. His most oft-played composition (by far!) is Microsoft’s “startup jingle”, the 6-second sound you (used to) hear when the Windows operating system is booting up. Eno might have annoyed the Microsoft folks when he stated on a BBC radio show:

I wrote it on a Mac. I’ve never used a PC in my life; I don’t like them.

67 Bulgarian or Bosnian : SLAV

Bulgaria is a country in Southeastern Europe lying on the west coast of the Black Sea. Bulgaria’s capital city is Sofia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of six federal units in former Yugoslavia that gained independence after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. There are three main ethnic groups in Bosnia. The largest group are the Bosniaks, the second the Bosnian Serbs, and the third the Bosnian Croats.

69 Rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame : NWA

N.W.A was a hip hop group from Compton, California. The original five group members included rappers who made a name for themselves as solo acts, including: Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube. The story of N.W.A is told in a 2015 film, also called “Straight Outta Compton”. I hear that the movie was well received, although hip hop is not my cup of tea. I’m just too old …

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can be visited on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983 and started inducting artists in 1986. The Foundation didn’t get a home until the museum was dedicated in Cleveland in 1995. I had the great privilege of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some years ago and really enjoyed myself. The magnificent building was designed by famed architect I. M. Pei.

72 Some online pings, in brief : IMS

In the world of computer science, a ping is a test message sent over a network between computers to check for a response and to measure the time of that response. We now use the verb “to ping” more generally, meaning to send someone a message, usually a reminder.

74 Lightning-fast hedgehog of video games : SONIC

Sonic the Hedgehog is a title character in a videogame and the mascot of Sega, the computer game developer. Sonic was set up as a rival to Nintendo’s mascot Mario.

76 What “washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” per Picasso : ART

Artist and writer Marius de Zayas interviewed Pablo Picasso in 1910, and published the interview in an article titled “Picasso Speaks”. One of Picasso’s most famous quotes (“Art is a lie …”) is found in this article:

We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.

78 Lane for carpoolers : HOV

In some parts of the country, one sees high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Out here in California we refer to them as carpool lanes.

85 Downwind, to seafarers : ALEE

Alee is the direction away from the wind. If a sailor points into the wind, he or she is pointing aweather. The sheltered side of an island, for example, might be referred to as the “lee” side.

86 “Breaking Bad” channel : AMC

The AMC drama “Breaking Bad” is a well-written show about a high school teacher stricken by lung cancer who turns to a life of crime to make money. It turns out that the teacher has a talent for making high-quality crystal meth. The show was created by Vince Gilligan who had spent many years as a producer and writer of “The X-Files”. There is a “Breaking Bad” spin-off show running on AMC called “Better Call Saul” that focuses on the life of lawyer Saul Goodman. If I’m honest, I enjoyed “Better Call Saul” even more than the original show …

89 Org. with the Artemis program : NASA

NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. Artemis is viewed as a step along the road to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

90 Office building unit: Abbr. : STE

Suite (ste.)

95 Classic cover-ups for spies : TRENCH COATS

The trench coat was developed primarily for the use of the military. It is a waterproof coat that extends to just below the knee, and generally has a removable lining. In the world of Hollywood we often encounter the trench coat. One is worn by Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca”, and by Peter Sellers in the “Pink Panther” movies.

101 Card game with a Power Grab edition : UNO

The classic card game Uno now comes in several versions. Uno ColorAdd allows people with color blindness to play, and there is also a Braille version that allows blind and sighted friends to play together.

103 Red side, in brief : GOP

On political maps, red states are predominantly Republican and blue states predominantly Democrat. The designation of red and blue states is a very recent concept, only introduced in the 2000 presidential election by TV journalist, the late Tim Russert. In retrospect, the choice of colors is surprising, as in other democracies around the world red is usually used to describe left-leaning socialist parties (the reds under the bed!), and blue is used for conservative right-wing parties. In election cycles, swing/battleground states are often depicted in purple.

115 Annual May race, familiarly : IND(Y)

The Indianapolis 500 race is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race is run around a 2.5 mile oval, hence requiring 200 laps for completion. The first Indy 500 race was held on Memorial Day in 1911. The winner that day was one Ray Harroun. Harroun had seen someone using a rear view mirror on a horse-drawn vehicle, and decided to fit one on his Marmon “Wasp” motor car. Supposedly, that was the first ever use of a rear-view mirror on a motor vehicle.

116 Held together in a makeshift way : DUCT TAPED

What we tend to call “duct” tape today was originally known as “duck” tape. In its first form, duck tape was rubber-based adhesive applied to a duck cloth backing, hence the name. Cotton duck cloth is a canvas-like material, a plain woven cotton fabric. The name “duck” comes from the Dutch “doek” meaning “linen canvas”. Duck tape started to be known as “duct tape” in the fifties, as it was commonly used to wrap air ducts in the construction industry.

