Day: May 11, 2025

Bill’s time: 30m 18s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Cartridge from the 1980s : ATARI GAME

Kids today probably don’t realize that we had a video game console back in the seventies, and it wasn’t a Nintendo nor was it a PlayStation. The Atari 2600 game system introduced the idea of separating out computing hardware (the console) from the game code (a cartridge). The same concept persists to this day, although cartridges have been displaced by discs and downloads.

10 Source of the words “galore” and “smithereens” : IRISH

Our word “galore”, meaning “in great numbers”, comes from the Irish phrase “go leór” that translates as “sufficiently, enough”.

“Smithereens” is such a lovely word and I am proud to say that it comes from Irish. The Irish word “smiodar” means fragment. We add the suffix “-in” (anglicized as “-een”) to words to indicate the diminutive form. So, “little fragment” is “smidirin”, anglicized as “smithereens”.

20 Drag-racing venue : MOTORPLEX

Back in the 18th century, “drag” was slang for a wagon or buggy, as it was “dragged” along by a horse or horses. In the 1930s, the underworld adopted “drag” as slang for an automobile. This sense of the word was imported into automobile racing in the 1940s, giving the name to “drag racing”. A drag race is basically a competition between two cars to determine which can accelerate faster from a standstill.

21 Nature personified : MOTHER EARTH

The Greek goddess personifying the Earth was Gaea (also “Gaia”, and meaning “land” or “earth” in Greek). The Roman equivalent goddess was Terra Mater, “Mother Earth”.

23 “Pinky-swear?” : PROMISE ME?

The use of “pinkie” or “pinky” for the little finger or toe comes into English from “pinkje”, the Dutch word for the same digit. Who knew …?

24 Step on a scale? : MUSICAL NOTE

In western music, an octave is composed of twelve notes, twelve semitones.

25 The Beatles’ “White Album” has four of them : SIDES

The 1968 studio double album “The Beatles” is usually referred to as “The White Album”, a reference to the LP’s plain white sleeve. Most of the album’s tracks were written while the group were in India on a transcendental meditation course. The tranquility of their Indian retreat disappeared soon after they returned and started recording. “The White Album” is noted for the tensions that erupted between the band members, all of whom were rapidly transitioning into solo artists.

28 1957 Isaac Asimov novel, with “The” : … NAKED SUN

Isaac Asimov was a wonderful science fiction writer, and a professor of biochemistry. He was a favorite author as I was growing up and I must admit that some hero worship on my part led me to study and work as a biochemist for a short while early in my career. My favorite of his works is the collection of short stories called “I, Robot”, although Asimov’s most famous work is probably his “Foundation” trilogy of novels. Asimov wrote three autobiographies, the last of which was called “I, Asimov”, which was published in 1994, two years after his death.

30 Outer layer of the brain : CORTEX

The outermost layer of an organ is known as the cortex. The cortical layer that is most familiar to the man on the street (like me!) is that of the brain, the cerebral cortex.

32 Inveigle : ENTICE

“To inveigle” is to win over by deceit. Back in the late 1400s, the term meant “to blind someone’s judgment”.

33 Package drop-off sites: Abbr. : POS

Post office (PO)

35 “Flower Myth” painter Paul : KLEE

Artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. We can see many of Klee’s works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005. Klee’s most celebrated work is his pointillist painting from 1932 called “Ad Parnassum”, which is owned by the Kunstmuseum, also located in Bern.

42 Note-to-self medium, perhaps : POST-IT

The Post-it note was invented at 3M following the accidental discovery of a low-tack, reusable adhesive. The actual intent of the development program was to produce a super-strong adhesive.

43 Beers from Bremen, informally : ST PAULI’S

St. Pauli Girl beer is brewed in Bremen in Germany. The beer gets its name from the former St. Paul’s Monastery in Bremen, next door to which was located the original brewery. Apparently, St. Pauli Girl is not sold in Germany, because the beer’s formulation isn’t pure enough to pass the nation’s purity laws.

