Category: Jeff Chen

Bill’s time: 18m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 First name in 1990s alternative rock : ALANIS

Alanis Morissette is a Canadian singer-songwriter. After releasing two pop albums in Canada, in 1995 she recorded her first album to be distributed internationally. Called “Jagged Little Pill”, it is a collection of songs with more of a rock influence. The album was a huge success, the highest-selling album of the 1990s, and the highest-selling debut album by any artist at any time (selling over 30 million units).

7 Hall-of-Fame QB John : ELWAY

Former quarterback John Elway played his entire professional football career with the Denver Broncos. Elway was the oldest player ever to be named MVP in a Super Bowl game, being so honored in Super Bowl XXXIII in the 1998 season after the Broncos’ victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

18 Enormous : TITANIC

The Titans were a group of twelve older deities in Greek mythology, the twelve children of the primordial Gaia and Uranus, Mother Earth and Father Sky. In the celebrated Battle of the Titans, they were overthrown by the Olympians, who were twelve younger gods. We use the term “titan” figuratively to describe a powerful person, someone with great influence.

20 Target competitor : KOHL’S

Kohl’s is a department store chain with its headquarters in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The store takes its name from the founder, Maxwell Kohl.

22 Buck, in slang : SMACKER

“Smacker” is American slang for “money”, with “smackers” often being used to mean ”dollars”. It is suggested that the term might come from “smacking” a banknote into one’s hand.

“Buck” is a slang word meaning “dollar”. The term has been around at least since 1856, and is thought to derive from the tradition of using buckskin as a unit of trade with Native Americans during the frontier days.

24 Like Constantinople from 1453 to 1922 : OTTOMAN

Istanbul, Turkey (formerly “Byzantium” and “Constantinople”) is the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. The city extends both on the European side and on the Asian side of the Bosphorus river.

27 One on the links? : ACE

The oldest type of golf course is a links course. The name “links” comes from the Old English word “hlinc” meaning “rising ground”. “Hlinc” was used to describe areas with coastal sand dunes or open parkland. As a result, we use the term “links course” to mean a golf course that is located at or on the coast, often amid sand dunes. The British Open is always played on a links course.

28 Carpenter’s curve cutter : FRETSAW

A fretsaw is a type of bow saw with a thin blade that facilitates intricate cutting. The saw takes its name from its use in making intricate decorative designs called fretwork.

29 Hagen who wrote “Respect for Acting” : UTA

“Respect for Acting” is a textbook used in acting classes that was written by actress and teacher Uta Hagen and first published in 1973. Hagen published a follow-up textbook in 1991 called “Challenge for the Actor”.

30 Lydic of “The Daily Show” : DESI

Comedian and actress Desi Lydic is perhaps best known as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”, a gig that she signed up for in 2015.

31 Group of connected PCs : LAN

You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.

32 Nashville attraction, with “the” : … OPRY

The Grand Ole Opry started out as a radio show in 1925 originally called the WSM “Barn Dance”. In 1927, the “Barn Dance” radio show was broadcast in a slot after an NBC production called “Musical Appreciation Hour”, a collection of classical works including Grand Opera. In a December show, the host of “Barn Dance” announced, “For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on we will present the ‘Grand Ole Opry'”. That name was used for the radio show from then on.

37 FedEx alternative : DHL

Back in the sixties, Larry Hillblom was making pocket money as a Berkeley law student by doing courier runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After law school, Hillblom decided to parlay his experience into his own business and set up a courier service flying bills of lading ahead of freight from San Francisco to Honolulu. He brought in two buddies, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, as partners and the three were soon hopping on and off commercial flights and gradually making more and more money. And DHL was born … D (for Dalsey) H (for Hillblom) L (for Lynn). DHL was acquired by Germany’s Deutsche Post in 2002.

