Day: March 29, 2025

Bill’s time: 10m 46s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

15 Head honcho : TOP BANANA

The expression “top banana” is used to mean “the main man” or “the main woman”. The first person to use “top banana” was supposedly Vaudeville performer Harry Steppe in 1927, who applied the term to the top comic on the bill. The phrase comes from a comedy routine in which three comics struggle to share two bananas.

“Honcho” is a slang term meaning “leader”. The word comes to us from the Japanese military, in which language a “hancho” is a “squad” (han) “leader” (cho).

18 Political grp. dedicated to helping people who are H.I.V. positive : ACT UP

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP)

23 It might be flat but not sharp : TIRE

Here’s another example of terms that change as we cross the Atlantic Ocean. When talking about tires (“tyres” in Britain and Ireland), a defect can cause a “flat” (“puncture” in Britain and Ireland).

25 What’s got about an ounce of scents? : SACHET

A sachet is a small packet of perfumed powder left in perhaps a closet or trunk to scent clothes. The word “sachet” is a diminutive of the French word “sac” meaning “bag”.

28 It requires a flipper : COIN TOSS

The two sides of a coin are known as the “obverse” and the “reverse”. The obverse is commonly referred to as “heads”, as it often depicts someone’s head. The reverse is commonly called “tails”, as it is the opposite of “heads”.

32 One always seen in a fancy fur coat : TUXEDO CAT

A tuxedo cat is one with a white and black coat. Specifically, the coloring is a solid black coat with white fur on the paws, belly chest, throat and sometimes the chin.

38 Pageant prize : TIARA

The oldest beauty pageant still operating in the US is the Miss America contest. It started out as a marketing ploy in the early twenties to attract tourists to the Atlantic City boardwalk after Labor Day. Today, contestants must be between 17 and 24 years of age. Before those limits were introduced, Marian Bergeron won the 1933 title at only 15 years of age.

39 Birthplace of the writer V.S. Naipaul : TRINIDAD

Trinidad and Tobago is a republic in the southern Caribbean that largely comprises the two main islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Something related to Trinidad is Trinidadian.

42 “__ Got a Way” (Billy Joel hit) : SHE’S

“She’s Got a Way” is a beautiful love ballad written and recorded by Billy Joel. It was originally released on his 1971 debut album “Cold Spring Harbor”. “She’s Got a Way” is a popular choice for wedding playlists.

43 Casting experts? : ANGLERS

We use the verb “to angle” to mean “to fish” because “angel” is an Old English word meaning “hook”.

45 Character in a hit 2023 film who sings “Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blonde fragility?” : KEN

The 2023 fantasy comedy movie “Barbie” stars Margo Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken. It was directed by Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach. I highly recommend this one …

54 Label on one Coca-Cola offering : ZERO SUGAR

Coca-Cola Zero was launched in 2005, and marketed as a drink that tasted exactly like Coca-Cola even though it contained no sugar. “Coke Zero” was reformulated in 2017 and rebranded as “Coca-Cola Zero Sugar”.

55 Itinerant one : NOMAD

A nomad is someone who roams about. The term “nomad” comes from the Latin “nomas” meaning “wandering shepherd”. In turn, “nomas” comes from the Greek “nomas” meaning “roaming (especially when looking for pasture)”.

Down

4 Magic org. : NBA

The Orlando Magic were formed in 1989 as an NBA expansion team. A local paper was asked to run a competition to suggest names for the new team and the community came up with its four top picks of “Heat”, “Tropics”, “Juice” and “Magic”. A committee then opted for “Orlando Magic”. A good choice I think …

8 Primary lang. of Gambia : ENG

The Republic of the Gambia is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country on the African mainland, and is almost completely surrounded by Senegal. The Gambia lies on the Gambia River, for which the nation is named.

14 Brewer’s need : HOPS

Hops are what give beer its bitterness, and IPAs are relatively bitter because extra hops are used when brewing. Different types of hops have different levels of bitterness, and brewers can choose how much to add to make their IPA more or less bitter.

23 Only beauty to go through history and retain her reputation, per Will Rogers : THE MONA LISA

Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece that we know in English as the “Mona Lisa” is called “La Gioconda” in Italian, the language of the artist. It’s also known as “La Joconde” by the Government of France which owns the painting and displays it in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title comes from the name of the subject, almost certainly Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Giocondo was a wealthy silk merchant in Florence who commissioned the painting for the couple’s new home to celebrate the birth of their second son.

