Day: July 24, 2025

Bill’s time: 8m 05s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Beat at chess : MATED

In the game of chess, when the king is under immediate threat of capture it is said to be “in check”. If the king cannot escape from check, then the game ends in “checkmate” and the player in check loses. In the original Sanskrit game of chess, the king could actually be captured. Then a rule was introduced requiring that a warning be given if capture was imminent (today we announce “check!”) so that an accidental and early ending to the game doesn’t occur.

14A † symbols, on manuscripts : OBELI

A dagger (also “obelisk”, plural “obeli”) is a typographical symbol. The dagger is usually used to indicate a footnote, if an asterisk has already been used for the same purpose. A further footnote might be marked with a double dagger, a variant with two handles. The double dagger is called a diesis (plural “diases”).

17A “Nice of you to show up” : COMMON SNIPE

To snipe is to attack with snide criticism, especially from a safe distance. This usage of the term is an extension of the older meaning, to take a shot from a hidden position (as in “sniper”). Such a shot was originally taken when hunting the game birds called “snipes”.

Snipes are wading birds with very long and thin bills that they use to search for small invertebrates in mud. In bygone days, a shot taken by a hunter at one of these wading birds became known as a “snipe”. This usage evolved into the word “sniper” applying to anyone shooting from a hidden position.

24A Tries, tries again : ITERATES

The verb “to iterate” means to repeat over again. The verb “reiterate” means the same thing. One might suspect that “reiterate” is one of those words that has crept into the language due to repeated (reiterated?!) misuse. Well, that’s not quite the case, but close. Back in the 1400s, “iterate” meant “repeat”, and “reiterate” meant “repeat again and again”. We lost the distinction between those two definitions over time.

27A Univision article : UNA

Univision is a Spanish-language television broadcaster based in New York City, with production facilities in Doral, Florida.

28A “Hey, England, happy Fourth of July!” : AMERICAN CROW

The verb “to crow” meaning “to exult in triumph” is imitative of the sound made by a crow, perhaps as it settles over some dead animal that it has found …

Ravens and crows are very similar species, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. Ravens are a little larger and often travel in pairs, whereas crows are a little smaller and are usually seen in larger groups. Crows make a cawing sound, while the raven’s call is more like a croak.

33A Cow or cobra, in yoga : ASANA

The yoga pose called bidalasana is also referred to as the cat pose. The practitioner usually kneels on all fours, and arches the back. The counterpose, with the back lowered, is the cow pose.

Yoga’s “cobra pose” is also called “bhujangasana”. The Sanskrit word for snake or serpent is “bhujanga”.

37A Suffix with Sudan or Bhutan : -ESE

Sudan was the largest country in Africa until 2011, when the Southern Sudan region opted by referendum to become independent. “North Sudan” retained the name of Sudan, and the new state is called South Sudan. Sudan is now the third largest country in the continent, after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located high up in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and India to the south, east and west. It has been a constitutional monarchy since 2008, and has been ranked by “Businessweek” as the “happiest” country in Asia.

44A ___ blanc (type of white grape) : PINOT

The white wine grape Pinot blanc is a genetic mutation of Pinot gris, which in turn is a mutation of Pinot noir.

45A “Say ‘goodnight’ Alexa.” “Goodnight Alexa” : AMAZON PARROT

Scientists tell us that parrots are some of the most intelligent species of birds. Many of those species are able to imitate the human voice. Such characteristics have led to parrots becoming popular house pets, and a resulting drop in populations of parrots living in the wild.

49A Trash : DIS

“Dis” (also “diss”) is a slang term meaning “insult” that originated in the eighties. It is a shortened form of “disrespect” or “dismiss”.

50A Relative of a votive candle : TEA LIGHT

In some Christian traditions, the faithful can make an offering by lighting a votive or prayer candle. Each lit candle is symbolic of prayers that the worshiper is offering from themselves or for others.

54A Attire for an acrobat : UNITARD

A unitard is like a leotard, except that it has long legs and perhaps long sleeves. It wouldn’t be a good look for me …

An acrobat is someone who performs gymnastic feats. The term “acrobat“ comes into English via French from the Greek “akrobatos” meaning “going on tip-toe, climbing up high”.

