Day: February 26, 2025

Bill’s time: 8m 03s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

10 Hits up on Slack, say : IMS

Slack is a messaging app aimed at businesses. At its core, Slack is an instant messaging system. Slack also provides tools designed to increase collaboration within teams.

18 Certain trekker : 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”.

20 #50 on a table : TIN

The Latin word for tin is “stannum”, and so tin’s atomic symbol is “Sn”. One of the ores used as a source of tin is “stannite”.

21 City that was home for the Wright brothers : DAYTON

Dayton is a city in the southwest of Ohio that is famously home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The city is also referred to as the “Birthplace of Aviation”, as it was in Dayton that Orville and Wilbur Wright built and improved the Wright Flyer. The Wright Flyer made the first controlled and sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

25 Frequent filler for a po’ boy : OYSTERS

A po’ boy is a submarine sandwich from Louisiana. The name of the sandwich apparently dates back to 1929. It was a sandwich given away free to streetcar workers in New Orleans during a strike, i.e. to “poor boys” not earning a wage. A po’ boy differs from a regular submarine sandwich in that it uses Louisiana French bread, which is soft in the middle and crusty on the outside.

26 Area of frenetic dancing : MOSH PIT

Moshing (also “slam dancing”) is the pushing and shoving that takes place in the audience at a concert (usually a punk or heavy metal concert). The area directly in front of the stage is known as the mosh pit. When a performer does a “stage dive”, it is into (or I suppose “onto”) the mosh pit. It doesn’t sound like fun to me. Injuries are commonplace in the mosh pit, and deaths are not unknown.

30 “Stan” rapper : EMINEM

“Stan” is a song by rapper Eminem (featuring Dido) that was recorded in 2000. The title refers to a fictional Eminem fan named “Stan” who becomes obsessed with the rapper, and who grows irate when his letters to his idol go unanswered. Stan’s final act is to make a voice recording as he drives into a river, with his pregnant girlfriend locked in the trunk. One of the legacies of the song is that “stan” is now used as a slang term for an obsessed and maniacal fan.

32 Yale Bulldogs, by another name : ELIS

The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of Yale University. The Yale school mascot is “Handsome Dan”, the Yale bulldog. The Bulldogs’ logo features a bulldog in front of a letter Y.

37 Serious mix-up : MELEE

Our term “melee” comes from the French “mêlée”, and in both languages the word means “confused fight”.

39 Numismatic rating : FINE

A numismatist is a coin collector. The term “numismatics” comes into English via French from the Latin word “nomisma” meaning ”coin”.

40 Donkey Kong Country console, for short : SNES

The first video game featuring the ape named Donkey Kong was created in 1981. That same game introduced the world to the character known as Mario, four years before the game Super Mario Bros became such a big hit.

41 Munchkin : ELF

“Munchkin” is a word that we use quite commonly these days, usually to describe a young child. The first Munchkins were characters created by L. Frank Baum in his book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, published in 1900.

44 1/13 or 2/13 : IDES

There were three important days in each month of the old Roman calendar. These days originally depended on the cycles of the moon but were eventually “fixed” by law. “Kalendae” were the first days of each month, originally the days of the new moon. “Nonae” were originally the days of the half moon. And “idus” (the ides) was originally the day of the full moon, eventually fixed at the 15th day of a month. Actually, the ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October. For all other months, the ides fell on the 13th. Go figure …

46 Exotic pet store offerings : IGUANAS

Iguanas have what is known as a “third eye” on their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it can sense levels of light, although it cannot make out details.

50 Indian tourist site : AGRA

Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the river Yamuna in India that was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The Taj Mahal: the famous mausoleum built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.
• Agra Fort: the site where the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond was seized.
• Fatehpur Sikri: a historic city that’s home to well-preserved Mughal architecture.

51 Stunt performer on “Jackass” : STEVE-O

“Jackass” is a reality show that originally aired on MTV from 2000 to 2001. The show features a group of men doing stunts in which they usually get injured to some extent. The leader of the group is called Johnny Knoxville, who appears in the stunts and who also created the show. Not my cup of tea …

52 Some OT enders : FGS

In American football, a field goal (FG) often ends overtime (OT).

53 It may be induced : COMA

Our term “coma” comes from the Greek “koma” meaning “deep sleep”.

57 Field of Jean-Luc Godard : CINE

Jean-Luc Godard is a so-called “Nouvelle Vague” (New Wave) cinematographer, making movies that challenge the conventions of both traditional Hollywood and French cinema.

58 Preppy fabric : SEERSUCKER

Seersucker is a type of fabric, often made of alternating rough and smooth stripes. The name “seersucker” comes from the Persian “shir o shekar” meaning “milk and sugar”. I guess the idea is that the “milky” stripes are smooth and the “sugary” stripes are rough or granular.

64 Pixar’s Remy, for one : RAT

“Ratatouille” is a 2007 animated film produced by Pixar. The hero of the piece is Remy, a rat whose ambition is to become a chef. Remy was voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt. The veteran actor Peter O’Toole voiced the character Anton Ego, a restaurant critic.

Down

4 Inspiration for a seafood chain : LONG JOHN SILVER

The Long John Silver’s fast-food chain is named after the character in the great children’s story “Treasure Island“, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The first restaurant was opened in 1969 in Lexington, Kentucky. The chain went bankrupt in 1998, but was picked up out of receivership and so they’re still operating.

6 “Ammo” for a modern-day cannon : T-SHIRT

T-shirts can be shot out of an air cannon, perhaps at a sports game.

