Category: Jacob Reed

Bill’s time: 10m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

13 Prosciutto, e.g. : CURED HAM

The word “prosciutto” is used in Italian to mean “ham”, however it is prepared. In English, we use the word to describe the dry-cured ham that is served raw, in thin slices. Apparently, prosciutto can be made out of the meat from the leg of a pig, or from the thigh of a wild horse!

15 Player in the A.L. East : ORIOLE

The Baltimore Orioles (also the O’s, the Birds) are one of the eight charter teams of MLB’s American League, so the franchise dates back to 1901. Prior to 1901, the team had roots in the Minor League Milwaukee Brewers, and indeed entered the American League as the Brewers. In 1902 the Brewers moved to St. Louis and became the Browns. The team didn’t fare well in St. Louis, so when it finally relocated to Baltimore in the early fifties the team changed its name completely, to the Baltimore Orioles. The owners so badly wanted a fresh start that they traded 17 old Browns players with the New York Yankees. The trade didn’t help the team’s performance on the field in those early days, but it did help distance the new team from its past.

16 Image on a South African Krugerrand : ANTELOPE

The Krugerrand is a gold coin minted in South Africa. The coin takes its name from the Rand, the South African unit of currency, and Paul Kruger, the President of the South African Republic whose face appears on the obverse of the coin. The Krugerrand is made from a gold alloy that is almost 92% pure i.e. 22 karats.

17 Whip (up) : RUSTLE

To rustle up or scare up something is to find it by searching, by using some effort.

18 Corsair : RAIDER

The original corsairs were privateers, seamen who were authorized by France to attack and plunder vessels from nations who were at war with the French.

22 Site with a “Craft Supplies & Tools” category : ETSY

Etsy.com was founded in 2005 as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade goods online, and has since grown to include vintage items and crafting supplies as well. The company’s name is derived from the Italian word “etsi,” which means “oh, yes”? This was a nod to founder Rob Kalin’s love of Italy and his appreciation for the country’s history and artistry.

39 “How you ___?” (“Friends” catchphrase) : DOIN’

Actor Matt LeBlanc became famous playing Joey Tribbiani in the sitcom “Friends”, and extended that role into a less successful spinoff show “Joey”. For my money, LeBlanc’s best performances are playing a fictionalized version of himself in the excellent sitcom “Episodes” that ran from 2011 to 2017. In all three of the aforementioned series, we hear LeBlanc uttering his trademark pickup line “How you doin’?”

41 Obfuscated : HID

To obfuscate is to make something unclear. The verb is derived from the Latin “obfuscare” meaning “to darken”.

43 Attire often used in filming C.G.I. scenes, informally : MO-CAP SUIT

Motion capture (mo-cap) suit

49 Tribal spiritualist : SHAMAN

A shaman is a supposed intermediary between the human world and the spirit world.

51 Begin listening to a podcast, say : TUNE IN

A podcast is an audio or video media file that is made available for download. The name comes from the acronym “POD” meaning “playable on demand”, and “cast” from “broadcasting”. So, basically a podcast is a broadcast that one can play on demand, simply by downloading and opening the podcast file.

53 PepsiCo product : GATORADE

Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida by a team of researchers at the request of the school’s football team. And so, Gatorade is named after the Gators football team.

58 Historical records : ANNALS

“Annal” is a rarely used word, and is the singular of the more common “annals”. An annal would be the recorded events of one year, with annals being the chronological record of events in successive years. The term “annal” comes from the Latin “annus” meaning “year”.

Down

1 Not pay as one goes : RUN A TAB

When we run a “tab” at a bar, we are running a “tabulation”, a listing of what we owe. Such a use of “tab” is American slang that originated in the 1880s.

5 God who wears the belt Megingjörd : THOR

In Norse mythology, Thor was the son of Odin. Thor wielded a mighty hammer and was the god of thunder, lightning and storms. Our contemporary word “Thursday” comes from “Thor’s Day”.

8 Target of the 1890 Sherman Act : TRUST

The Sherman Antitrust Act dates back to 1890. The act makes it illegal for companies to seek a monopoly or to form cartels. It is named for US Senator John Sherman , the principal author of the act.

