Day: December 11, 2024

Bill’s time: 7m 07s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Field for a Fortnite pro : ESPORTS

Esports (electronic sports) are video game competitions. The International Olympic Committee has held meetings to consider the inclusion of esports in the Olympic Games. What about medals for crossword solving …?

Fortnite is a very, very popular online game that was released in 2017. There are several versions of the game, including the original Fortnite: Save the World.

15 Actress who said “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it” : MAE WEST

Comic actress Mae West can be quoted so easily, as she had so many great lines delivered so well. Here are a few:

• When I’m good, I’m very good. When I’m bad, I’m better.
• When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.
• I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.
• Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet.
• I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
• Why don’t you come on up and see me sometime — when I’ve got nothin’ on but the radio.
• It’s better to be looked over than overlooked.
• To err is human, but it feels divine.
• I like my clothes to be tight enough to show I’m a woman, but loose enough to show I’m a lady.
• I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.
• Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

17 Took advantage of a situation, so to speak : MADE HAY

Make hay while the sun shines … seize the opportunity.

20 Pride : lion :: gaggle : ___ : GOOSE

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”.

34 The N.H.L.’s Kraken, on scoreboards : SEA

The Kraken are an NHL team based in Seattle. They played their first league game in Seattle in 2021, marking the first time that Seattle hosted a professional hockey team since the days of the Seattle Totems in 1975.

35 Billionaire philanthropist Broad : ELI

Eli Broad made his fortune in real estate and was one of the founders of Kaufman and Broad, a construction company that we know these days as KB Homes. Broad is the only person to have created two companies that made the Fortune 500 list (KB Homes and SunAmerica).

39 Fresno-to-San Diego dir. : SSE

Fresno is the largest inland city in the state of California. It was named for the many ash trees that lined the San Joaquin River, as “fresno” is the Spanish for “ash tree”.

The name of the California city of San Diego dates back to 1602, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named the area after the Catholic Saint Didacus. Saint Didacus was more commonly referred to as San Diego de Alcalá.

43 October Revolution leader : LENIN

The year 1917 saw two revolutions in Russia, with the pair collectively called “the Russian Revolution”. As a result of the February Revolution that centered on Petrograd, the last Emperor of Russia (Tsar Nicholas II) abdicated and members of the Imperial parliament took control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was itself overthrown in the October Revolution, which was led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party.

45 Villainous animal in “The Lion King” : HYENA

Among the group of lions at the center of “The Lion King” story, young Simba is the heir apparent and the lion cub destined to take over as leader of the pride. His uncle is jealous of Simba, and plots with a trio of hyenas to kill Simba, so that he can take his position. The uncle was originally named Taka (according to books) but he was given the name Scar after being injured by a buffalo. The trio of hyenas are called Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

51 Keto diet no-no : BREAD

A ketogenic (also “keto”) diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. When a body consumes insufficient carbohydrates to meet the need for energy, then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in order to make up the energy deficit. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the bloodstream is known as “ketosis”, a term that gives rise to the name “ketogenic diet”. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe a ketogenic diet in order to control epilepsy in children. A condition of ketosis can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.

53 Poetry contest : SLAM

A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read their own work (usually), with winners being chosen by members of the audience. Apparently the first poetry slam took place in Chicago in 1984. Now there is a National Poetry Slam that takes place each year, with representatives from the US, Canada and France.

56 Part of I.P.A. : ALE

India pale ale (IPA)

57 Beaucoup : A LOAD OF

“Beaucoup” is a French word that we’ve imported into English, meaning “a lot”. The etymology of the French term can be somewhat explained by rewriting it as “beau coup” meaning “handsome stroke”, which could I suppose mean “a lot”.

67 Equipment for an angioplasty : STENTS

Angioplasty (“angio”, for short) is a mechanical widening of a narrowed artery. In the surgical procedure, a balloon catheter is inflated at the point of the obstruction to open up the artery. A stent may then be inserted to make sure the vessel remains open.

Down

1 Jane Austen heroine : EMMA

Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” is the tale of Emma Woodhouse and the wonderful George Knightley. At the end of the story, Emma marries Knightley and her young friend Harriet marries Robert Martin, who had been trying to get Harriet’s attention practically from page one of the novel. Emma interfered in that troubled courtship.

2 Car stolen by Jerry’s mechanic on an episode of “Seinfeld” : SAAB

“SAAB” stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB, which translates into English as Swedish Aeroplane Limited. Although we usually think of SAAB as an auto manufacturer, it is mainly an aircraft manufacturer. If you take small hops in Europe you might find yourself on a SAAB passenger plane. The SAAB automotive division was acquired by General Motors in the year 2000, who then sold it to a Dutch concern in 2010. However, SAAB (automotive) finally went bankrupt in 2011. The assets were acquired in 2012 by NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), a new company that used the SAAB name on its vehicles for several years.

