Month: November 2025

Bill’s time: 7m 38s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1A Skill needed for bocce : AIM

The Italian bowling game of bocce (often anglicized as “bocci” or “boccie”) is based on a game played in ancient Rome. “Bocce” is the plural of the Italian word “boccia” meaning “bowl”.

4A World’s most commonly cultivated coffee species : ARABICA

The species Coffea arabica is thought to be the first plant cultivated for coffee. Today, 75-80% of the world’s coffee comes from Coffea arabica.

11A Genre for Jimmy Eat World : EMO

Jimmy Eat World is an alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona.

14A Commercial lead-in to Caps or Balls : SNO-

Sno-Caps are a brand of candy usually only available in movie theaters. They have been around since the 1920s, would you believe?

The Hostess cakes called Sno Balls are usually pink in color, although in its original form each packet of two cakes contained one white and one pink. Around Halloween you can buy Sno Balls in the form of Scary Cakes and Glo Balls that are colored orange and green. and on St. Paddy’s Day there’s a green one available. Yoo hoo!

15A Like the number “i” : NONREAL

An imaginary number is a number which is a multiple of the square root of “-1”. A complex number is the sum of a real number and an imaginary number. The use of the term “imaginary number” started in the 1600s as back then it was believed that multiples of the square root of “-1” had no practical use. However, I am reliably informed that such numbers are now found useful in science and engineering circles.

16A ___-top (hairstyle associated with the Beatles) : MOP

The classic Beatles haircut is called a mop top. Apparently John Lennon and Paul McCartney saw someone wearing the style in Hamburg, and they liked it. The pair hitchhiked from Hamburg to Paris, and when they arrived at their destination, they had their hair cut that way for the first time.

17A Folk-rock pair featured in the documentary “Wordplay” : INDIGO GIRLS

Indigo Girls are a folk rock music duo made up of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Ray and Saliers are considered icons in the LGBT community as both identified themselves as lesbians a long time ago, although they have never been a couple.

The name of the color “indigo” ultimately comes from the Greek “indikon” meaning “blue dye from India”.

“Girls” is an HBO comedy-drama series that was created by and stars Lena Dunham. The show follows a group of female friends living their lives in New York City. Good show …

19A George Washington bill : ONE

The nation’s first president, George Washington, is on the US one-dollar bills produced today. When the original one-dollar bill was issued in 1863, it featured a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury.

20A Repellent ingredient : DEET

“DEET” is short for “N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide”, an active ingredient in insect repellents. DEET is most often used to repel mosquitoes by applying it to the skin and/or clothing. It is also used to protect against tick bites.

21A Queens ballplayer : MET

The New York Mets (NYM) baseball team was founded in 1962 as a replacement for two teams that the city had lost, namely the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. For several years the Mets played very poorly, finishing no better than second-to-last in their division. Then along came the “Miracle Mets” (aka “Amazin’ Mets”) who beat the Baltimore Orioles in 1969 to claim the World Series in a huge upset.

24A Half of a standard deck of cards : BLACK SUITS

“Suits” is an entertaining, albeit formulaic, legal drama that is set in New York City. One of the main characters in the show is Mike Ross, a brilliant law school dropout who poses as a law associate. Mike Ross’ love interest is paralegal Rachel Zane. Zane is played by actress Meghan Markle, who married the UK’s Prince Harry in 2018.

28A Part of n.b. : NOTA

“Nota bene” is Latin for “note well”, and is abbreviated to “NB”.