50 Fish that passes the “mirror test” of self-recognition : MANTA RAY

The manta ray is the largest species of ray, with the biggest one recorded at over 25 feet across and weighing 5,100 pounds. It is sometimes referred to as the sea devil.

54 “I’ve Been Everywhere” singer in the Country Music Hall of Fame : HANK SNOW

Hank Snow was a country music star from Nova Scotia. Snow regularly performed at the Grand Ole Opry, and in 1954 insisted on using a young Elvis Presley as his opening act. It was Snow who introduced Presley to Colonel Tom Parker, who famously managed Elvis for his whole singing career.

55 Mass agreements : AMENS

The principal act of worship in the Roman Catholic tradition is the Mass. The term “Mass” comes from the Late Latin word “missa” meaning “dismissal”. This word is used at the end of the Latin Mass in “Ite, missa est” which translates literally as “Go, it is the dismissal”.

59 Lynn ___, Super Bowl X M.V.P. : SWANN

After his professional football career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lynn Swann became a sportscaster and has been very active in Republican politics in recent years. Swann ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2006. He also publicly declared his interest in running for the House of Representatives in 2008, but bowed out of the race early.

64 Cornmeal dish at a trattoria : POLENTA

Polenta is a porridge made from finely ground corn. The term “polenta” is Italian in origin.

69 Organ above the trachea : LARYNX

The voice box or larynx is where pitch and volume of sound are manipulated when we talk. The structure called the Adam’s apple that protrudes from the human neck is formed by the thyroid cartilage that surrounds the larynx. The Adam’s apple of males tends to increase in size during puberty, so the feature tended to be associated more with males in days gone by, perhaps leading to the name “Adam’s” apple. A doctor specializing in treating the larynx is a laryngologist.

71 Comic Ali : WONG

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who is a protégé of Chris Rock. She made two very successful Netflix stand-up specials “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”. She also worked as a writer for the hit sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat”.

72 Black out : REDACT

Our word “redact”, meaning to revise or edit, comes from the past participle of the Latin “redigere” meaning “to reduce”.

73 Big name in the cleaning aisle : LYSOL

Lysol disinfectant takes its name from the words “lysosome” and “solvent”. Lysosomes are structures found within cells that have the job of breaking up waste material and cellular debris.

76 ___ Fring, “Breaking Bad” antagonist : GUS

Gus Fring is a character on the hit AMC television show “Breaking Bad” and the prequel “Better Call Saul”. Fring is a Machiavellian drug lord who fronts his illegal activities with a successful chain of fast food restaurants called Los Pollos Hermanos. He is played by actor Giancarlo Esposito.

79 Spots for lavalier mics : LAPELS

A lavalier microphone is quite small and is usually attached to some item of clothing. The term “lavalier” originally referred to a pendant worn around the neck. Early lavalier microphones were quite large and rested on the chest with support from a strap that went around the neck, hence the use of the term “lavalier”.

81 Hebrew greeting : SHALOM

“Shalom” is a Hebrew word meaning “peace” that is also used to mean “hello” and “goodbye”.

83 1999 Maeve Binchy novel : TARA ROAD

Maeve Binchy was a fabulous Irish novelist, and in my day a famous newspaper columnist whose column I would read daily. A few of her novels have made it to the big screen, including two I would recommend: “Circle of Friends” starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver, and “Tara Road” starring Andie MacDowell.

86 Young salmon : SMOLT

When young salmon (born in freshwater) are at the smolt stage, they become adapted to saltwater and head for the sea. They return to freshwater to reproduce, often traveling long distances upstream.

88 Spirit with a citrus flavor : ORANGE VODKA

The distilled beverage vodka takes its name from the Slavic word “voda” meaning “water”, with “vodka” translating as “little water”.

90 Head cheese : MISTER BIG

The phrase “the big cheese” doesn’t have its roots in the word “cheese” at all. The original phrase was “the real cheese” meaning “the real thing”, and was used way back in the late 1800s. “Chiz” is a Persian and Hindi word meaning “thing”, and it’s not hard to see how the expression “the real chiz” morphed into “the real cheese”. In early-20th century America, instead of “the real cheese”, the most influential person in a group was labeled as “the big cheese”.

