Month: October 2025

Bill’s time: 7m 54s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Petri dish growth medium : AGAR

Julius Richard Petri was a German bacteriologist and was the man after whom the Petri dish is named. The petri dish can have an agar gel on the bottom which acts as a nutrient source for the specimen being grown and studied, in which case the dish plus agar is referred to as an “agar plate”.

9A Michael of “Superbad” : 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.

“Superbad” is a comedy movie released in 2007. The script for the film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Rogen and Goldberg started work on the script when they were just thirteen years old, with the first draft being completed by the time they were fifteen.

14A European capital with canals : AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam is the cultural and commercial capital of the Netherlands, but not the administrative capital. That honor goes to the Hague. Amsterdam’s name translates as “Dam on the river Amstel”.

18A Helpful skill for guessers : ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

19A “Black-eyed” or “sugar snap” legume : PEA

Black-eyed peas (also called “black-eyed beans”) are a type of cowpea. Black-eyed peas are especially popular in soul food and other southern cuisine.

Sugar peas are also known as snap peas. These peas are eaten before the seeds mature, and the whole pod is consumed.

24A “Despicable Me” protagonist : GRU

The main protagonist in the “Despicable Me” movies is the supervillain Felonious Gru, usually referred to simply as “Gru”. Gru is voiced by Steve Carell.

26A Appliance that may have different floor settings, for short : VAC

The first practical portable vacuum cleaner was invented by James Spangler in 1907. Spangler sold the patent for the design to his cousin’s husband, William Henry Hoover. Hoover then made his fortune from manufacturing and selling vacuum cleaners. Hoover was so successful in my part of the world that back in Ireland we don’t use the verb “to vacuum” and instead say “to hoover”. Also, “hoover” is what we call a vacuum cleaner, regardless of who makes it.

27A Country between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf : IRAN

The Caspian Sea is a landlocked body of water lying between Asia and Europe. By some definitions, the Caspian is the largest lake on the planet. The name “Caspian” comes from the Caspi people who lived to the southwest of the sea in the South Caucasus.

The Persian Gulf is in effect an inland sea, although it is technically an offshoot of the Indian Ocean. The outlet from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean is one of the most famous maritime “choke points” in the world, and is known as the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s supply of petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

28A Comics dog with a big red tongue : ODIE

Odie is Garfield’s best friend, and is a slobbery beagle. Both are characters in Jim Davis’ comic strip named “Garfield”.

30A Singer with the 2011 #1 hit “Set Fire to the Rain” : ADELE

“Set Fire to the Rain” is a 2011 song co-written and recorded by Adele. It was written for the album “21”, and was destined to become the third consecutive US number-one single from that album.

35A Fashion designer Spade : KATE

Kate Spade fashion design house was founded as a supplier of handbags in 1993. The brand is named for founder Kate Brosnahan Spade. The equivalent male brand is called Jack Spade.

36A Pequod captain : AHAB

The most famous whale-hunting ship in fiction has to be Herman Melville’s Pequod, which is featured in his novel “Moby-Dick”. It is skippered by the maniacal Captain Ahab, and the young chief mate is the thoughtful and intellectual Starbuck. Starbuck’s name was lifted and used by the Seattle-based coffee company.

44A Swiss Army knives have many of these : USES

Swiss Army knives are multi-tools made by the Swiss company Victorinox. The device was first produced in 1891 when Victorinox’s predecessor company was awarded the contract to supply the knife to the Swiss Army. The name “Swiss Army knife” was actually an American invention as it was the term used by American GIs during and after WWII as an alternative to pronouncing the more difficult German “Schweizer Offiziersmesser” (Swiss Officer Knife).

48A Author of “L’Île Mystérieuse” : VERNE

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.

49A Solfège start : DO-RE-MI

Solfège (also “sol-fa”) is a teaching method used in the world of music. The technique involves the use of the sol-fa syllables for each note, and associating each syllable with a specific pitch.

54A Beethoven’s “___ to Joy” : ODE

Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” has to be one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the classical repertoire. “Ode to Joy”, based on the final movement of the work, is now the anthem of the European Union. If you’d like to see a fictional tale that explores Beethoven’s life at the time he was writing the “Ninth Symphony”, I highly recommend you take a look at the 2006 movie “Copying Beethoven”. Ed Harris plays Beethoven, and the soundtrack is superb.

55A Provider of the answers at 16-, 32- and 37-Across : MAGIC EIGHT BALL

The Magic 8-Ball is a toy, and supposedly a fortune-telling device, introduced by Mattel in 1946. There are 20 answers that the Magic 8-Ball can provide, including:

• Without a doubt
• Ask again later
• My sources say no
• Outlook not so good
• Signs point to yes

60A Double Stuf cookie : OREO

Double Stuf Oreos were introduced in 1975, and have twice the normal amount of white cream filling as the original cookie. Nabisco really went big in 2013, introducing the Mega Stuf Oreo that has even more white cream filling.

Down

1D It shares a 27-mile border with 27-Across : ARMENIA

The border between Armenia and Iran is just 27 miles in length, It runs from a tripoint with the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan in the east to a tripoint with Azerbaijan proper in the west. Despite the geographical separation from Russia, the Armenia-Iran border has been protected on the Armenian side by Russian troops and border guards since 1992.

2D Erupting hot springs : GEYSERS

The Great Geysir in Iceland is the first known geyser to have been discovered and documented. The name “Geysir” comes from the Icelandic and Old Norse word “geysa” meaning “to gush”. It is the Great Geysir that gives us our English word “geyser”.

4D Kanga’s kid in “Winnie-the-Pooh” : ROO

Kanga is a friend of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”, and is a kangaroo. She is the mother of Roo, who appears more frequently in the storyline.