30A Greeting from Kermit the 47-Across : HI-HO
47A See 30-Across : FROG

Kermit has to be the most readily recognized puppet character created by the late great Jim Henson. Henson came up with Kermit way back in 1955 when he appeared on a puppet show called “Sam and Friends” that aired in Washington, D.C. Kermit is loved so much that he even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

31A 17-syllable poem : HAIKU

A haiku is a very elegant form of Japanese verse. When writing a haiku in English we tend to impose the rule that the verse must contain 17 syllables. This restriction comes from the rule in Japanese that the verse must contain 17 sound units called “moras”, but moras and syllables aren’t the same thing. Sadly, the difference is not so clear to me. Here’s an example of a Haiku:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator

33A Like slavery per the 13th Amendment : ABOLISHED

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863 during the Civil War. The order freed slaves in Confederate territory, but did not apply to the five slave states that were not in rebellion. Slavery became illegal in the whole of the United States in December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.

38A Wood-cutting tool : ADZ

An adze (also “adz”) is similar to an ax, but is different in that the blade of an adze is set at right angles to the tool’s shaft. An ax blade is set in line with the shaft.

39A 1950s entertainment innovation … or a hint to the first and second halves of 17-, 24-, 48- and 60-Across : COLOR TV

Early television programming was broadcast in monochrome, i.e. black-and-white or grayscale. The introduction of color television built on the technology behind monochrome TV in the sense that color television images are a combination of three monochrome images. The colors of these three monochrome signals are red, green and blue (RGB).

46A 2010 best-selling Emma Donoghue novel : ROOM

Emma Donoghue is an Irish-born Canadian author and historian. Her 2010 novel “Room” was a big success, and one that she adapted herself into a 2015 film of the same name (earning an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay).

48A Place for plants to flourish : GREENHOUSE

I think that “House” is one of the better shows made by Fox television. It is fun for me, coming from the other side of the Atlantic, to see English actor Hugh Laurie in the dramatic title role. I have been watching him in various comedic roles for decades. Famously, he played Bertie Wooster opposite Stephen Fry in P.G. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves & Wooster”, as well as one of the bumbling “bad guys” in the film “101 Dalmatians” (the version starring Glenn Close).

57A Diarist Anaïs : NIN

Anaïs Nin was a French author who was famous for the journals that she wrote for over sixty years from the age of 11 right up to her death. Nin also wrote highly regarded erotica and cited D. H. Lawrence as someone from whom she drew inspiration. Nin was married to banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in 1923. Decades later in 1955, Nin married former actor Rupert Pole, even though she was still married to Guiler. Nin and Pole had their marriage annulled in 1966, but just for legal reasons, and they continued to live together as husband and wife until Nin passed away in 1977.

60A Fast-food chain with the slogan “The Crave is a powerful thing” : WHITE CASTLE

White Castle is a chain of fast food hamburger restaurants. It is famous for its small hamburgers called “sliders”. From 1929, when the chain was founded, until 1941, sliders were sold for five cents. They go for a slightly higher price these days …

“Castle” is a crime-drama series starring Nathan Fillion as the title character, mystery novelist Richard Castle. Castle works alongside NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic. There’s romance in the air between those two lead characters.

64A As easy as ___ : PIE

The idiom “as easy as pie” is used to describe something that is simple to do. It appears that the reference here is to the simplicity of eating pie, rather than making a pie.

66A The Dream Team : USA

In 1989, the International Basketball Federation changed its rule requiring amateur status for participants in the Olympic Games (although prior to the ruling, European and South American professionals could play). So the US was able to field the “Dream Team” at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Since the rules changed, the US won gold in four out of the five Olympic tournaments.

69A ___ Wonderful, fruit juice brand : POM

POM Wonderful is a privately-held company that has been making fruit juice drinks since 2002. The main product line is pomegranate juice, hence the company name.

Down

4D “Brokeback Mountain” director Lee : ANG

When Ang Lee won his first Academy Award for Best Director for 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain”, he became the first person of color to win in that category. He won a second Oscar for directing 2012’s “Life of Pi”.

The very successful 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” is an adaptation of a short story written by Annie Proulx. The two romantic lead characters are Ennis del Mar (played by Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).

