Day: April 11, 2025

Bill’s time: 8m 30s

Bill’s errors:

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Some pops : COCA-COLAS

The first cola drink to become a commercial success was Coca-Cola, soon after it was invented by a druggist in 1886. The first sales were in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, where a glass of the new beverage sold for five cents. That original Coca-Cola was flavored mainly with kola nuts and vanilla. The formulation was based on an alcoholic drink called Coca Wine that had been on sale for over twenty years.

15 Richard Nixon or Mao Zedong, in a 1987 premiere : OPERA ROLE

“Nixon in China” is an opera by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. The piece was inspired by President Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972.

19 Ones in a war of words? : SLAM POETS

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.

20 Like Iceland’s weather most of the year : WINDY

Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in the whole of Europe, with two-thirds of the nation’s population residing in and around the capital city of Reykjavik. Iceland was settled by the Norse people in AD 874, and was ruled for centuries by Norway and then Denmark. Iceland became independent in 1918, and has been a republic since 1944. Iceland is not a member of the EU but is a member of NATO, having joined in 1949 despite not having a standing army.

24 Action figures from Hasbro : GI JOES

G.I. Joe was the original “action figure”, the first toy to carry that description. G.I. Joe first hit the shelves in 1964. There have been a few movies based on the G.I. Joe figure, but, more famous than all of them I would say is the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane” starring Demi Moore in the title role. I thought that “G.I. Jane” had some potential, to be honest, but it really did not deliver in the end.

30 Morris who directed “The Thin Blue Line” : ERROL

Errol Morris is a film director who is best known for his excellent 2003 documentary “The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara”. Morris also directed “The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld” that was released in 2013.

“The Thin Blue Line” is a 1988 documentary about Randall Adams, who was convicted of a murder that he did not commit. There was evidence presented in the film that actually helped obtain Adams’ release in 1989, after twelve years behind bars.

34 Vulgarian : BOOR

A “vulgarian” is a person who is vulgar, but who is also wealthy and has good breeding.

35 What ice skaters might turn into? : AXELS

An axel is a forward take-off jump in figure skating. The maneuver was first performed by Norwegian Axel Paulsen at the 1882 World Figure Skating championships.

38 Liquid-Plumr alternative : DRANO

To clean out drains we might buy Crystal Drano, which is sodium hydroxide (lye) mixed with sodium nitrate, sodium chloride (table salt) and aluminum. The contents of Drano work in concert to clear the clog. The lye reacts with any fats creating soap which may be enough to break up the clog. Also, the finely-divided aluminum reacts with the lye generating hydrogen gas that churns the mixture. Any hair or fibers are cut by the sharp edges of the nitrate and chloride crystals. Having said all that, I find that boiling water poured down the drain quite often does the job …

40 Popeye’s fare : SPINACH

The cartoon character Popeye is very fond of spinach, eating cans of the vegetable through his pipe and garnering great strength from it.

42 Passionate tributes : PAEANS

A paean is a poem or song that expresses triumph or thanksgiving. “Paean” comes from the ancient Greek “paian” meaning “song of triumph”.

44 Screen mover : CURSOR

The cursor on a computer screen is named for the cursor on a slide rule, which is the part that slides on the device. In turn, a slide rule cursor was named for an even earlier cursor, which was a running messenger, from the Latin “cursor” meaning “runner, errand boy”.

54 Sign of vitality : PULSE

There are four primary vital signs that are measured by health professionals:

1. Body temperature
2. Blood pressure
3. Pulse
4. Breathing rate

55 Neptune, e.g. : ICE PLANET

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The existence of Neptune was predicted as early as the 1820s by mathematics based on observations of the orbit of Uranus. The planet was actually first observed in 1846.

56 French city whose last three letters are a French article : ARLES

Quite a few years ago now, I had the privilege of living just a short car-ride from the beautiful city of Arles in the South of France. Although Arles has a long and colorful history, the Romans had a prevailing influence over the city’s design. Arles has a spectacular Roman amphitheater, arch, circus as well as old walls that surround the center of the city. In more modern times, it was a place Vincent van Gogh often visited, and was where he painted many of his most famous works, including “Cafe Terrace at Night” and “Bedroom in Arles”.

57 Simple question written with two question marks : COMO ESTAS?

“Cómo estas?” is Spanish for “how are you?”

