Category: Erik Agard

Bill’s time: 13m 55s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Costa ___ : RICAN

“Tico” is a familiar name for someone from Costa Rica.

6 Wow, that’s upside down! : MOM!

“WOW” is “MOM” written upside down.

14 “High” number? : FIVE

The celebratory gesture that we call a “high five” is said to have been invented by former baseball players Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke when they were both playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the late 1970s.

15 Modern initialism for Black dialect : AAVE

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)

18 Rebuff in Rostov : NYET

Rostov is a Russian town located just over 100 miles northeast of Moscow. Rostov is one of the oldest towns in the country, and is a major tourist destination.

22 Porcine “palace” : STY

“Porcine” means “of a pig”, coming into English via French from the Latin “porcus” meaning “pig”.

23 Head of une école? : TETE

In French, one might learn “une leçon” (a lesson) in an “école” (school).

24 Some tape players : VCRS

The first video cassette recorder (VCR) was introduced in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that home VCRs became successful.

27 Bud : AMIGO

In Spanish, an “amigo” is a male friend, and an “amiga” a female friend.

30 Paradigm movement : SHIFT

We tend to use “paradigm” to mean the set of assumptions and practices that define some aspect of life. It can also simply mean something that serves as a model, pattern or example. “Paradigm” ultimately comes from the Greek word for “show side by side”.

39 Coq au vin, and others? : CAV EATS (Coq Au Vin eats)

The French word “coq” actually means rooster, but a more tender bird is usually chosen for the classic French dish “coq au vin”. The most common wine used for the “vin” is burgundy, but sometimes another red wine is chosen, and you can also find on a menu “coq au Champagne” and “coq au Riesling”.

41 Cuba, por ejemplo : ISLA

In Spanish, Cuba “por ejemplo” (for example), is an “isla” (island).

42 Word after Bernese or Tyrolean : … ALPS

The Bernese Alps are located in Switzerland in the canton of Bern. The list of famous peaks found in the Bernese Alps includes the Jungfrau and the Eiger.

The Austrian state of Tyrol (“Tirol” in German) has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially if you love the mountains. It is in the very west of the country, just south of Bavaria in Germany. The capital city is the famous Innsbruck.

45 Covered with bryophytes : MOSSY

Bryophytes are the collection of terrestrial plants that do not have vascular systems. Bryophytes are mainly the mosses, hornworts and liverworts.

47 Minuscule : TINY

“Minuscule” is one of those words that’s often misspelled, usually as “miniscule”.

48 Chuffed : GLAD

“Chuffed” is British slang meaning “quite pleased”. “Chuffed” is a derivative of the 16th-century word “chuff” meaning “swollen with fat”. Go figure …

52 Longtime show for Robin Roberts, for short : GMA

Robin Roberts became anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America” (GMA) in 2005, prior to which she was a sportscaster on ESPN for 15 years.

55 Baked rigatoni alla Norma, and others? : BRAN DISHES (Baked Rigatoni Alla Norma dishes)

Pasta alla Norma is an Italian dish from Sicily. It comprises pasta in a tomato sauce covered with slices of fried eggplant. The dish is named for the opera “Norma” by Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini.

59 Part of the Hollywood monogram J.E.J. : EARL

James Earl Jones (JEJ) is noted for some very respected stage and film performances, but also for his wonderful voice. Jones had to overcome stuttering as a child, and decades later provided the voice for Darth Vader. James is the son of actor Robert Earl Jones.

60 Baking ingredient used multiple times in this puzzle? : SHORTENING

Shortening is a fat used in baking. It is the term “shortening” that gives us the words “shortbread” and “shortcake”.

62 Watering hole, maybe : DIVE

We’ve been using the word “dive” in American English for a run-down bar since the latter half of the 19th century. The term comes from the fact that disreputable taverns were usually located in basements, so one had to figuratively dive into them. I’m a big fan …

64 Many a retirement residence : CONDO

The terms “condominium” and “apartment” tend to describe the same type of residential property, namely a private living space with facilities shared with others residing in the same building or complex. The difference is that a condominium is usually owned, and an apartment is rented. At least that’s how it is in the US. The word “condominium” comes from the Latin “com-” (together) and “dominum” (right of ownership).