The sitcom “Seinfeld” had a rocky start. A pilot episode titled “The Seinfeld Chronicles”, filmed in 1989, was received very poorly by test audiences. NBC aired the pilot later that year, garnering some more positive feedback from TV critics, but not enough for the network to pick up the show. It took a year of internal wrangling to convince NBC to place an order for a first season. Even then, the order for the new series was for only four episodes, the smallest sitcom order in the history of television. The show was renamed to “Seinfeld”, the pilot and four episodes were aired in 1990, and audiences lapped it up.

6 Carry-on checkers, for short : TSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

9 Detergent in a red bottle : ERA

Era was the first liquid laundry detergent produced by Procter & Gamble.

12 Elaine who served in two presidential cabinets : CHAO

When President George W. Bush appointed Elaine Chao as Secretary of Labor, he made a bit of history as Chao became the first Chinese American in history to hold a cabinet post. It turned out that Chao became the only cabinet member to hold her post for President Bush’s full eight years in office. In 1993, Chao married Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader of the US Senate.

14 Art Deco icon : ERTE

“Erté” was the pseudonym of French (Russian-born) artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff. “Erté” is the French pronunciation of his initials “R.T.” Erté’s diverse portfolio of work included costumes and sets for the “Ziegfeld Follies” of 1923, productions of the Parisian cabaret show “Folies Bergère”, as well as the 1925 epic movie “Ben-Hur”. Erté’s most famous work by far is an image titled “Symphony in Black”. It depicts a tall and slender woman dressed in black, holding a black dog on a leash.

27 Variety of cooking apple : ROME

A Rome apple is a cooking apple. Supposedly, the first Rome apple was planted by Alanson Gillett in 1817 on the banks of the Ohio River near Rome Township. Originally called “Gillett’s Seedling”, it was eventually given the name “Rome Beauty”.

30 Actor who narrates “The Big Lebowski” : SAM ELLIOTT (hiding “S-MELL”)

Sam Elliot has to be one of the most distinctive and well-known character actors. He has graced the screen, with his deep and sonorous voice, in many hit movies, including “We Were Soldiers”, “Thank You for Smoking”, “Up in the Air” and “A Star Is Born”. More recently, he took on a starring role in the Western TV miniseries “1883”. Elliott married fellow actor Katharine Ross in 1984.

“The Big Lebowski” is a 1998 comedy directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Jeff Bridges in the title role. The film’s script is loosely based on the Raymond Chandler novel “The Big Sleep”. I thought “The Big Lebowski” was just “okay” though …

32 ___ Lee : SARA

In 1935, businessman Charles Lubin bought a chain of three bakeries in Chicago called Community Bake Shops, and soon expanded the operation into seven stores. Lubin introduced a cream cheesecake that he named after his daughter who was only 8-years-old at the time, Sara Lee Lubin. The cheesecake was a hit and he renamed the bakeries to Kitchen of Sara Lee. The business was bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1956, but the brand name Sara Lee persists to this day, as does Ms. Sara Lee herself who now goes by the name Sara Lee Schupf.

38 Irish dances : JIGS

The jig is a dance most associated with Ireland and Scotland. In traditional Irish dancing, the jig is second in popularity only to the reel. The most famous Irish jig is probably “The Irish Washerwoman”. I may not dance a jig, but I sure do know the tune of “The Irish Washerwoman” …

40 Half of a cassette : SIDE-A

The French for “box” is “casse”. So, a “cassette” is a “little box”.

50 Epic work that begins “Sing, goddess, of the anger of Achilles” : ILIAD

“Iliad” is an epic poem by the Greek poet Homer that tells the story of the ten-year siege of “Ilium” (i.e. “Troy”) during the Trojan war. “The Odyssey”, also attributed to Homer, is sometimes described as a sequel to “Iliad”.

51 Judy who wrote “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” : BLUME

Judy Blume writes novels for children and young adults. Blume’s novels for teens were groundbreaking when first published, tackling such difficult subjects as racism, divorce and bullying.

52 ___-call list : DO-NOT

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established in 1914 with the mission of protecting consumers. It is the agency that runs the National Do Not Call Registry, which can limit the amount of telemarketing calls that consumers receive. To register your number, simply go to the website www.donotcall.gov.

54 Back 40 makeup : ACRES

In the Public Land Survey System, land right across the country is divided into townships and sections. A section is roughly equivalent to a square mile, 640 acres. It became the practice to refer to quarter-quarter divisions of a section, with a quarter of a quarter of a section being equal to 40 acres (check the math!). From this sprung phrases like “lower 40” (nominally the lowest elevation 40 acres on a property) and the “back 40” (nominally a 40 acre parcel that was undeveloped on a property, “out the back”).

63 Homo sapiens : MAN

The literal translation of “Homo sapiens” from Latin is “wise or knowing man”. The Homo genus includes the species Homo sapiens (modern humans), but we’re the only species left in that genus. The last known species related to humans was Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal Man) which died off about 24,000 years ago. However, another species was discovered in Indonesia in 2003 that has been dubbed Homo floresiensis (Flores Man … sometimes called “hobbit”), and it may possibly have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. Watch this space …