5D Roving floor cleaner : ROOMBA

The Roomba vacuum cleaner is a cool-looking device that navigates its way around a room by itself, picking up dirt as it goes. Like I said, it’s cool-looking, but I am not sure how effective it is …

7D Water filter brand : BRITA

Brita is a German company that specializes in water filtration products. Brita products do a great job of filtering tap water, but they don’t “purify” it as they don’t remove microbes. That job is usually done by a municipality before the water gets to the faucet.

9D Name seen in cursive on a cap in Berkeley : CAL

The University of California, Berkeley (Cal) is the most difficult public university to get into in the world. It opened in 1869, and is named for Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley.

10D Singers Green and Jardine : ALS

Al Green is a gospel and soul music singer. He was born in Arkansas, where he started out as a gospel singer and moved into R&B. In 1974, Green was assaulted by a girlfriend who burned him badly on much of his body by pouring boiling grits over him (and then she committed suicide). The incident changed Green’s life and he turned to the church, becoming a pastor in Memphis in 1976. He continued to record music, but never really enjoyed the same success that he had in the early seventies with hits like “Let’s Stay Together” and “I’m Still In Love With You”.

12D French Impressionist Claude : MONET

French artist Claude Monet was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, and indeed the term “Impressionism” comes from the title of his 1872 painting “Impression, Sunrise”. That work depicts the port of Le Havre, which was Monet’s hometown. Later in his life, Monet purchased a house in Giverny, and famously installed lily ponds and a Japanese bridge in the property’s extensive gardens. He spent two decades painting the water lily ponds, producing his most famous works. I was fortunate enough to visit Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny a few years ago. A beautiful place …

13D Some newspaper pieces that aren’t news : OP-EDS

“Op-ed” is an abbreviation for “opposite the editorial page”. Op-eds started in “The New York Evening World” in 1921 when the page opposite the editorials was used for articles written by a named guest writer, someone independent of the editorial board.

22D Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello : DUOS

Stan Laurel was an English comic actor (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson), who made a great career for himself in Hollywood. Laurel ended up at the Hal Roach studio directing films, intent on pursuing a career in writing and directing. However, he was a sometime actor and was asked to step in when another comic actor, Oliver Hardy, was injured and couldn’t perform. Laurel and Hardy started to share a stage together during that time and when it was clear they worked so well together, their partnership was born. Oh, and the oft-quoted story that Clint Eastwood is the son of Stan Laurel … that’s just an urban myth.

Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in 1892 in Harlem, Georgia. Hardy used the stage name “Oliver” as a tribute to his father Oliver Hardy. His early performances were credited as “Oliver Norvell Hardy”, and off camera his nickname was “Babe Hardy”. Hardy appeared in several films that also featured the young British actor Stan Laurel, but it wasn’t until 1927 that they teamed up to make perhaps the most famous double act in the history of movies. The Laurel and Hardy act came to an end in 1955. That year, Laurel suffered a stroke, and then later the same year Hardy had a heart attack and stroke from which he never really recovered.

Bud Abbott was the straight man in the comedy duo Abbott and Costello, alongside Lou Costello. The pair met on the burlesque circuit in the early 1930s, and formally teamed up in 1936. The initial arrangement for splitting earnings was to give Abbott 60% of the income, as the straight man was traditionally viewed as the more valuable member of a comedy double act. Costello became disgruntled with the split, and eventually renegotiated 50/50 terms. When Abbott and Costello made it to Hollywood in the early 1940s, Costello insisted on taking a 60% share, an arrangement that caused a permanent chill between the partners. Money problems and differences plagued them for the rest of their careers, with the pair eventually having to sell off their assets to pay off back taxes. They parted company in 1957.

Lou Costello was half of the Abbott & Costello double act. One tragic and terrible event in Lou Costello’s life was the death of his baby son, Lou Costello, Jr. Lou was at NBC studios one night for his regular broadcast when he received word that the 11-month-old baby had somehow drowned in the family swimming pool. With the words “Wherever he is tonight, I want him to hear me”, he made the scheduled broadcast in front of a live and unsuspecting audience.