67 Department of labor? : OB/GYN

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)

Down

8 Arizona city : MESA

The city of Mesa, Arizona is in effect a suburb of Phoenix. The original settlement of non-Native Americans was founded by Daniel Webster Jones who led a Mormon group from St. George, Utah. The settlement was first called Jonesville, then Fort Utah and eventually Lehi. A second group of Mormons arrived and formed a settlement on top of a nearby mesa. It was this use of a mesa that eventually gave the city its current name.

12 Team sharing a home arena with the Liberty : NETS

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets were the New Jersey Nets until 2012, and were based in Newark. Prior to 1977, the team was known as the New York Nets and played in various locations on Long Island. Ten years earlier, the Nets were called the New Jersey Americans and were headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey.

The New York Liberty was founded in 1997 and was one the original eight teams to play in the WNBA. The franchise is based in Newark, New Jersey.

21 Family-friendly rating : TV-G

TV Parental Guidelines (TV-PG, TV-MA, etc.) were introduced in the US in 1997. Use of the rating system by broadcasters is entirely voluntary.

30 STEM part: Abbr. : SCI

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

32 Sargasso Sea spawners : EELS

The Sargasso Sea is an area within the Atlantic Ocean that is famous as the home to many species of Sargassum, the algae floating on the surface that gives the area its name. The Sargasso Sea is also where both European and American species of eel lay their eggs and hatch their young. The young eels (or “elvers”) then head east or west, depending on the species.

35 Bistate metro area: Abbr. : STL

The city of St. Louis, Missouri was settled by French explorers in 1763. Sitting on the Mississippi River, it grew into a very busy port. By the 1850s, it was the second busiest port in the country, with only New York moving more freight. St. Louis was named for Louis IX of France. Louis was canonized in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII, and was the only French king to be declared a saint.

38 Dorm leaders, in brief : RAS

Resident assistant/adviser (RA)

43 Things with coils that can be dangerous : PYTHONS

Pythons form a genus of non-venomous, constricting snakes that have flecked skin and a long split tongue. Pythons are native to Africa and Asia, although thousands of pythons live in the Everglades National Park as an invasive species, presumably as the result of pet pythons escaping into the wild.

48 Something highly sought after : GRAIL

The Holy Grail is a theme found throughout Arthurian legend. The grail itself is some vessel, with the term “grail” coming from the Old French “graal” meaning “cup or bowl made of earth, wood or metal”. Over time, the legend of the Holy Grail became mingled with stories of the Holy Chalice of the Christian tradition, the cup used to serve wine at the Last Supper. Over time, the term “grail” came to be used for any desired or sought-after object.

49 Grub, e.g. : LARVA

The larvae of stag beetles are commonly known as grubs, and the pupa known as the chrysalis. “Grub” is also slang for “food”. The word “grub” has been used in this sense since way back in the 1600s, and is possibly derived from birds eating grubs.

51 Goat group : HERD

Male goats are bucks or billies, although castrated males are known as wethers. Female goats are does or nannies, and young goats are referred to as kids.

53 “This Is Us” co-star Moore : MANDY

Mandy Moore is a singer turned actress from Nashua, New Hampshire. She co-stars in the TV comedy-drama “This Is Us”, playing Rebecca Pearson.

“This Is Us” is a television drama that debuted in 2016. The storyline centers on three siblings Kevin, Kate and Randall Pearson and their parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson. Kevin and Kate are the surviving members of a triplet pregnancy. Jack and Rebecca decide to adopt Randall, a child born on the same day as the surviving siblings. The adopting family is white, and the adopted child is black.

54 Its atomic number is this clue’s number divided by three : ARGON

The chemical element argon has the symbol Ar. It is a noble gas, and so by definition is relatively nonreactive. The name “argon” comes from the Greek word for “lazy, inactive”. There’s a lot of argon around, as it is the third-most abundant gas in our atmosphere.

58 Gatekeeping sort : SNOB

Back in the 1780s, a snob was a shoemaker or a shoemaker’s apprentice. By the end of the 18th century the word “snob” was being used by students at Cambridge University in England to refer to all local merchants and people of the town. The term evolved to mean one who copies those who are his or her social superior (and not in a good way). From there it wasn’t a big leap for “snob” to include anyone who emphasized their superior social standing and not just those who aspired to rank. Nowadays a snob is anyone who looks down on those considered to be of inferior standing.