Will Rogers was such a successful actor that he was the highest paid Hollywood star in the 1930s. Sadly, his career was cut short as he died in a plane crash in 1935. Piloting the doomed aircraft was famed aviator Wily Post, the first person to fly solo around the world.

25 Good Samaritan, say : SAINT

“The Good Samaritan” is a parable told by Jesus that can be read in the Gospel of Luke. According to the story, a Jewish traveler is robbed and beaten and left for dead at the side of the road. A priest happens by and sees the poor man, but does not stop to help. A fellow Jewish traveler also passes and refuses to help. A third man stops and gives aid. This kind person is a Samaritan, a native of Samaria. Back then, Jewish and Samarian people were said to generally despise each other, and yet here a detested creature gives aid. Jesus told the story to a self-righteous lawyer, the intent being (I assume) to shake up his self-righteousness.

27 Wrigley field? : CHEWING GUM

The Wrigley Company is the largest manufacturer of chewing gum in the world. Wrigley’s was founded in 1891 in Chicago by William Wrigley, Jr. to sell scouring soap. Wrigley switched to baking powder, and then began to offer two packs of gum as an incentive to buy a can of baking powder. The gum turned out to be more popular than the baking powder.

29 ___-Coeur, historic Catholic church in Paris : SACRE

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basilique du Sacré-Coeur) is that gorgeous white structure that sits at the top of the hill known as “butte Montmartre” in Paris, the highest point in the city. I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited Sacré-Coeur several times, and find it to be a much more stunning building inside than out.

34 Taxonomic classification : ORDER

Taxonomy is the classification of organisms into groups or categories known as taxons (plural “taxa”). We are most familiar with the classification of organisms in the major taxonomic ranks (taxa):

• Life
• Domain
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus (plural “genera”)
• Species

40 The W.N.B.A.’s Caitlin Clark, for one : PHENOM

Basketball great Caitlin Clark was the first selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, and signed up with the Indian Fever. Her quality of play and success on the court has helped popularize women’s basketball. That boost in popularity has been dubbed “the Caitlin Clark effect”.

43 ___ Moore, author of “V for Vendetta” : ALAN

“V for Vendetta” is a 2006 movie based on the political thriller graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The film stars Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman and Stephen Rea. Two other Moore novels made it to the big screen: “From Hell” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”.

44 Jules Verne visionary : NEMO

In the 1954 movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, Captain Nemo goes down with his ship. In the novel by Jules Verne (1869-1870), the fate of Nemo and his crew isn’t quite so cut and dry, although the inference is perhaps that they did indeed head for Davy Jones’ Locker. However, Nemo turns up alive and well in Verne’s 1875 novel “The Mysterious Island”.

Jules Verne really was a groundbreaking author. Verne pioneered the science-fiction genre, writing about space, air and underwater travel, long before they were practical and proved feasible. Verne is the second-most translated author of all time, with only Agatha Christie beating him out.

46 Soffritto-based sauce : RAGU

Bolognese is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna in Italy, hence the name. The recipe is usually referred to as “ragù alla bolognese” in Italian, or simply “ragù”. Note that the Ragú brand of sauces introduced in North America in 1937 takes its name from the same source (pun … sauce!). However, the brand name uses the wrong accent (“Ragú” instead of “Ragù”), which drives a pedant like me crazy ..

Soffritto is a mix of diced onions, carrots, and celery that is gently cooked in olive oil or butter. The Italian word soffritto means “slightly fried,” and describes the process of cooking the vegetables slowly until they release their flavor.

48 ___ Convy, host of TV’s “Super Password” and “Win, Lose or Draw” : BERT

Bert Convy was an American actor, although he was perhaps better known as a game show host. Famously. Convy was host for the shows “Tattletales”, “Super Password” and “Win, Lose or Draw”.

51 Raiders’ org. : DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

52 It’s a mouthful : CUD

Animals that chew the cud are called ruminants. Ruminants eat vegetable matter but cannot extract any nutritional value from cellulose without the help of microbes in the gut. Ruminants collect roughage in the first part of the alimentary canal, allowing microbes to work on it. The partially digested material (the cud) is regurgitated into the mouth so that the ruminant can chew the food more completely, exposing more surface area for microbes to do their work.