Day: November 30, 2024

Bill’s time: 19m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

16 Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit : I’M BAD

The song “Bad” was written and sung by Michael Jackson, and released in 1987. The lyrics describe being tough on the streets, being “bad”.

18 Export from Jamaica : SKA

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late fifties and was the precursor to reggae music. No one has a really definitive etymology of the term “ska”, but it is likely to be imitative of a sound.

19 “Nature always ___ the colors of the spirit”: Ralph Waldo Emerson : WEARS

The quote “Nature always wears the color of the spirit” is from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature”, published in 1836. Emerson believed that nature acts as a mirror to the soul. If you are joyful, nature seems vibrant and beautiful; if you are sad, nature reflects that somberness.

20 Petite ___ : AMIE

The French term “petite amie” translates literally as “little female friend”, but is used to mean “girlfriend”.

21 Number of fingers on dos manos : DIEZ

In Spanish, you can count up to “diez” (ten) using the fingers on “dos manos” (two hands).

22 Recipe fig. : AMT

The Latin “recipere” means “to take”, and the imperative form “recipe” was written at the top of medical prescriptions as an instruction, i.e. “take (the following)”. This use of “recipe” evolved into the instruction for preparing a dish of food in the mid-1700s.

35 Longtime candy company based in San Francisco : SEE’S

See’s is a candy manufacturer that was founded in Los Angeles in 1921 by Canadian Charles See and his mother Mary See. Many of us remember the chocolate factory episode of “I Love Lucy”. Well, Lucille Ball and Vivian Vancse spent time at the See’s facility in LA learning how to dip chocolates and work the production line prior to filming that show.

36 Color akin to amarillo : ORO

In Spanish, the color “oro” (gold) is akin to “amarillo” (yellow).

37 Cart for the Budweiser Clydesdales, e.g. : DRAY

A dray is a sideless 4-wheeled cart that is used for hauling goods.

The Budweiser Clydesdales were first used in 1933, when they carried the first case of beer produced by the Anheuser Busch Brewery in a ceremonial trip through St. Louis to celebrate the end of prohibition. The team of horses was then transported by rail to New York City, where they were used to present two cases of Budweiser to Al Smith, a former governor of New York who vigorously opposed prohibition.

39 Termite, e.g. : BORER

Termites are insects that are somewhat unique in that they can digest cellulose (as can ruminants such as cattle). Because of this diet, they cause a lot of trouble for human populations by feeding on wood in man-made structures.

41 Fired (up), in old slang : HET

Someone who is het up is worked up, or angry. “Het” is an archaic word meaning “heated”.

42 Japanese game using pentagonal pieces : SHOGI

Shogi is a game that is also known as Japanese chess. The name “shogi” translates as “general’s board game”.

43 Jack ___, Best Supporting Actor nominee for 1940’s “The Great Dictator” : OAKIE

Jack Oakie was the stage name of actor Lewis Offield, who was originally from Missouri. Offield was raised in Oklahoma, and for this reason picked up the nickname “Oakie”. The “Jack” in his stage name came from the first character that he portrayed in a play. Oakie played Benzino Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”, a character who was very much based on Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

“The Great Dictator” is a 1940 movie starring Charlie Chaplin, who also wrote, directed, produced and scored the film. Made just before the US entered WWII, “The Great Dictator” is a satirical work that condemns Hitler, Mussolini and the rise of fascism. It was to become Chaplin’s most commercially successful film. Years after it was released, Chaplin stated that he could not have made the movie if he knew at the time just how truly horrific were the crimes committed by the Nazis.

47 Where cold cases are frequently opened : DELICATESSENS

The word “delicatessen” (or “deli” for short) came into English from the German “Delikatessen”. The Germans borrowed the word from French, in which language “délicatesse” means “delicious things (to eat)”. The term’s ultimate root is “delicatus”, the Latin for “giving pleasure, delightful”.

Down

2 Like the crowd after a buzzer beater, say : AROAR

In basketball, a “buzzer beater” is a shot taken just before the game ends, one that passes successfully through the net after the buzzer has sounded.