5D Truth’s alternative : DARE

The party game truth or dare has been around a long time. A variant from the early 1700s as attested as a “Christmas game”, under the name “questions and commands”.

6D Where volleyball and racquetball were invented, in brief : YMCA

The YMCA (the Y) is a worldwide movement that has its roots in London, England. There, in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded with the intent of promoting Christian principles through the development of “a healthy spirit, mind and body”. The founder, George Williams, saw the need to create YMCA facilities for young men who were flocking to the cities as the Industrial Revolution flourished. He saw that these men were frequenting taverns and brothels, and wanted to offer a more wholesome alternative.

Indoor volleyball was invented in 1895 and was originally called “mintonette”, a reference to the related game of “badminton”. The variant called beach volleyball originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, but was popularized on the beaches of Santa Monica starting in 1920.

7D Demonym suffix : -ESE

A demonym is a term used for natives of a geographical location, with that term being derived from the name of that particular location. For example the Irish come from Ireland, and the Americans come from America.

8D Elm and Maple are common ones: Abbr. : STS

The most common street name in the US is “Second Street”. “First Street” comes in only at number three, and this is because many cities and towns forgo the use of “First” and instead go with “Main” or something more historical in nature. The spooky “Elm Street” appears on the list at number fifteen.

15D Elder son of Isaac : ESAU

Esau is a son of Isaac, and someone whose story is told in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Esau had three wives, Adah, Aholibamah and Bashemath.

21D More than 2,000 years ago, for short : BCE

The designations Anno Domini (AD, “year of Our Lord”) and Before Christ (BC) are found in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dividing point between AD and BC is the year of the conception of Jesus, with AD 1 following 1 BC without a year “0” in between. The AD/BC scheme dates back to AD 525, and gained wide acceptance soon after AD 800. Nowadays a modified version has become popular, with CE (Common/Christian Era) used to replace AD, and BCE (Before the Common/Christian Era) used to replace BC.

23D 23andMe mailing : DNA KIT

23andMe was the first company to offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing, doing so in 2007. Initially, 23andMe offered a test that determined a subject’s predisposition to a list of specific genetic traits, including baldness and blindness. The company now offers a cost-effective ancestry DNA test as well. The name “23andMe” is a reference to the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the cells of a human.

24D Martini or Negroni spirit : GIN

The term “martini” probably takes its name from the “Martini & Rossi” brand of dry vermouth, although no one seems to be completely sure. What is clear is that despite the Martini name originating in Italy, the martini drink originated in the US. The original martini was made with gin and sweet vermouth, but someone specifying a “dry” martini was given gin and dry vermouth. Nowadays we use dry vermouth for all martinis, and the term “dry” has become a reference to how little vermouth is included in the drink. Famously, Noël Coward liked his drink very dry and said that a perfect martini is made by “filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy”. On the contrary, adding extra vermouth results in a “wet” martini. The German-American journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken referred to the martini as “the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet”.

The negroni is a lovely cocktail, one that hails from Italy. A classic recipe calls for equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. According to legend, the drink was first made by bartender Fosco Scarselli at the request of Count Camillo Negroni, hence the name. The count wanted a stronger version of an Americano, and so Scarselli dropped the Americano’s soda water and replaced it with gin!

31D Ariana ___, Best Supporting Actress winner for 2021’s “West Side Story” : DEBOSE

Actress Ariana DeBose’s breakthrough role was the lead in the jukebox musical “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical”, which opened on Broadway in 2018. She reached a wider audience playing Anita in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical “West Side Story”. That performance won her the season’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

“West Side Story” is a 2021 musical film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second big-screen adaptation of the original 1957 stage musical, following the hit 1961 film of the same name. Rita Mareno has a major supporting role (Valentina) in the 2021 film, and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role (Anita) in the 1961 film.

39D Brouhahas : UPROARS

“Brouhaha”, meaning “ado, stir”, was a French word that back in the 1550s meant “the cry of the devil disguised as clergy” . Wow!

41D Place to buy a fir at Christmas : TREE LOT

The custom of decorating trees at Christmas seems to have originated in Renaissance Germany. Those first trees were placed in guildhalls and were decorated with sweets and candy for the apprentices and children. After the Protestant Reformation, the Christmas tree became an alternative in Protestant homes for the Roman Catholic Christmas cribs. The Christmas tree tradition was imported into Britain by the royal family because of its German heritage. That tradition spread from Britain into North America.

43D Tundras and deserts, e.g. : BIOMES

I tend to think of “biome” as another word for “ecosystem”.

Tundra is an ecosystem that is treeless, or very nearly so. There are three types of tundra. Arctic and Antarctic tundra can’t support the growth of trees as the ground is pretty much frozen. Alpine tundra cannot support tree-growth due to high altitude.

47D ___ de gallo (Mexican salsa) : PICO

Pico de gallo is a condiment in Mexican cuisine made from tomato, onion and chili peppers. “Pico de gallo” is Spanish for “beak of rooster”. Apparently this name was given as eating of the condiment with the thumb and forefinger resembled the pecking of a rooster. An alternative name for pico de gallo is “salsa fresca”, which translates literally as “fresh sauce”.

48D Scrutinize : VET

The verb “to vet” comes from the term “veterinarian”. The idea is that to vet something is to subject it to careful examination, like a veterinarian checking out an animal.

50D Like soufflés : EGGY

A soufflé is a French dish that is usually served as a dessert. The verb “souffler” means “to blow, blow up”.

56D Course for becoming bilingual, for short : ESL

English as a Second Language (ESL)

58D Noggin knock : BOP

Slang terms for “head” include “bean”, “coconut”, “gourd”, “noodle” and “noggin”.