38 John Denver’s “Thank God ___ Country Boy” : I’M A

Singer John Denver’s real name was Henry John Deutchendorf, Jr. Denver was a great singer, and he had many other passions. He was an excellent photographer, and an avid skier and golfer. He also loved flying and collected vintage biplanes. He flew himself to concerts in his own Learjet, and had a handful of other planes that he would take out for spin when he could. One of his planes was an Experimental Rutan Long-EZ, a home-built aircraft noted for its fuel efficiency and tremendous range. Denver took the Rutan Long-EZ up in the middle of October 1997. He hadn’t had much experience with the plane, even though he had logged over 2,700 hours of flying time in other aircraft. The plane crashed into the ocean near Pacific Grove, California in an accident that Denver did not survive.

39 “Succession” family name : ROY

“Succession” is a very popular dark comedy-drama series that premiered in 2018. It’s about a family-owned, global media company. The “succession” in question is who will get to run the empire after the passing of the ailing family patriarch. The marvelous Scottish actor Brian Cox plays the head of the company Logan Roy. Great stuff, albeit quite depressing and terrifying …

49 Psychoanalyst Alfred : ADLER

Alfred Adler was one of the group of medical professionals who founded the psychoanalytic movement. Today, Adler is less famous than his colleague Sigmund Freud.

50 Submitted with TurboTax : E-FILED

TurboTax is a software- and online-based income tax preparation service. It’s what I’ve used since I retired, and I have no complaints …

52 When “golden goals” are scored, for short : IN OT

In some sports, a tied game or match is decided in overtime, with the winner being the first team or player to score a point or a goal. That game-winning score might be referred to as the “golden goal”.

53 Bel ___ cheese : PAESE

Bel Paese is a mild Italian cheese that was developed in 1906. The name “bel paese” means beautiful country in Italian, and is taken from the title of a book written by Antonio Stoppani.

54 Covering for a pomegranate seed : ARIL

The casing surrounding many seeds is called the aril, and it may be quite fleshy. This fruit-like characteristic makes it desirable as a food and hence aids in the dispersion of the seeds.

The name of the fruit called a “pomegranate” comes from the Latin “pomum” meaning “apple” and “granatum” meaning “seeded”.

55 Capone adversary, informally : T-MAN

A T-man is a law-enforcement agent of the US Treasury (“T” stands for “Treasury”).

Chicago gangster Al Capone was eventually jailed for tax evasion. He was given a record 11-year sentence in federal prison, of which he served 8 years. He left prison suffering from dementia caused by late-stage syphilis. Capone suffered through 7-8 sickly years before passing away in 1947.

58 Substance originally made with animal fat and wood ash : SOAP

Soap is basically made by adding a strong alkali (like lye) to a fat (like olive oil or palm oil). The fats break down in the basic solution in a process called saponification. The crude soap is extracted from the mixture, washed, purified and finished in molds.

66 Dirty water inside a ship : BILGE

The bilge is the lowest internal part of a ship. The water that collects in there is called bilge water. The term “bilge” is also used as slang for nonsense talk.

74 A bull market it is not! : CHINA SHOP

The idiom “like a bull in a china shop” has been around since the early 1800s.

76 “Bond. James Bond,” e.g. : INTRO

Ian Fleming’s spy first introduced himself with the words “Bond, James Bond” in the 1953 novel “Casino Royale”. Sean Connery first uttered the words on the silver screen in the first Bond movie, “Dr. No”.

77 First-and-second bet : EXACTA

To win a bet called an exacta (also “perfecta”), the person betting must name the horses that finish first and second, and in the exact order. The related bet called the trifecta requires naming of the first, second and third-place finishers in the right order.

79 Existential threat in 2021’s “Don’t Look Up” : COMET

Comets and asteroids are similar, both being relatively small celestial bodies orbiting the sun. Comets differ from asteroids in that they have a coma or tail, especially when they are close enough to the sun. The coma and tail are temporary fuzzy atmospheres that develop due to the presence of solar radiation. Comets are sometimes referred to as “dirty snowballs”, a reference to their composition: rock, dust, water ice and frozen gasses.

82 Martini & ___ (beverage brand) : ROSSI

The company that is today known as Martini & Rossi was started in the mid-1800s in Italy, by Alessandro Martini and Luigi Rossi (and a third partner who sold out years later). From day one it was focused on bottling the fortified wine known as vermouth. Nowadays, the company is also famous for its sparkling wines, and its sponsorship of Grand Prix racing teams. And yes, the famous cocktail is probably named for Mr. Martini.

