Day: February 27, 2025

Bill’s time: 10m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Leftover bits : DREGS

The dregs in wine, the sediment that settles during fermentation (and sometimes in the bottle), are also called “lees”.

6 They might be kept on someone suspicious : TABS

To keep tabs on someone is to watch him or her carefully. Back in the late 1800s, the phrase was written as “keep a tab on”, with “tab” being short for “tablet”, in the sense of a writing tablet. By the way, the name of the diet soda “Tab” was chosen as the drink’s target market was those trying to keep “tabs” on their weight.

10 Pupil : aperture :: ___ : diaphragm : IRIS

The iris diaphragm of a lens is analogous to the iris of the eye, in that it is the opening through which light passes. The size of that aperture changes the amount of light passing through the lens. The size of the aperture is routinely referred to as the f-stop, and can be varied on many cameras.

14 Jason who plays Aquaman : MOMOA

Jason Momoa is a model and actor who is perhaps best known for playing superhero Aquaman in several DC Comics films. He also played warrior leader Khal Drogo in the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones”. In 2017, Momoa married actress Lisa Bonet, who played Denise Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”.

“Aquaman” is a 2018 superhero film starring Jason Momoa in the title role. Momoa had previously played the Aquaman character in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016, and in “Justice League” in 2017.

16 Pro wrestler John : CENA

John Cena is a professional wrestler turned rapper and actor. Although wrestling, rapping and “Cena-style” movies wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I have to admire Cena’s philanthropic record. He holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that benefits children with life-threatening medical conditions.

17 Like a filthy flue : SOOTY

The flue in a chimney is a duct that conveys exhaust gases from a fire to the outdoors. An important feature of a flue is that its opening is adjustable. When starting a fire, the flue should be wide open, maximizing airflow to get help ignition.

18 Pants in which you may carry a glove : BLUE JEANS

The French phrase “bleu de Gênes” (blue of Genoa) gives us our word “jeans”.

20 Actor ___ Jackson Jr. : O’SHEA

O’Shea Jackson Jr. is an American actor and rapper who is best known for his portrayal of his own father, rapper Ice Cube, in the biopic “Straight Outta Compton” (2015).

23 Pants in which you may carry a pen : TROUSERS

Trousers are pants, the garment covering the lower body and each leg separately. Ultimately, the word “trousers” evolved from the Erse word “triubhas” that described close-fitting shorts. Back in the 1600s there was a colorful saying:

A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle

26 Husband of Sif, in Norse myth : THOR

In Norse mythology, Sif was the goddess of the Earth. Sif was married to the thunder god Thor.

42 Salsa ___ : VERDE

“Salsa verde” is simply Spanish for “green sauce”.

46 Fish whose most plentiful species are the “Atlantic” and “Pacific” : COD

In Britain and Ireland, the most common fish that is used in traditional “fish and chips” is Atlantic cod. Cod has been overfished all over the world, and is now considered to be an endangered species by many international bodies. Confrontations over fishing rights in the North Atlantic led to conflicts called “the Cod Wars” between Iceland and the UK in the 1950s and the 1970s, with fishing fleets being protected by naval vessels and even shots being fired.

52 Mirage image : OASIS

A mirage occurs when light rays are bent by passing from cold air to warmer air. The most often cited mirage is a “lake” seen in a desert, which is actually the blue of the sky and not water at all. The word “mirage” comes to us via French from the Latin “mirare” meaning “to look at in wonder”. “Mirage” has the same root as our words “admire” and “mirror”.

53 Pants in which you may carry a phone : CORDUROYS

There’s a myth that the name of the textile known as “corduroy” comes from the French “corde du roi” (the cord of the king). It’s more likely that “corduroy” comes from a melding of “cord” and “duroy” (a coarse fabric that used to be made in England).

55 Big name in commercial trucks : RYDER

The Ryder company was founded in 1933 in Miami, Florida by James Ryder. It started out as a concrete hauling company, but changed its focus a few years later to the leasing of trucks.

