Category: Ella Dershowitz

Bill’s time: 16m 14s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Workplace for a young Abraham Lincoln : BAR

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the US. There are several stories told about how he earned the nickname “Honest Abe”. One story dates back to early in his career as a lawyer. Lincoln accidentally overcharged a client and then walked miles in order to right the wrong as soon as possible.

21 “If it’s brown, lay down. If it’s black, fight back. If it’s ___, say goodnight!” (bear advice) : WHITE

Brown bears are found over much of northern Europe, Asia, and North America. They are sometimes referred to as bruins, which is a term that persists from Middle English. The biggest subspecies of brown bear is the Kodiak bear, which is the largest land-based predator in the world. Named for the Kodiak Archipelago in Alaska, the Kodiak bear grows to about the same size as the enormous polar bear.

The American black bear is the most common species of bear on the planet. My wife and I “ran across” one on a hiking trail not too long ago …

Polar bears are close cousins of brown bears, and are thought to have evolved from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation. Most polar bears live north of the Arctic Circle, and live mainly on seals that they capture near the edge of ice floes.

23 Vinyl records, slangily : WAX

Strictly speaking, the term “vinyl” describes the ethenyl functional group (-CH=CH₂) found in some organic chemicals. Perhaps the most often encountered example of such a chemical is vinyl chloride, a chemical used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride. The name “vinyl” was coined in 1851 by German chemist Hermann Kolbe. He chose the term because the vinyl group is closely related to ethyl alcohol, and “vinum” is Latin for “wine”. Cheers …

24 Stinging jellyfish : SEA NETTLE (SEATTLE + NE)

Jellyfish are found all over the ocean, right across the whole planet. They have been around for 500-700 million years, and so are the oldest multi-organ animal extant.

26 North Dakota’s most populous city : FARGO (FAR GONE – NE)

Fargo, North Dakota is the biggest city in the state. The original name for the city was Centralia, when it was a stopping point for steamboats that traveled the Red River in the late 19th century. The town really grew with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway, so the name “Fargo” was adopted in honor of one of the railroad company’s directors, William Fargo (of Wells Fargo Express fame).

28 Epsilon follower : ZETA

Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a precursor of our Roman letter Z. The word “zeta” is also the ancestor of the letter name “zed”, which became “zee”, the term that we use here in the US.

29 They end in diciembre : ANOS

In Spanish, “el año” (the year) starts in “enero” (January) and ends in “diciembre” (December).

33 Thick Japanese noodle : UDON

Udon noodles are made from wheat-flour and are very popular in Japanese cuisines such as tempura.

40 Ancient Peruvian : INCA

The Inca people emerged as a tribe around the 12th century, in what today is southern Peru. The Incas developed a vast empire over the next 300 years, extending along most of the western side of South America. The Empire fell to the Spanish, finally dissolving in 1572 with the execution of Túpac Amaru, the last Incan Emperor.

41 “Also also …,” for short : PPS …

One adds a PS (post scriptum, or simply “postscript”) at the end of a letter (ltr.). A second postscript is a post post scriptum, a PPS.

44 Hefty read : TOME

“Tome” first came into English from the Latin “tomus” which means “section of a book”. The original usage in English was for a single volume in a multi-volume work. By the late 16th century, “tome” had come to mean “large book”.

46 Bareilles who wrote the music and lyrics for Broadway’s “Waitress” : SARA

“Waitress” is a 2015 musical by Sara Bareilles that is based on a 2007 movie of the same name starring Keri Russell in the title role. Both stage show and film are about a waitress and pie chef who is in an unhappy marriage, and who becomes pregnant. Feeling trapped, she sees a pie contest and its grand prize as her way out of her failed marriage.

47 Frank Sinatra’s reads “The best is yet to come” : HEADSTONE (HEADS TO + NE)

Frank Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants living in Hoboken, New Jersey. Like so many of our heroes, Sinatra had a rough upbringing. His mother was arrested several times and convicted of running an illegal abortion business in the family home. Sinatra never finished high school, as he was expelled for rowdy conduct. He was later arrested as a youth on a morals charge for “carrying on” with a married woman, which was an offense back then. But Sinatra straightened himself out by the time he was twenty and started singing professionally.

“The Best Is Yet to Come” is a 1959 song that was written and initially recorded by Tony Bennett. It was Frank Sinatra who made the song really famous, starting with his recording for a 1964 album. It was also the last song that Sinatra performed in public, doing so in 1995, three years before he passed away.

50 Arrogantly confident : COCKY (COCKNEY – NE)

A Cockney is someone who, according to tradition, is born within the sound of Bow Bells in the center of London. The Cockney accent is usually considered “working class”. Cockney speakers often use a wonderful form of speech called rhyming slang. So, Cockney’s drink a lot of “Rosie Lea” (tea), and climb the “apples and pears” (stairs) using their “plates of meat” (feet). Cockneys also tend to “drop their aitches”, so “home” becomes “‘ome” and “horse” becomes “‘orse”.