118 Sizable challenge for a mover : SOFA

“Sofa” is a Turkish word meaning “bench”.

121 Swain : BEAU

A swain is a country lad, or a beau. Back in the 12th century, a swain was a young man who attended a knight.

Down

1 Exceeds 21, in blackjack : BUSTS

The card game known as “twenty-one” was first referred to in print in a book by Cervantes, the author famous for writing “Don Quixote”. He called the game “veintiuna” (Spanish for “twenty-one”). Cervantes wrote his story just after the year 1600, so the game has been around at least since then. Twenty-one came to the US but it wasn’t all that popular so bonus payments were introduced to create more interest. One of the more attractive bonuses was a ten-to-one payout to a player who was dealt an ace of spades and a black jack. This bonus led to the game adopting the moniker “Blackjack”.

2 Poise under pressure : APLOMB

“Aplomb” is such a lovely word, one meaning “confidence, assurance”. It is a French word that literally means “perpendicularity”, or “on the plumb line”. The idea is that someone with aplomb is poised, upright, balanced.

3 With 6-Down, prison drama released on September 23, 1994 : THE SHAWSHANK …
6 See 3-Down : … REDEMPTION

Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” was adapted into a 2009 stage play and a 1994 film, both of which were titled “The Shawshank Redemption”. The Ohio State Reformatory was used for exterior shots of the fictional Shawshank Prison. That same facility was used for the prison scenes in the 1997 film “Air Force One”.

7 Instrument strummed in the Train song “Hey, Soul Sister” : UKULELE

The ukulele (uke) originated in the 1800s and mimicked a small guitar brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants.

8 Popular gala venue, with “the” : … MET

The Costume Institute Gala is an annual fundraising event that benefits the Anna Wintour Costume Center in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. The fundraiser is commonly referred to as the “Met Gala” or “Met Ball”, and was established in 1948.

9 Sneaky ___ (sly dogs) : PETES

“Sneaky Pete” is a slang term for cheap fortified wine that is often associated with down-and-outs sleeping rough on skid row.

11 Like cashmere : SOFT

Cashmere wool comes not only from the cashmere goat, but also from other types of goat. Technically, cashmere isn’t really wool, but rather hair. Unlike hair, wool is elastic and grows in clusters.

13 Prefix with -lithic : NEO-

A neolith is a stone tool that was produced during the Neolithic Era, the last part of the Stone Age.

14 16-time gig for Steve Martin : SNL HOST

The youngest person to host “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) was Drew Barrymore, at age 7 in 1982. The oldest host was Betty White, at 88 in 2010.

Comedian, actor and writer Steve Martin is from Waco, Texas. Martin’s entertainment career started to take off with success as a writer for the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”. He then turned to stand-up comedy and often appeared on “The Tonight Show”. He was, and still is, a popular guest host on “Saturday Night Live”. He is so popular on “SNL” that many mistakenly believe that he was a permanent member of the “Saturday NIght Live” cast.

15 Portrayer of 18-Down : TIM ROBBINS

Tim Robbins is a Hollywood actor, director and producer. I’d say that Robbins’ best-known roles are the leads in “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Player”. Robbins also wrote, produced and directed the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking” starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Robbins was married for almost thirty years to Susan Sarandon, although they split up in 2009.

20 Famed Ford flop : EDSEL

The Edsel brand of automobile was named for Edsel, son of Henry Ford. Sadly, the name “Edsel” has become synonymous with “failure”, which was no fault of Edsel himself who had died several years before the Edsel line was introduced. When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel on 4 September 1957, Ford proclaimed the day to be “E Day”.

23 Honorific from Sanskrit : SRI

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language and one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It has a rich tradition and is the language in which many historical and religious texts are written. There aren’t many speakers of the language today although efforts are underway to revive spoken Sanskrit.

36 Resort town in Alberta’s Rockies : BANFF

Banff is a town located within the bounds of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Banff is located high in the Canadian Rockies and is a popular tourist destination. The town and park were given their name in 1884 by the then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, George Stephen. He named Banff for his birthplace of Banffshire in Scotland.

39 “The Heart of Georgia” : MACON

The “Heart of Georgia” is an alternative name for Central Georgia, and is that part of the state surrounding the city of Macon. Famously, Macon was home to the Allman Brothers, and also Little Richard, Otis Redding and Randy Crawford.

40 ___ Corner, section of Westminster Abbey : POETS’

Poets’ Corner is an area in Westminster Abbey in London that earned its name from the high number of poets buried and commemorated there, as well as playwrights and authors. The first poet interred there was Geoffrey Chaucer. Also in Poets’ Corner are the remains of Edmund Spenser, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, John Dryden, George Frideric Handel, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Johnson, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Wow!

44 Fall accessory? : PARACHUTE

The term “parachute” was coined by Frenchman François Blanchard, from “para-” meaning “defense against” and “chute” meaning “a fall”.