58 Private affair : TRYST

In the most general sense, a tryst is a meeting at an agreed time and place. More usually we consider a tryst to be a pre-arranged meeting between lovers. The term “tryst” comes from the Old French “triste”, a waiting place designated when hunting. Further, a tryst taking place at lunchtime is sometimes referred to as a nooner.

59 Certain ephemeral social media post, informally : SNAP STORY

Snapchat is a messaging system that allows users to send photos and video clips to a limited list of recipients. The photos and clips, called “snaps”, can be viewed for only a few seconds before they are deleted from the recipient’s device, and from the Snapchat servers.

Down

1 Makings of some homemade pipes : COBS

Corncob pipes are made from cobs that have been dried for two years and then hollowed out into the shape of a bowl. Famous smokers of corncob pipes were General Douglas MacArthur, Mark Twain, Norman Rockwell as well as Popeye and Frosty the Snowman.

2 Fitting name for a girl born in October : OPAL

Here is the “official” list of birthstones, by month, that we tend to use today:

• January: Garnet
• February: Amethyst
• March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
• April: Diamond
• May: Emerald
• June: Pearl or Moonstone
• July: Ruby
• August: Sardonyx or Peridot
• September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
• October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
• November: Topaz or Citrine
• December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)

3 Michael who played Allan in “Barbie” : CERA

Michael Cera is a Canadian actor who played great characters on the TV show “Arrested Development”, and in the 2007 comedy-drama “Juno”. Cera is also quite the musician. He released an indie folk album titled “True That” in 2014.

6 Maryland’s state bird : ORIOLE

The Baltimore oriole is a small bird with a largely yellow body. The male’s coloring of black and yellow resembles the colors of the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore, the first Governor of the Province of Maryland, and so the bird was given the name “Baltimore” oriole. It is the state bird of Maryland, and lends its name to the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

7 What crossing your hands in front of your chest means in American Sign Language : LOVE

It’s really quite unfortunate that American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) are very different, and someone who has learned to sign in one cannot understand someone signing in the other.

8 Bush nominee to the Supreme Court : ALITO

Associate Justice Samuel Alito was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George W. Bush. Alito is the second Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court (Antonin Scalia was the first). Alito studied law at Yale and while in his final year he left the country for the first time in his life, heading to Italy to work on his thesis about the Italian legal system.

9 Creature with over 200 tiny eyes along its shell : SEA SCALLOP

Scallops are marine mollusks that are served as seafood. They are often served baked in milk, and as a result this method of preparation has become known as “scalloping”. So, scalloped potatoes are potatoes baked in milk.

11 Futzing (with) : TOYING

To futz around is to waste time on trivial matters, to fool around. “Futz” is probably derived from a “not-so-nice” word that has been merged with “putz”.

12 Fabulizes : SPINS A YARN

A “fabulist” is a writer of “fables”.

25 How Romeo dies, in the eyes of the audience : IRONICALLY

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t end well for the title characters. Juliet takes a potion as a ruse to fool her parents, to trick them into thinking she is dead. The potion puts her in a death-like coma for 24 hours, after which Juliet plans to awaken and run off with Romeo. Juliet sends a message to Romeo apprising him of the plan, but the message fails to arrive. Romeo hears of Juliet’s “death”, and grief-stricken he takes his own life by drinking poison. Juliet awakens from the coma, only to find her lover dead beside her. She picks up a dagger and commits suicide. Nobody lives happily ever after …

28 Some attire worn with tights : TUTUS

The word “tutu”, used for a ballet dancer’s skirt, is actually a somewhat “naughty” term. It came into English from French in the early 20th century. The French “tutu” is an alteration of the word “cucu”, a childish word meaning “bottom, backside”.

45 Means of intel gathering : RECON

A “recon” (reconnaissance) might provide “intel” (intelligence).

50 Org. that’s busy after disasters : FEMA

Federal emergency management has been structured for over 200 years, but what we know today as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 in an Executive Order issued by President Jimmy Carter.

53 Site with shops from around the world : ETSY

Etsy.com was founded in 2005 as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade goods online, and has since grown to include vintage items and crafting supplies as well. The company’s name is derived from the Italian word “etsi,” which means “oh, yes”? This was a nod to founder Rob Kalin’s love of Italy and his appreciation for the country’s history and artistry.