Day: December 7, 2024

Bill’s time: 10m 23s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Undertook, in an idiom : BIT OFF …

… more than I can chew.

7 Stressed half the time, say : IAMBIC

An iamb is a metrical foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The lines in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” use five sequential iambs, e.g. “Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum- / -mer’s day?” With that sequence of five iambs, the poem’s structure is described as iambic pentameter.

13 Dance class outfit : UNITARD

A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and perhaps long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …

15 Host of a record eight Olympic Games as of 2024 : THE USA

The list of US-hosted Olympic Games is:

• Los Angeles, California (Summer 1932 & 1984)
• Squaw Valley, California (Winter 1960)
• Atlanta, Georgia (Summer 1996)
• Saint Louis, Missouri (Summer 1904)
• Lake Placid, New York (Winter 1932 & 1980)
• Salt Lake City, Utah (Winter 2002)

22 Renowned conductor born in Bombay : MEHTA

Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music, from Mumbai. Mehta studied music in Vienna, where he made his conducting debut in 1958. In 1961 he was named assistant director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, creating a fuss with the music director designate of the orchestra, Georg Solti. Solti resigned as a protest, and Mehta took his job. In 1978 Mehta took over as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, eventually becoming the longest holder of that position. In 2019, the Los Angeles Philharmonic bestowed on Mehta the title of Conductor Emeritus.

Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the second-most populous city in the world (after Shanghai). The name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995. It is the financial capital of India and is home to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the oldest stock exchange in Asia.

26 Introducer of the “New Look” in 1947 : DIOR

Fashion designer Christian Dior showed off his first collection in 1947, to great acclaim. The editor-in-chief of “Harper’s Bazaar” remarked, “it’s such a new look!” as there was a clear contrast with the austere designs that dominated the war years. The remark resulted in the collection being labeled forever as the “New Look”.

27 Illegal substance, in sports lingo : PED

Performance-enhancing drug (PED)

30 Nathan Hale, notably : SPY

Nathan Hale fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and was most famous for operating as a spy against the British. It was Nathan Hale who uttered the words, just before he was hanged by his British captors, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”.

34 Subject of a rap battle between Hamilton and Jefferson in “Hamilton” : CENTRAL BANK

The Federal Reserve System is more usually known simply as “the Fed”, and is the central banking system of the US. It was introduced in 1913 in response to a number of financial panics at the beginning of the 20th century. The original role for the Fed was to act as a lender of last resort, in case there was a run on a bank. This can happen as most of the money that is deposited by customers in a bank is reinvested by that bank, so it has very little liquid cash available. If too many customers look for their money at one time, then the bank can be short of cash and this can start a “run”. The Fed’s responsibilities have broadened since those early days …

35 Like the two Super Bowl teams in early January, for short : TBD

To be determined (TBD)

37 Huck’s pal : TOM

Tom Sawyer is a favorite character created by Mark Twain. He turns up in four of Twain’s books:

• “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
• “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• “Tom Sawyer Abroad”
• “Tom Sawyer, Detective”

But that’s not all, as he appears in at least three works that Twain left unfinished:

• “Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians” (a sequel to “Huckleberry Finn”)
• “Schoolhouse Hill”
• “Tom Sawyer’s Conspiracy” (a sequel to “Tom Sawyer, Detective”)

42 Like the gargoyles of Notre-Dame : STONE

Gargoyles are fabulous carvings placed on the side of a building. Gargoyles include an internal spout that is designed to convey water collected on the roof away from the walls of the building. The term “gargoyle” comes from the French “gargouille” which can mean “throat, gullet”.

43 Popular apple variety : FUJI

The Fuji apple is a cross between two American varieties of apple that was developed in Japan, i.e. a cross between Red Delicious and old Virginia Ralls Genet.

47 Rest stop sights, informally : SEMIS

A “semi” is a “semi-trailer truck”. The vehicle is so called because it consists of a tractor and a half-trailer. The half-trailer is so called because it only has wheels on the back end, with the front supported by the tractor.

52 In which you might confront the elephant in the room? : CIRCUS

The Circus Maximus was an ancient stadium used for chariot racing in Rome. It was the first such stadium built by the Romans, and was the largest ever to be built in the whole of the Roman Empire. The Circus Maximus was over 2,000 feet long and just under 400 feet wide, and could house about 15,000 spectators. There is very little of the original structure remaining and the site is now used as a major park. It was the Circus Maximus and similar “circa” that gave rise to our contemporary word “circus” describing an arena used by clowns, acrobats, etc.

53 Pompous pronoun : ROYAL WE

The “royal we” is more correctly called the “majestic plural”, and is the use of a plural pronoun to describe a single person in a high office. I suppose the most often quoted phrase that uses the majestic plural is “We are not amused”, which is often attributed to Queen Victoria. The “editorial we” is a similar concept, in which a newspaper editor or columnist refers to himself or herself as “we” when giving an opinion.