58A Era in which daylight saving was introduced as a way to conserve energy, in brief : WWI

On the other side of the Atlantic, daylight saving time (DST) is known as “summer time”. The idea behind summer/daylight-savings is to move clocks forward an hour in spring (“spring forward”), and backwards in the fall (“fall back”) so that afternoons have more daylight. Here in the US, DST starts on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.

61A “Bottom-of-the-barrel barrel prices! Buy today!” : COOPER’S HAWK

A cooper is a craftsman who makes wooden vessels, such as barrels. The term “cooper” ultimately derives from the Latin “cupa” meaning “barrel”.

The verb “to hawk” has a Germanic origin, and comes from the Low German word “hoken” meaning “to peddle”. A hawker is actually slightly different from a peddler by definition, as a hawker is a peddler that uses a horse and cart, or a van nowadays perhaps, to sell his or her wares.

Hawks are birds of prey known for their sharp talons, keen eyesight, and powerful flight. They represent a remarkably diverse group of raptors, a wide array of species that have adapted to nearly every terrestrial habitat. Several birds commonly referred to as hawks are actually kites, buzzards, or even eagles.

64A Love, at Wimbledon : NIL

In sports like tennis, the score of zero is designated as “love”. Some people believe that this usage originates from the French “l’oeuf” (meaning “the egg”). The idea is that the written character “0” looks like an egg.

The Wimbledon Championships of tennis are held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club located in Wimbledon, a district of London. The Wimbledon Championships started in 1877, and have been played on grass since day one.

66A “___ : The Origins of Our Discontents,” Isabel Wilkerson best seller : CASTE

“Origin” is a 2023 film written and directed by Ava Duvernay. It follows the life of Pulitzer-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she travels through the US, Germany and India, researching for her 2020 book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents”. In the movie, Wilkerson is portrayed by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, doing so in 1994. Wilkerson’s father was one of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen who fought during World War II. Her 2020 book “Castes: The Origins of Our Discontents” discusses racism in the US and posits that racial stratification in America is best understood as a caste system, similar to that existing in India and Nazi Germany.

67A Like one who might prefer platonic relationships, informally : ARO

“Aro” is a common shorthand for “aromantic”. An aromantic person is someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction. It is distinct from asexual (“ace”), which refers to little or no sexual attraction, though some individuals identify as both aromantic and asexual.

Down

1D Japanese rice cake : MOCHI

Mochi is a sweet rice cake in Japanese cuisine. Special versions of mochi are produced for certain times of the year or holidays, e.g. New Year, spring time, Children’s Day and Girls’ Day.

3D Home for the Sun Devils : TEMPE

Arizona State University (ASU) has a long history, and was founded as the Tempe Normal School for the Arizona Territory in 1885. The athletic teams of ASU used to be known as the Normals, then the Bulldogs, and since 1946 they’ve been called the Sun Devils.

4D ___ City (nickname for New Haven, Conn.) : ELM

The city of New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1638 by Puritan immigrants from England. Famously, it is home to Yale University. The city also initiated the first public tree planting program in the country. The large elms included in the program led to New Haven being called “the Elm City”.

5D Many a Joseph Cornell artwork : DIORAMA

A diorama is a full-scale or small-scale replica of a scene. We mostly see full-size dioramas in museums, whereas our kids might create small-scale dioramas as homework projects. The original diorama was a picture-viewing device that was invented in 1822 by Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton. These historic dioramas were quite large, and featured scenes that appeared to change as the lighting was manipulated.

10D Explore a cave : SPELUNK

“Spelunking” is an American term describing recreational caving, although the word has Latin roots (“spelunca” is the Latin for “cave”). The term originated in the 1940s in New England when it was adopted by a group of men who explored caves in the area.