26D Garb that’s typically plaid : KILT

The Scottish skirt called a “kilt” takes its name from the Middle English word “kilten” meaning “to tuck up”. The idea is that the kilt can be tucked up around the body to give freedom to the legs.

29D City situated between the split halves of Saguaro National Park : TUCSON

Tucson is the second largest city in Arizona (after Phoenix). The founding father of the city was Hugh O’Conor, yet another Irishman, but one who was raised in Spain. O’Conor was a mercenary working for Spain when he authorized the construction of a military fort called Presidio San Augustín del Tucsón in 1775, which eventually grew into the city that we know today. The Spanish name “Tucsón” comes from the local name “Cuk Ṣon”, which translates as “(at the) base of the black (hill)”.

The saguaro is a beautiful cactus, one that is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Arizona is proud of its saguaros, featuring them prominently on its license plates. If you ever get a chance to visit the Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona, I thoroughly recommend it.

33D Rental car option : ALAMO

Alamo is a car rental brand owned by Enterprise Holdings, the largest car rental company in North America. Alamo was founded in 1974 in Florida, and made inroads (pun!) into the market by popularizing the idea of “unlimited mileage”.

34D ChatGPT, for one : BOT

ChatGPT is an advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI. It uses a vast amount of text data to understand and generate human-like text responses to a wide range of prompts and questions. You can ask it to write stories, explain complex topics, translate languages, or even help you with coding.

35D Throws in the towel : HANGS IT UP

The expression “to throw in the towel” means “to give up”, and comes from the world of boxing. In boxing, when someone in the corner feels that a fight needs to be stopped, he or she throws a towel into the ring and accepts the loss. Back in the 1700s, it wasn’t a towel that was thrown into the ring, but rather a sponge.

36D QB Manning : ELI

Eli Manning is a retired footballer who played quarterback for the New York Giants. Eli’s brother Peyton Manning retired from football as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2015. Eli and Peyton’s father is Archie Manning, who was also a successful NFL quarterback. Eli, Peyton and Archie co-authored a book for children titled “Family Huddle” in 2009. It describes the Mannings playing football together as young boys.

40D However, in a text : OTOH

On the other hand (OTOH)

45D “Where we’re going we don’t need ___” (“Back to the Future” quote) : ROADS

In the fun 1985 movie “Back to the Future”, Marty McFly finds himself back in 1955, and is trying to get back to HIS future, 1985. But on the other hand, 1985 is really Marty’s present, before he went back in time. Why does time travel have to be so complicated …?

47D Épéeist, e.g. : FENCER

There are three fencing events in the modern Olympics, with each distinguished by the weapon used:

• Foil
• Épée
• Sabre

48D One of Jolly Rancher’s “Original Flavors” : GRAPE

Jolly Ranchers are a brand of hard candies that has been produced since 1949. Founded in 1949 in Golden, Colorado, the Jolly Rancher name was chosen to present a friendly, western image.

49D Eponym of a popular puzzle : RUBIK

What was originally called the “Magic Cube” became better known as “Rubik’s Cube”, and was named for its inventor Ernő Rubik. Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest selling puzzle game, with over 350 million sold in just over 30 years.

54D Ashton Kutcher’s role on “That ’70s Show” : KELSO

Ashton Kutcher played the character Michael Kelso on Fox’s “That ‘70s Show”. Kelso was Kutcher’s breakthrough acting role. Kutcher then starred in the sitcom “Two and a Half Men”, replacing the “disgraced” Charlie Sheen. In 2009, Kutcher became the first user on Twitter to get over 1 million followers.

63D Highlights of the Super Bowl, for some : ADS

The Super Bowl is used for high-profile advertising because of the high viewership numbers. For example, Super Bowl XLIX (2015) had an average audience of 114 million viewers, making it the most-watched American TV program in history.