59 Juneau’s is roughly nine times New York City’s : AREA

Given that it’s the capital of the vast state of Alaska, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that the municipality of Juneau is almost as big as the area of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. And yet, Juneau only has a population of about 31,000 people!

63 Mars, by another name : ARES

The Greek god Ares is often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, but originally he was regarded as the god of bloodlust and slaughter. He united with Aphrodite to create several gods, including Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror) and Eros (Desire). Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the Roman equivalent to Ares was Mars.

64 Herb with a silent H : THYME

In ancient Greece, thyme was burned as incense and used in baths as it was believed to be a source of courage.

Down

1 X-communicates? : DMS

Direct message (DM)

2 Kid-lit character whose name rhymes with his book’s title character : ROO

Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, the kangaroo named “Roo” was inspired by a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.

4 Shook one’s defender, in sports lingo : GOT OPEN

Lingo is specialized vocabulary. Journalese and legalese would be good examples.

6 Salt Lake ___, broadcasting home for radio’s “Music & the Spoken Word” since 1929 : TABERNACLE

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a self-funded entity that is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Known within the church as simply “MoTab”, the choir was founded back in 1847, just a few weeks after the original Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

8 2000s HBO series about a polygamous family : BIG LOVE

“Big Love” is an absolutely superb HBO drama series about a polygamous man and his three families trying to live a relatively “normal” life in Utah. The male lead is played by the late Bill Paxton, and his three wives are played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin.

9 Broccoli feature : STEM

The Italian term “broccolo” is used to describe the flowering crest of a cabbage. We use the plural form of the same word “broccoli” as the name of the edible green plant in the cabbage family.

12 Word before peace or planet : INNER …

The inner planets of our solar system are also known as the terrestrial planets. They are Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury. They all are dense and rocky, and are composed mainly of silicates and metals. The silicates make up the rocky crusts of the inner planets, and the metals form their cores.

19 Compact Volkswagens : JETTAS

“Jetta” is one in a series of model names related to winds that has been used by Volkswagen. “Jetta” comes from the German for “jet stream”, and the model name “Passat” comes from the German for “trade wind”.

24 Tomato type : ROMA

The Roma tomato isn’t considered an heirloom variety but it is very popular with home gardeners, especially those gardeners that don’t have a lot of space. It is a bush type (as opposed to vine type) and needs very little room to provide a lot of tomatoes.

33 Ring call, for short : TKO

Technical knockout (TKO)

35 Greek goddess of spring : PERSEPHONE

In Greek mythology, Persephone was made queen of the underworld after having been abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.

37 ___ Mouse : MICKEY

In 2012, President Barack Obama visited Walt Disney World in Florida. He was there on official government business, and included a reference to Mickey Mouse in his speech:

And I confess, I am excited to see Mickey. It’s always nice to meet a world leader who has bigger ears than me.

Good one, Mr. President …

39 Vanilla holders : PODS

The flavor extract that we call “vanilla” comes from the pod-like fruit of climbing orchids belonging to the genus Vanilla. Genuine vanilla is a relatively expensive spice, second only to saffron, due to the amount of work required to grow and harvest the fruit (also called “beans” and “pods”). Spanish and Portuguese explorers came across the Vanilla orchid while exploring the Gulf Coast of Mexico. They gave it the name “vainilla” meaning “little pod”.

48 “Dubliners” author : JOYCE

“Dubliners” is a collection of 15 short stories by Irish author James Joyce, published in 1914. The stories illustrate middle class life around the city of Dublin in the early 1900s.

57 Bark beetle’s target : ELM

Bark beetles are so named because some species reproduce in the bark of trees. This can be a problem for the elm tree, as bark beetles are known to transmit the devastating Dutch elm disease. There is another species of bark beetle that is known as the coffee berry borer, and it is the major pest attacking coffee plants around the world.

58 Manhattan component : RYE

The cocktail called a manhattan is made from whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. I favor my own version of a brandy manhattan, using brandy, sweet vermouth and orange bitters.