93 Minor crime : MISDEMEANOR

The US Federal government defines a felony as any crime punishable by more than a year in prison, or death. Any crime punishable by a prison term of a year or less is classified as a misdemeanor.

95 Joy on TV : BEHAR

Joy Behar is a comedian, and former co-host of the hit talk show “The View”. Behar was one of the original co-hosts of “The View”, and stayed with the show from 1997 until 2013, and then rejoined the show in 2015. She briefly hosted her own talk show called “Late Night Joy” in November 2015.

97 “Network” co-star, 1976 : NED BEATTY

Actor Ned Beatty is possibly best remembered for the rather disturbing “squeal like a pig” scene in the movie “Deliverance”. Beatty also earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1976 movie “Network”.

The movie “Network” was released in 1976. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Peter Finch in his final role, for which he won a posthumous Academy Award. That Oscar for Peter Finch was remarkable in that it was the first time the Best Actor award had been won after the actor passed away, and it was also the first time it had been won by an Australian.

Down

2 Home of the Italian soccer club Juventus : TORINO

Turin (“Torino” in Italian) is a major city in the north of Italy that sits on the Po River. Back in 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was formed, Turin was chosen as the first capital of the country.

4 Fictional character who says “Here’s to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick” : ROMEO

In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the last words uttered by Romeo are:

O true apothecary!
They drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.

Juliet’s last words are:

Yea, noise? then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.

5 Mechanism that controls a camera’s aperture : 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.

6 Dashboard device, in brief : GPS

Back in the 1800s, “dashboard” was the name given to a “board” placed at the front of a carriage to stop mud from “dashing” against the passengers in the carriage, mud that was kicked up by the hooves of the horses. Quite interesting …

12 Word with a commonly misapplied apostrophe : IT’S

The word “it’s” is a contraction for “it is”, as in “it’s a fun crossword”. The spelling “its”, without an apostrophe, is used in all other cases, most commonly as the possessive form of the pronoun “it”. In that sense, “its” is akin to the pronouns his, hers, ours, etc., as in “the newspaper is known for its great crosswords”.

14 Greek goddess depicted holding torches and snakes : HECATE

Hecate (sometimes “Hekate”) was a three-faced goddess in the Greek and Roman traditions. She was associated with many phenomena, including magic and witchcraft.

17 Psyche’s partner : EROS

In the myth of Cupid (aka Eros) and Psyche, the two title characters must overcome many obstacles to fulfill their love for each other. Overcome them they do, and the pair marry and enjoy immortal love.

18 Accusatory words : ET TU!

It was Shakespeare who popularized the words “Et tu, Brute?” (meaning “And you, Brutus?”). They appear in his play “Julius Caesar”, although the phrase had been around long before he penned his drama. It’s not known what Julius Caesar actually said in real life (if anything at all) as he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate in Rome.

22 Twice-distilled Turkish beverage : RAKI

“Raki” is a brandy-like drink that is flavored with anise, and which is considered a national drink in Turkey. The name “raki” is correctly written without a dot over the letter “i”.

30 Lass : COLLEEN

“Cailín” is the Irish word for “girl”, and is usually anglicized as “colleen”.

35 School whose sports teams are known as the Golden Flashes : KENT STATE

Kent State University’s main campus is located in Kent, Ohio. Kent State will forever be associated with student activism and opposition to the Vietnam War in the late sixties and early seventies. The fateful day was May 4, 1970 when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students, killing four protesters and wounding nine.

40 Homo ___ neanderthalensis : SAPIENS

The literal translation of “Homo sapiens” from Latin is “wise or knowing man”. The Homo genus includes the species Homo sapiens (modern humans), and we’re the only species left in that genus. The last known species related to humans was Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal Man) that 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.