55 Mouths that don’t talk : DELTAS

A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …

Down

1 Unfair charge, informally : BUM RAP

A rap sheet is a criminal record. “Rap” is a slang term dating back to the 1700s that means “blame, responsibility” as in “to take the rap”, “bad rap” and “to beat the rap”. This usage morphed into “rap sheet” in the early 1900s.

2 Highest-ranking Asian American politician before Harris : INOUYE

Senator Daniel Inouye was a US Senator for the state of Hawaii and was the President pro tem of the Senate (the US Vice President is the President of the Senate). Given this role, he was the highest-ranking Japanese-American in the country’s history as he was third in the line of succession to the office of US President. Senator Inouye passed away in 2012. Honolulu’s airport was renamed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in 2017 in his honor.

5 Jamie of “M*A*S*H” : FARR

Actor Jamie Farr is best known for playing the cross-dressing Max Klinger in the sitcom ”M*A*S*H”. Although Farr landed a role in the 1955 movie “Blackboard Jungle”, his career didn’t really take off until he started appearing regularly on “The Red Skelton Show”. Years later he managed to get a one-episode appearance in ”M*A*S*H”, and his character and performance were received so well that he became a regular on the show. Farr actually did serve in the US Army in Korea, although it was after hostilities had ended. The dog tags that Farr wore when filming ”M*A*S*H” were the ones that he actually wore while serving in the military.

7 “___ My Life” (Bon Jovi hit) : IT’S

Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. He is the frontman of the band that took his name, i.e. Bon Jovi.

10 “I think we agree, the past is over” and “They misunderestimated me” : BUSHISMS

A Bushism is a linguistic error that has been attributed to President George W. Bush. President Bush himself admitted that he mixed up his words at times. Documented examples would be:

“Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.”
“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”
“You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
“They misunderestimated me.”

11 Part of a nuclear family? : ISOTOPE

An isotope is a variant of an element. All isotopes of an element have the same number of protons and electrons, but not the same number of neutrons. This means that isotopes of an element have different atomic weights. The term “isotope” was coined in 1913, and translates from Greek “having the same place”. The idea is that isotopes may have different atomic weights, but they occupy the same place in the periodic table.

12 Bright shade of yellow : CANARY

What we now know as the domestic canary was first brought to Europe from Macaronesia, off the coast of Africa, by Spanish sailors in the 1600s. Macaronesia is a collection of four archipelagos that includes the Canary Islands. The name of the islands comes from the Latin “Insula Canaria” meaning “island of dogs”, a reference to the many large dogs found locally. So, the canary bird is named for the Canary Islands, which in turn are named for dogs.

14 Hot water : DIRE STRAITS

To be in dire straits is to be in a very difficult situation. The phrase “in dire straits” originated in the world of sail, and is a reference to a vessel navigating a dangerous channel of water, a dire strait.

24 Hockey great Eric : LINDROS

Eric Lindros is a retired Canadian hockey player. During his NHL career he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars. Early in his career, Lindros was nicknamed “The Next One”, a reference to the moniker “The Great One” that was used for the great Wayne Gretzky.

28 Siege deterrents : MOATS

A moat is a protective trench that surrounds a castle, say, or an exhibit in a zoo. A moat may or may not be filled with water.

Our word “siege” comes from a 13th-century word for a “seat”. The military usage derives from the concept of a besieging force “sitting down” outside a fortress until it falls.

29 Chatting privately with, for short : DM’ING

Direct message (DM)

34 Box in many trucks : CB RADIO

A CB’er is someone who operates a Citizens Band (CB) radio. In 1945, the FCC set aside certain radio frequencies for the personal use of citizens. The use of the Citizens Band increased throughout the seventies as advances in electronics brought down the size of transceivers and their cost. There aren’t many CB radios sold these days though, as they have largely been replaced by cell phones.

38 First Nations people : OJIBWA

The Ojibwe (also “Ojibwa”) are the second-largest of the First Nations, surpassed only by the Cree. The name “Ojibwa” is more common in Canada, whereas the alternative anglicization “Chippewa” is more common in the US.

47 Largest isle of the Inner Hebrides : SKYE

The Isle of Skye is off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. It is the second largest island in the country, and has been linked to the mainland by a road bridge since 1995. I’ve never been there, but I hear the views are spectacular.

49 ID created in 1936 : SSN

The main purpose of a Social Security Number (SSN) is to track individuals for the purposes of taxation, although given its ubiquitous use, it is looking more and more like an identity number to me. The social security number system was introduced in 1936. Prior to 1986, an SSN was required only for persons with substantial income, so many children under 14 had no number assigned. For some years the IRS had a concern that a lot of people were claiming children on their tax returns who did not actually exist. So starting in 1986, the IRS made it a requirement to get an SSN for any dependents over the age of 5. Sure enough, seven million dependents “disappeared” in 1987. Today, a SSN is required for a child of any age in order to receive a tax exemption.

51 Most successful American video game franchise, for short : COD

Call of Duty (COD) is an incredibly successful series of video games that started out life on computers and is now available for gaming consoles and handhelds. The first version of this war game was set in WWII, but other versions feature the likes of “Modern Warfare” and “Black Ops”.