Day: October 31, 2025

Bill’s time: 12m 33s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

14A Humans, gorillas and chimpanzees : GREAT APES

The tailless primates known as apes (also “hominoids”) are divided into two main branches: gibbons (lesser apes) and hominids (great apes). The hominids are the great apes, and belong to the family of primates called Hominidae. Extant genera that make up the family Hominidae are:

• chimpanzees
• gorillas
• humans
• orangutans

16A Like a skunk’s tail : BUSHY

Skunks have anal scent glands that can be used as defensive weapons. The glands produce sulfur-containing chemicals that have a really awful smell and that can irritate the eyes and skin.

18A “Mangia!” : EAT UP!

“Mangia!” is Italian for “Eat!” and is a word often used in the names of Italian restaurants or in brand names of Italian foods.

20A Funny Fey : TINA

Comedian and actress Tina Fey was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. She is perhaps best known to television viewers as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” (1997-2006), and as the creator and star of the sitcom “30 Rock” (2006-2013).

22A Green bay? : LAUREL TREE

The seasoning known as bay leaf is the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel tree or shrub. Fresh bay leaves aren’t very flavorful and need to be dried and aged a few weeks before use in the kitchen.

27A Old-fashioned “w00t!” : HUZZAH!

“Huzzah” is a cheer, originally a sailor’s interjection, possibly accompanying the hoisting of a sail.

30A Earth goddess in “Das Rheingold” : ERDA

“Das Rheingold” is an 1869 opera by Richard Wagner, and is the first of four works that comprise his famous “Ring Cycle”.

39A Opposite of the Latin “odi” : AMO

Odium is a strong dislike or aversion. The term “odium” is Latin in origin and relates to the Latin word “odi” meaning “I hate”.

41A Stinky ___ (“Toy Story 2” antagonist) : PETE

“Toy Story 2” is a Pixar feature film that was released in 1999. The film was an even bigger hit than the original “Toy Story”, and grossed just under $500 million.

42A Web host? : SPIDER

The silk that makes up a web is a protein fiber that is “spun” by a spider. Spider silk is about one sixth of the density of steel, yet has a comparable tensile strength.

44A Some diving briefs : SPEEDOS

Speedo brand swimwear was first produced in Australia, in 1928 by a hosiery company that wanted to diversify. The brand name was chosen after a slogan competition among employees was won by “Speed on in your Speedos”. It was a long time ago, I guess …

49A Actress/singer Steinfeld : HAILEE

Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress, singer, and songwriter who gained critical acclaim for her breakout role as Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers’ 2010 western film “True Grit.” She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, making her one of the youngest nominees ever.

61A Flops : TANKS

Apparently, the first use of the verb “to tank” to mean “to lose or fail” can be pinpointed quite precisely. Tennis great Billie Jean King used the verb in that sense in an interview with “Life” magazine in 1967, with reference to male players. A more specific use of “tanking” in recent years is “deliberately losing” a contest.

Down

1D Something a workaholic is unlikely to say : TGIF

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF)

5D The Onion’s output : SATIRE

“The Onion” is a satirical news network, with a print newspaper and a heavy online presence. “The Onion” newspaper was founded by two college students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988. The founders sold the operation a year later for about $20,000. The paper grew steadily until 1996 when it began to publish online and really took off. I think it’s worth a tad more than $20,000 today …

7D Wild : FERAL

“Feral”, meaning “existing in a wild or untamed state”, comes from the Latin word “fera” meaning “wild animal”.

8D Mother of a hinny : ASS

A hinny is the offspring of a male horse (the “h-” from h-orse) and a female donkey/ass (the “-nny” from je-nny). A mule is more common, and is the offspring of a female horse and male donkey/ass.

9D Yosemite Sam’s role in “Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Carol” : EBENEZER

Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character in the novella “A Christmas Carol” By Charles Dickens. Through the course of the story, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, who show him the consequences of his miserly behavior. His name “Scrooge” has become a part of the English language as a term to describe someone who is stingy and mean with money.

Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character who frequently goes up against Bugs Bunny. As Sam himself would say, “I’m the fastest gun north, south, east, aaaaaaand west of the Pecos.” Yosemite Sam made his debut appearance in a 1945 cartoon short titled “Hare Trigger”.

10D City across the Rio Grande from El Paso : JUAREZ

The Mexican city sitting across the border from El Paso is more correctly called Ciudad Juárez. Juárez used to be called El Paso del Norte (the North Pass). It was to be the younger settlement on the northern side of the Rio Grande which would retain the “El Paso” name.

12D Repeated cry at a kegger : CHUG!

Keg party (kegger)

23D Human rights lawyer Clooney : AMAL

Amal Alamuddin married celebrated Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014. Alamuddin was born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved with her family to London when she was a toddler. She is a lawyer specializing in international law, with one of her more renowned clients being the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.

25D Apt anagram of GAMES minus M : SEGA

Sega is a Japanese video game company headquartered in Tokyo. Sega actually started out in 1940 as Standard Games and was located in Honolulu, which at that time was a city in the US Territory of Hawaii. The owners moved the operation to Tokyo in 1951 and renamed the company to Service Games. The name “Sega” is a combination of the first two letters of the words “Se-rvice” and “Ga-mes”.

28D Emmy-winning actress for “The Bear” : AYO EDEBIRI

Actor, comedian and television writer Ayo Edebiri gained prominence for her role as Sydney Adamu, the young sous-chef in the very successful Hulu series “The Bear”.

“The Bear” is a comedy-drama TV show that started airing in 2022. It stars Jeremy Allen White (of “Shameless” fame) as a chef from a Michelin-star restaurant who heads home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after his brother dies. I really enjoyed this one …

36D Suspicious looks : SIDE-EYES

“Side-eye” is an informal term describing a disapproving, sidelong glance.

37D Island home of what may be the world’s oldest living olive tree (2,000+ years) : CRETE

Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands, and figures heavily in Greek mythology. Zeus was born in a cave at Mount Ida, the highest peak on the island. Crete was also home to the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was slain by Theseus. Icarus and Daedalus, after having crafted the Labyrinth, escaped from the island using wings that they crafted.

38D The U.A.E. is in it : OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) controls a significant portion of the world’s oil supply. OPEC member countries account for around 44% of global oil production and 73% of the world’s oil reserves.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

55D British monarch between William and George : ANNE

Queen Anne was the last of the Stuarts to rule in Britain and Ireland, and the first sovereign of the Kingdom of Great Britain (after England and Scotland united). Anne was the last of the Stuart line because she died without any surviving children, despite having been pregnant seventeen times.