8 Bruins’ Bobby : ORR

Bobby Orr is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. By the time he retired in 1978 he had undergone over a dozen knee surgeries. At 31 years of age, he concluded that he just couldn’t skate anymore. Reportedly, he was even having trouble walking. While still 31 years old, in 1979, Orr became the youngest person inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Prior to that, in 1967, Orr became the youngest person named the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.

9 Creepy crawler : DADDY LONGLEGS

“Daddy longlegs” is a common term used to describe several species of insect, including harvestmen, cellar spiders and crane flies.

11 Rank achieved by Jay Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” : MAJOR

Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are the two central characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby”. Gatsby is a millionaire who throws lavish parties at his West Egg mansion, and is driven by an all-consuming love for the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Carraway is the narrator of the storyline. He is a young Midwesterner who moves in next door to Gatsby, and gets drawn into his world of wealth, glamour, and ultimately, tragedy.

15 What a stereotypical bartender asks after a horse walks into a bar : WHY THE LONG FACE?

Seeing as I’m one of three brothers, I have a favorite “So a guy walks into a bar” joke:

So a guy walks into a bar and orders three beers.

The bartender brings him the three beers, and the man proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third, until they’re gone. He then orders three more and the bartender says, “Sir, I know you like them cold, so you can start with one, and I’ll bring you a fresh one as soon as you’re low.” The man says, “You don’t understand. I have two brothers, one in Australia and one in Ireland. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night, we’d still drink together. So right now, my brothers have three beers, too, and we’re drinking together.” The bartender thinks it’s a wonderful tradition, and every week he sets up the guy’s three beers. Then one week, the man comes in and orders only two. He drinks them and then orders two more. The bartender says sadly, “Knowing your tradition, I’d just like to just say that I’m sorry you’ve lost a brother.”

The man replies, “Oh, my brothers are fine — I just quit drinking.”

25 Award since 1956 : OBIE

The Obies are the Off-Broadway (“OB”) Theater Awards. They have been presented annually since 1956. The recipients used to be chosen by “The Village Voice” newspaper, but now are jointly administered with the American Theatre Wing.

27 Arab League member : OMAN

The Arab League was formed in 1945 in Cairo with six founding members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. As a result of events during the 2011 Arab Spring, the Arab League has suspended Syria’s membership.

31 Title sitcom character voiced by Paul Fusco : ALF

“ALF” is a sitcom that first aired in the late eighties. The title character is a hand-puppet, and supposedly an alien named Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The alien crash-landed into the house of amateur radio enthusiast Willie Tanner. Tanner renamed the intruder “ALF”, standing for “alien life form”.

35 A bar for “Cheers” and a coffee shop for “Friends” : SETS

The wonderful sitcom “Cheers” ran for eleven seasons on NBC, from 1982 to 1993. “Cheers” spawned an equally successful spin-off show called “Frasier”, which also ran for eleven seasons and often featured guest appearances of characters from the original “Cheers”. The Cheers bar was styled on the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston (in which I’ve had a pint of Guinness or two!). The owner of the Bull & Finch cleverly agreed to the initial interior and exterior shots, charging only one dollar. Since then he has made millions from selling “Cheers” memorabilia, and also from increased trade.

The six title characters in the sitcom “Friends” met each other in the Central Perk coffeehouse from the very first episode. There is now a Central Perk franchise in reality, with locations all around the globe. The Central Perk in Dubai was opened by actor James Michael Tyler, who played the coffeehouse manager Gunther on the show.

43 Pelt : FUR

A pelt is the skin of a furry animal.

47 “Dune” actor Isaac : OSCAR

Oscar Isaac is an actor from Guatemala who was raised in Miami. Before acting, Isaac played lead guitar in his own band called the Blinking Underdogs. Isaac portrayed X-wing pilot Poe Dameron in several of the “Star Wars” movies.

48 Seat of New York’s Oneida County : UTICA

Utica in New York is known as “Second Chance City” these days, due to the relatively recent influx of refugees from war-torn parts of the world and from Bosnia in particular. These immigrants have helped revitalize the area and reverse a trend of population loss.

49 Part of a doctrine : TENET

A tenet is an article of faith, something that is held to be true. “Tenet” is Latin for “he/she/it holds”.

55 Yom Kippur War leader : MEIR

Golda Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” when she was Prime Minister of Israel, long before that sobriquet came to be associated with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch in Kyiv (in modern-day Ukraine), and when she was a young girl she moved with her family to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. As a teenager she relocated to Denver where she met and married Morris Meyerson, at the age of 19. She and her husband joined a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921, when she was in her twenties. Meir had been active in politics in the US, and continued her political work in Palestine. She was very influential during WWII, and played a leading role in negotiations after the war leading to the setting up of the state of Israel. By the time she was called on to lead the country, Meir had already retired, citing exhaustion and ill health. But serve she did, and led Israel during turbulent times (e.g. the massacre at the Munich Olympics, and the Yom Kippur War). She eventually resigned in 1974, saying that was what the people wanted.

The Yom Kippur War started on October 6 in 1973 with a surprise move by Syria and Egypt into the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The conflict quickly escalated into a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union, as both superpowers rushed arms to the opposing states. Within a week, Israeli forces had regained the land that had been lost and two weeks later had advanced within striking range of both Cairo and Damascus. A UN-brokered ceasefire brought the war to an end on October 25, after just 19 days of fighting.

59 Org. with the Acid Rain Program : EPA

The EPA’s Acid Rain Program is designed to combat acid rain by reducing the levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It is a market-based initiative that allows coal-burning plants to trade in emission permits.