52 City that’s home to the World of Coca-Cola museum: Abbr. : ATL

The exact formula for Coca-Cola is a trade secret. The secret recipe is locked in a vault. That vault is on public display in the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta, Georgia.

53 Actress Salma : HAYEK

Salma Hayek is a Mexican actress. Hayek was the first Mexican national to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, earning that nomination with her portrayal of artist Frida Kahlo in the 2002 movie “Frida”.

56 Proponents of crystal healing : NEW AGERS (WAGERS + NE)

The New Age Movement is a western philosophy with roots that date back to the early 1800s. The movement focuses on achieving the highest human potential as an individual and embraces many traditionally eastern spiritual practices, but eschews all religious doctrines. New-Age music is composed with the intent of supporting this philosophy. It tends to be very minimalistic, very tonal and harmonic. It is often used as a backdrop for relaxation or meditation.

63 DiFranco who played Persephone in “Hadestown” : ANI

Ani DiFranco is a folk-rock singer and songwriter. DiFranco has also been labeled a feminist icon, and in 2006 won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

“Hadestown” is a 2006 musical based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Anaïs Mitchell wrote the music and lyrics, and in 2010 adapted the stage musical into a concept album, for which Mitchell herself took on the role of Eurydice. After a 9-year hiatus, Mitchell reworked the piece, and a new version of “Hadestown” opened off-Broadway in 2016. A few years later, the show made it to Broadway, and won eight Tony Awards.

64 Tip-off that you’ve forgotten something in the toaster : SMOKE

The electric toaster is a Scottish invention, one created by Alan McMasters in Edinburgh in 1893.

Down

1 Antioxidant-infused water brand : BAI

Bai Brands is a beverage company that specializes in low-cal soft drinks that include antioxidants.

4 Baby that’s up all night? : OWLET

A baby owl is an owlet. The term “owlet” can also be used for the adults of the smaller species of owls.

5 Big name in outdoor gear : REI

REI is a sporting goods store, with the initialism standing for Recreational Equipment Inc. REI was founded in Seattle by Lloyd and Mary Anderson in 1938 as a cooperative that supplies quality climbing gear to outdoor enthusiasts. The first full-time employee hired by the Andersons was Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to climb Mount Everest.

8 Fighting fish : BETTA

The betta is a small freshwater fish. It is quite colorful, and so is a popular fish for an aquarium. Bettas are aggressive little creatures, and are commonly called Siamese fighting fish. Apparently, housing two males in a relatively small aquarium will result in the death of one.

18 Flour in Indian cuisine : ATTA

Atta is a whole-wheat flour used to make flatbreads in South Asian cuisine, such as chapati and naan. “Atta” is the Hindi or Urdu word for “dough”.

24 Singer with the 2023 #1 hit “Kill Bill” : SZA

“SZA” is the stage name of American singer Solána Imani Rowe.

27 Serengeti herd : GNUS

The gnu is also known as the wildebeest, and is an antelope native to Africa. “Wildebeest” is a Dutch word meaning “wild beast”.

34 Cone ___ (iconic costume piece for Madonna) : BRA

Madonna’s full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone. Born in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna was destined to become the top-selling female recording artist of all time, earning her the nickname “Queen of Pop”.

36 Really got to work, with “down” : KNUCKLED …

The verb “to knuckle” was coined in the 18th century to describe the motion of kneeling down with a knuckle on the ground to play the game of marbles. The derivative phrasal verb “to knuckle down” came to mean “to apply oneself earnestly”, as in the game. The related verb phrase “to knuckle under”, meaning “to submit, give in”, seems also to refer back to the game, and refers to the action of kneeling.

39 Mishmash : AMALGAM

Amalgam is an alloy of mercury with some other metal. Many dental fillings are made of an amalgam of silver and mercury. We started using “amalgam” more generally to mean “blend of different things” around 1790.

48 Animated film character with a Scottish accent : SHREK

In the 2001 animated feature “Shrek”, the title character is voiced by Mike Myers. Eddie Murphy voices Shrek’s sidekick Donkey, and Princess Fiona is voiced by Cameron Diaz.

60 Block in Atlantic City : DIE

The numbers on dice are arranged so that the opposite faces add up to seven. Given this arrangement, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 all meet at a common vertex. There are two ways of arranging the 1, 2 and 3 around the common vertex, a so-called right-handed die (clockwise 1-2-3) or a left-handed die (counterclockwise 1-2-3). Traditionally, dice used in Western cultures are right-handed, whereas Chinese dice are left-handed. Quite interesting …

Atlantic City, New Jersey was developed in the 1850s as a potential resort town. The first version of the celebrated Atlantic City Boardwalk was installed in 1870. The city’s heyday came with Prohibition, when illegal drinking and gambling thrived in the backrooms of nightclubs and restaurants. After a long period of decline, Atlantic City was revitalized with the introduction of legalized casino gambling in 1976.