10 Pokémon tagline : GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL

“Pokémon” is the second-biggest video game franchise in the world, second only to the “Mario” franchise. “Pokémon” is a contraction of “Pocket Monsters”.

11 Ralph who wrote the novel “Juneteenth” : ELLISON

Author Ralph Ellison’s most famous book is the novel “Invisible Man”, which won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison’s full name is Ralph Waldo Ellison, as he was named for Ralph Waldo Emerson.

20 Org. with a commissioner : IRS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set up during the Civil War to raise money to cover war expenses. Prior to the introduction of income tax in 1862, the government was funded by levies on trade and property.

24 Sports great who said “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be” : BERRA

Yogi Berra is regarded by many as the greatest catcher ever to play in Major League Baseball, and has to be America’s most celebrated “author” of malapropisms. Here are some great “Yogi-isms”:

• It ain’t over till it’s over.
• 90% of the game is half mental.
• Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
• When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
• It’s déjà vu all over again.
• Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.
• A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

26 Sierra Nevadas, e.g. : ALES

The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is powered almost exclusively by solar energy, and even has a charging station for electric vehicles at its brewery. The company also uses the cooking oil from its restaurant as biodiesel for its delivery trucks. Discarded yeast is used to make ethanol fuel, and spent grain is used as food for livestock. For its efforts to preserve the environment, Sierra Nevada won the EPA’s “Green Business of the Year” award for 2010.

30 Country represented by the Black Star of Africa : GHANA

The flag of Ghana consists of three stripes of red gold and green, with a sole black star in the center of the gold stripe. That black star gives rise to the nickname of the national soccer team, the Black Stars.

35 “Fess up!” : ADMIT IT!

The term “fess” is most often seen as part of the phrasal verb “to fess up” meaning “to admit to something”. “Fess” is simply a shortened form of “confess”.

36 “Totes adorbs!” : TOO CUTE!

“Totes adorbs” is a slang term meaning “totally adorable”.

38 Philippics : TIRADES

The term “tirade” describes a long and vehement speech, and is a word that came into English from French. “Tirade” can have the same meaning in French, but is also the word for “volley”. So, a tirade is a “volley” of words.

A philippic is a damning speech designed to bring down a politician. The original “philippic” was delivered in the 4th century BCE by the Greek statesman Demosthenes, and was an attack on Philip II of Macedon, hence the name.

40 ___ generis : SUI

“Sui generis” is a Latin expression meaning “of its own kind”. The term can be used in a number of fields, and in philosophy it refers to an idea which cannot be included in a wider concept, and idea of its own kind.

42 Features of the sci-fi planet Arrakis : DUNES

“Dune” is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, first published in 1965. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time. The book has a large and dedicated fanbase, who refer to themselves as “Duners” or “Dune fans.”

46 “Animal skin,” in Aleut : PARKA

A parka is a hooded jacket that is often lined with fur, and that is worn in cold weather. The original parka was a pullover design, but nowadays it is usually zipped at the front. “Parka” is the Russian name for the garment, and it was absorbed into English in the late 1700s via the Aleut language.

49 Eminem hit whose title became a neologism for “fan” : STAN

“Stan” is a song by rapper Eminem (featuring Dido) that was recorded in 2000. The title refers to a fictional Eminem fan named “Stan” who becomes obsessed with the rapper, and who grows irate when his letters to his idol go unanswered. Stan’s final act is to make a voice recording as he drives into a river, with his pregnant girlfriend locked in the trunk. One of the legacies of the song is that “stan” is now used as a slang term for an obsessed and maniacal fan.

50 Eritrea’s locale in Africa : HORN

The Horn of Africa is that horn-shaped peninsula at the easternmost tip of the continent, containing the countries Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia as well as Somalia. The Horn of Africa is also known as the Somali Peninsula.

Eritrea is a country located in the Horn of Africa, and surrounded by Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Red Sea. Some scientists believe that the area now known as Eritrea was the departure point for anatomically modern humans who first left Africa to populate the rest of the world.

54 Therapists’ org. : APA

American Psychiatric Association (APA)