43 Cake with a distinctive swirl : SWISS ROLL

The cake that we tend to call a “jelly roll” in the US is referred to as a “swiss roll” in many other parts of the world. It is a rolled sponge cake, filled with perhaps whipped cream or jam.

45 Spinal cord membranes : PIA MATERS

Pia mater is Latin, and means “tender mother”. It is the name given to the mesh-like envelope that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The pia mater brings blood to some of the exterior parts of the brain, and provides physical support for larger blood vessels passing over the brain’s surface.

47 Court favor in a cringey fashion : FAWN

The verb “to fawn” has a different etymology to that of the noun “fawn”. The Old English “faegnian” meant “to rejoice, be glad”. In particular, the Old English verb applied to a dog wagging its tail. From there, “to fawn” came to mean “to court favor, to grovel”.

50 Beasts with enormous tusks : MASTODONS

Mastodons were large mammals that were related to the modern elephant. Mastodons roamed the forest of North and Central America until they became extinct about 10,000 to 11,000 years ago. Their extinction is believed to have come about due to a rapid change in climate.

54 Like recording studio equipment : HI-FI

Hi-fi systems were introduced in the late 1940s. They are pieces of audio equipment designed to give a much higher quality reproduction of sound than cheaper systems available up to that point. “Hi-fi” stands for “high fidelity”.

63 Old curse word : POX

A pox is any of the diseases that produces “pocks” on the skin, eruptive pustules. The pox might perhaps be smallpox or chickenpox. When cursing someone by saying “a pox on you”, the reference is to the “great pox”, namely syphilis.

64 Actor Pascal of “Gladiator II” : PEDRO

Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal’s break came with a role on “Game of Thrones”, playing Oberyn Martell (aka “The Red Viper”). He then portrayed DEA agent Javier Peña on the biographic crime show “Narcos”. A third prominent role came with an offer to play the title character in the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian”.

71 Something sown, per an idiom : WILD OAT

Traditionally, “wild oats” were a crop that one might regret sowing instead of “good grain”. Young and tempestuous people were rash enough to sow their wild oats, and had yet to comprehend their folly. Over time, to “feel one’s oats” came to mean “be lively and confident”.

72 Macho stereotype : REAL MAN

A macho man is one showing pride in his masculinity. “Macho” is a Spanish word for “male animal”.

76 Chess opening : GAMBIT

A gambit is a chess opening that intrinsically involves the sacrifice of a piece (usually a pawn) with the intent of gaining an advantage. The term “gambit” was first used by the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura who took it from the Italian expression “dare il gambetto” meaning “to put a leg forward to trip someone”. Said priest gave his name to the common Ruy Lopez opening, which paradoxically is not a gambit in that there is no sacrifice. The chess term dates back to the mid-1600s. We’ve been using “gambit” more generally for any opening move designed to gain advantage since the mid-1800s.

77 Dime store? : US MINT

The nation’s first mint was established in Philadelphia in 1792, as back then Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. That first mint was located in a building that previously housed a whiskey distillery.

80 Limerick, e.g. : POEM

No one knows for sure how the limerick got its name, although there does seem to be agreement the name does indeed come from the city or county of Limerick in Ireland. Try this one for size:

There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.

86 Candy brand with a crown in its logo : SKOR

The candy bar named “Skor” is produced by Hershey’s. “Skor” is Swedish for “shoes”, and the candy bar’s wrapping features a crown that is identical to that found in the Swedish national emblem. What shoes have to do with candy, I don’t know …

87 See 89-Down : GENE
89 87-Down makeup : DNA

A gene is a section of a chromosome that is responsible for a particular characteristic in an organism. For example, one gene may determine eye color and another balding pattern. We have two copies of each gene, one from each of our parents, with each copy known as an allele.

92 Setting for Jacques-Louis David’s painting “The Death of Marat” : TUB

Jean-Paul Marat was a prominent figure in the French Revolution. Marat was famously murdered in his bath by a young woman named Charlotte Corday, who was a Royalist. The gruesome event was immortalized in a celebrated painting by Jacques-Louis David called “The Death of Marat”.