45 Bygone channel that launched with the two-hour pilot of “Star Trek: Voyager” : UPN

The United Paramount Network (UPN) was a TV channel that launched in 1995, and shut down in 2006. Some of UPN’s programming was moved to the CW channel at the time of UPN’s demise.

51 ___ América (quadrennial soccer championship) : COPA

The Copa América is the oldest international soccer tournament in the world, having been first contested in 1916. The tournament was established for international teams from South America, as the South American Football Championship. In 1993, the name “Copa América” was adopted, and teams were invited from Central and North America, and the Caribbean.

55 Yeti’s commercial rival : IGLOO

Igloo Products is a Texas-based manufacturer of coolers. The company started up in 1947 making metal water coolers, and introduced its first all-plastic ice chest in 1962. The Igloo name was adopted in 1971.

58 Overplay : HAM UP

The word “ham”, describing a performer who overacts, is a shortened form of “hamfatter” and dates back to the late 1800s. “Hamfatter” comes from a song in old minstrel shows called “The Ham-Fat Man”. It seems that a poorly performing actor was deemed to have the “acting” qualities of a minstrel made up in blackface.

60 Target audience for “Peppa Pig” : TOTS

“Peppa Pig” is a children’s animated show that is produced in the UK and airs all over the world. There’s even a Peppa Pig World theme park located in Hampshire, England.

63 Decks with cards numbered I through XXI : TAROTS

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.

65 Apelike : SIMIAN

“Simian” means “pertaining to monkeys or apes”, from the Latin word “simia” meaning “ape”.

68 Curriculum ___ : VITAE

A curriculum vitae (“CV” or “vita”) is a listing of someone’s work experience and qualifications, and is used mainly in making a job application. The term “curriculum vitae” can be translated from Latin as “course of life”.

73 Prefix with -lithic : PALEO-

The Paleolithic Age is a period of human history lasting from about 2.6 million to about 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic Age is noted as the time when humans started using stone tools. The word “Paleolithic” comes from the Greek “palaios” meaning “old” and “lithos” meaning “stone”, so the term really translates as “Old Stone Age”.

77 Ingredient in a niçoise salad : TUNA

A Niçoise salad is known as a “salade niçoise” in its native France, where it was named for the city of Nice in the south of the country. The original contains no cooked vegetables, but here in North America there are almost always included some boiled potatoes.

84 It might get booted : CAR

A car parked illegally might end up incapacitated with a parking boot, a wheel clamp.

87 Main blvd. through N.Y.C.’s Chinatown : CANAL ST

Manhattan’s Chinatown is bordered by Grand Street in the north, Broadway in the west, Chrystie Street in the east and East Broadway in the south.

90 Treated unfairly, informally : SHAFTED

To shaft someone is to treat him or her unfairly. It’s one of those terms that I dislike and avoid because it probably derives from slang terms for cruel and tasteless acts.

91 The swans in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” e.g. : SEPTET

The fabulous Christmas carol called “The Twelve Days of Christmas” dates back at least to 1780 when it was first published in England, though it may be French in origin. The concept of twelve days of Christmas comes from the tradition that the three kings came to visit the Christ Child twelve days after he was born. This same tradition is the origin of the title to Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”.

96 Ostentatiously stylish : CHICHI

Someone or something described as chichi is showily trendy and pretentious. “Chichi” is a French noun meaning “airs, fuss”.

98 Unwrapped with gusto : TORE AT

“Gusto” is an Italian word meaning “taste”. We use it in English in the phrase “with gusto” meaning “with great enjoyment”.

105 Shot makers, for short : RNS

An injection using a hypodermic needle might be termed a “shot” in North America, and a “jab” in Britain and Ireland.

106 Top of a titmouse : TUFT

The birds known as chickadees or titmice in North America, are usually called simply “tits” in the rest of the English-speaking world.

110 Irish novelist O’Brien : EDNA

Edna O’Brien is an Irish novelist and playwright who is known for her works that shine a light on the problems of women relating to men and society in general. O’Brien’s first novel, “The Country Girls”, was banned, burned and denounced by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. As a result, O’Brien left the country and now lives in London.

111 Coding pioneer Lovelace : ADA

Ada Lovelace’s real name and title was Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. She was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the poet. Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and wrote about the work done by Charles Babbage in building his groundbreaking mechanical computer. In some of her notes, she proposed an algorithm for Babbage’s machine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm is recognized by many as the world’s first computer program and so Lovelace is sometimes called the first “computer programmer”. There is a computer language called “Ada” that was named in her honor. The Ada language was developed from 1977 to 1983 for the US Department of Defense.

113 Kin of a zin : CAB

The cabernet sauvignon (often just “cab”) grape has been around since the 17th century, and is the result of a chance crossing in southwestern France of the cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc grapes.