11D Like the Roman Empire around 48 B.C. : CAESAREAN

By 59 BC, Julius Caesar was a very powerful man in Rome and had just been elected to the position of consul, the highest magistracy in the Republic. Famously, he aligned himself with two other powerful men in Rome, Pompey and Crassus, forming the First Triumvirate. At the end of his year as consul, Caesar was elected proconsul (for 5 years), and was appointed governor of three provinces north of Rome (including Gaul), with control of four legions of the army. Caesar extended the reach of the Roman Republic in the Gallic Wars, and became very popular with the people back in Rome. However the Senate, led by his erstwhile ally Pompey, feared the power that could be exercised by Caesar, so at the end of his term as proconsul they ordered him to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar agreed to return to Rome, but not to disband his army. On 10 January 49 BC, despite all the warnings, he marched back into Italy by crossing the Rubicon River, along with his army, plunging Rome into civil war. Since then, “crossing the Rubicon” has come to mean “passing the point of no return”.

12D One might be cooked “casino”-style : CLAM

The dish known as clams casino comprises clams served on the halfshell with breadcrumbs and bacon, broiled to a golden brown. The recipe originated in Rhode Island, apparently developed by the staff in a hotel in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The dish was named for the hotel, the Little Casino.

25D South African currency : RAND

The rand is the currency of South Africa. Much of South Africa’s famed gold comes from mines around Johannesburg in the Witwatersrand (Afrikaans for “the ridge of white waters”). The rand currency takes its name from this ridge.

29D Hard animal to herd : CAT

The idiomatic phrase “herding cats” describes a futile attempt to control a group of people (perhaps) who are inherently uncontrollable. This phrase originated relatively recently, and appears to come from a line spoken in the 1979 film “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. In the movie’s opening, three shepherds are discussing sheep, and move on to cats: “Can you imagine a herd of cats waiting to be sheared? Meow! Meow! Woo hoo hoo.”

31D Site of a Nobel Prize award ceremony every December 10 : OSLO

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and businessman. He is famous for the invention of dynamite during his lifetime, as well as for instituting the Nobel Prizes by providing the necessary funds in his will.

33D “East of Eden” girl : ABRA

Abra Bacon is a character in John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden”. She was played by Julie Harris in the 1955 big-screen adaptation of the novel.

34D Setting for “The King and I” : SIAM

“The King and I” is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a book by Margaret Landon called “Anna and the King of Siam” first published in 1944. Landon’s book is based on a true story, told in the memoirs of Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was the governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s, and she also taught the king’s wives.

35D Mammal that can roll up into a ball : ARMADILLO

The nine-banded armadillo is the most common species of armadillo found in the Americas. The “bands” are bits of armor that circle the body of the armadillo. The term “nine-banded” is a bit of a misnomer as there aren’t always nine bands, but there are usually seven to eleven.

39D One might help you move : VAN

The vehicle we call a “van” takes its name from “caravan”, and so “van” is a shortened version of the older term. Back in the 1600s, a caravan was a covered cart. We still use the word “caravan” in Ireland to describe what we call a “mobile home” or “recreational vehicle” here in the US.

41D ___ Field (M.L.B. venue since 2009) : CITI

Citi Field is a relatively new baseball stadium used by the New York Mets (NYM) that sits right next door to the site of Shea stadium, where the Mets had played for decades. The new facility’s name comes from corporate sponsor Citigroup.

51D Word with cut or shot : … GLASS

A shot glass is a small glass used to measure or hold liquor. There is no standard size for a shot in most parts of North America, but it is generally 1.25 to 1.5 fluid ounces. A smaller, 1 fl. oz. shot, is called a “pony shot” or “short shot”.

55D Genre for “Double Indemnity” : NOIR

“Double Indemnity” is a classic film noir released in 1944 and starring Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck. Based on the James M. Cain novella of the same name, it’s all about a woman who kills her husband for insurance money. The title “Double Indemnity” refers to the double payout clause in the life insurance policy in the event of an accidental death. And that’s what the wife tried to show investigators, that the death was accidental.

56D Last word in the first line of “Home on the Range” : ROAM

The words of “Home on the Range” came before the music, from an 1870s poem called “My Western Home” penned by a Dr. Brewster Higley of Kansas. The music was added by Daniel Kelley, a friend of Higley. And now, a version of the song is the state song of Kansas.

63D Porkpie, e.g. : HAT

The pork pie hat originated in the mid-1800s. It is round, usually made of felt, and has a flat top. When first introduced it was a woman’s hat, but then men grabbed hold of it …