8 Expressions of befuddlement : HUHS

To be befuddled is to be confused. Originally, back in the late 1800s, that confusion was specifically caused by liquor or opium.

11 End result of a starter : HOMEMADE BREAD

The active ingredient used to make sourdough bread is found in a pre-ferment (also “starter”). This pre-ferment is a mixture of flour and water that has been allowed to ferment for some time (maybe days) to grow a colony of wild yeast and lactobacilli. The starter is added to the dough used to make the final bread, with the start accounting for about 20% of the weight of the final mixture. During baking, the wild yeast causes the bread to rise and the lactobacilli produce lactic acid, which gives sourdough its characteristic sour taste.

12 The so-called “heart of the scorpion” in the night sky : ANTARES

The constellation Scorpius is named for the scorpion. One of the brighter stars in Scorpius is Antares, which has a clearly perceptible red hue that is said to rival the redness of the planet Mars.

14 Holiday honoring Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune : DIWALI

Lakshmi (also “Laxmi”) is the Hindu goddess of prosperity and fertility, and the wife of Vishnu. She is the focus of prayers during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

23 Mr. Rogers, to his neighbors : FRED

The “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” TV show starred Fred Rogers. It was the second-longest running series on PBS television, after that other iconic children’s show “Sesame Street”.

26 Styles of singing : HARRY

Harry Styles is a singer from England who got his big break when he appeared on the British version of “The X Factor”, from which he was selected as an original member of the boy band One Direction. Styles turned to acting, and had a significant role in the 2017 war movie “Dunkirk”. Reading the gossip columns reveals that he dated Taylor Swift for a while in 2012.

27 Hot times in la cité : ETES

In French, “été” (summer) is “la saison chaude” (the warm season).

30 It flows where the wind blows : LEE TIDE

A leeward tide (sometimes “lee tide”) is one that runs in the same direction that the wind is blowing. A windward tide, on the other hand, runs in the opposite direction to the wind. I think that the main danger with a lee tide is when a boat is at anchor. If the tide and wind are acting in concert, then the anchor is more likely to slip.

31 One of 11 for Big Ben : STOREY

Well … not really. The Elizabeth Tower, in which is housed the bell “Big Ben”, is 11 storeys in height.

Here’s another spelling that I had to learn when I moved to the US. A “story” is a level in a building, a term that we also use on the other side of the Atlantic, albeit with the spelling “storey”. To further complicate matters, the “first floor” in the US is the ground floor. The “first floor” in Ireland and Britain is the “storey” above the ground floor. Aaagh!

“Big Ben” is the name commonly used for the large bell in the Clock Tower (“Elizabeth Tower”, since 2012) of the Palace of Westminster (aka “Houses of Parliament”). Big Ben’s official name is the Great Bell, and there is some debate about the origins of the nickname. It may be named after Sir Benjamin Hall who supervised the bell’s installation, or perhaps the English heavyweight champion of the day Benjamin Caunt. Big Ben fell silent in 2017 to make way for four years of maintenance and repair work to the clock’s mechanism and the tower.

34 Reason one might get extended time on the PSAT : ADHD

The “official” name for the condition we sometimes still refer to as “attention deficit disorder” (ADD) is “attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD).

39 Nova preceder : BOSSA …

Bossa nova is a style of music from Brazil that evolved from samba. The most famous piece of bossa nova is the song “The Girl from Ipanema”. The term “bossa nova” translates from Portuguese as “new trend”, or more colloquially as “new wave”.

45 “___ and the Thirteenth Confession” (Laura Nyro album) : ELI

“Eli and the Thirteenth Confession” is a 1968 album released by Laura Nyro. One of the singles from the album is “Eli’s Comin’”.

46 Subject of a ganzfeld experiment, in brief : ESP

Ganzfeld experiments test for telepathy by putting a “receiver” in sensory deprivation (white noise, ping-pong balls over eyes) while a “sender” focuses on an image. The receiver then tries to identify that image from a set of choices. Some studies suggest results above chance, but it’s controversial and not scientifically accepted as proof of ESP.