84 Mythical bird : ROC

The mythical roc is a huge bird of prey, one reputedly able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc was said to come from the Indian subcontinent. The supposed existence of the roc was promulgated by Marco Polo in the accounts that he published about his travels through Asia.

85 Stop on a major tour : ARENA

Our term “arena” comes from the Latin “harena”, describing a place of combat. Originally “harena” was used for sand or a sandy place. Those Ancient Roman places of combat were covered with sand to soak up blood.

89 Mozart’s “Così Fan ___” : TUTTE

Mozart’s comic opera “Così fan tutte” is also known in English as “The School for Lovers”. The literal translation of the opera’s Italian title is “Thus do all (women)”, or “Women are like that”.

91 Conked out : SLEPT

The phrase “conk out” was coined by airmen during WWI, and was used to describe the stalling of an engine.

92 Biden’s signature 2022 legislation addressing rising prices, for short : IRA

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

95 Once-popular rug style : SHAG

Shag carpet is one with a deep pile, one with a “shaggy” appearance.

106 Dishes : BLABS

To dish the dirt is to talk about someone or something without regard to veracity. The phrase comes from “dish” (in the sense of dishing out food) and “dirt” (in the sense of negative information). To be dishy is to be given to gossip.

109 Shows signs of disuse : RUSTS

Rust is iron oxide. Rust forms when iron oxidizes, reacts with oxygen.

110 Mission honored by the “Fallen Astronaut” lunar memorial : APOLLO I

Apollo 1 was planned to be the first manned mission in NASA’s lunar landing program. Sadly, the three crew members perished in a tragic cabin fire that took place in a launch pad test. The astronauts who died were Gus Grissom (the second American to fly in space), Edward White (the first American to walk in space) and Roger Chaffee (the pilot for the planned Apollo 1 mission).

120 Web portal with a butterfly logo : MSN

MSN was originally launched in 1995 as a dial-up service called “The Microsoft Network”. At the time, Microsoft was competing with America Online (AOL) for dominance in the emerging consumer Internet market, and losing the battle. In response, Microsoft revamped the service and relaunched it as a free web portal in 1998.

121 Senator Joni of Iowa : ERNST

Joni Ernst was elected as a US Senator for Iowa in 2014. Ernst is a Republican who had previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard. She is the first female veteran in the US Senate, and the first woman to represent Iowa in the US Congress.

123 Some U.K. Lords : MPS

The UK Parliament is divided into two houses, with the upper house known as the House of Lords and the lower house as the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (MPs) are elected, but most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Historically, a large proportion of the membership of the upper house were hereditary peers, but recent legislative changes are reducing the numbers who can sit in the House of Lords by virtue of birthright.

Down

1 Social media symbols : ATS

The “at symbol” (@) originated in the commercial world, as shorthand for “each at, per” and similar phrases. I suppose we see the symbol most commonly these days as part of email addresses.

3 Greek heroine tempted by golden apples : ATALANTA

In Greek mythology, Atalanta was a virgin huntress who had no interest in getting married, despite the urging of her father. Atalanta had several suitors, and eventually agreed to a foot race with them. The terms were that if she won the race, she need not marry. If she lost the race, she would marry the winner. Atalanta managed to outrun the field, except for Hippomenes. Hippomenes emerged victorious due to cunning rather than speed.

4 Salt, symbolically : NACL

Sodium chloride (NaCl, common salt) is an ionic compound. It comprises a crystal lattice made up of large chloride (Cl^–) ions in a cubic structure, with smaller sodium (Na⁺) ions in between the chlorides.

6 Like Troy in the “Iliad” : SIEGED

The ancient city of Troy was located on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. The Trojan War of Greek mythology was precipitated by the elopement of Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, with Paris of Troy. The war itself largely consisted of a nine-year siege of Troy by the Greeks. We know most about the final year of that siege, as it is described extensively in Homer’s “Iliad”. The city eventually fell when the Greeks hid soldiers inside the Trojan Horse, which the Trojans brought inside the city’s walls. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts …

8 City in San Bernardino County : LOMA LINDA

Loma Linda is a city in California located not far from Los Angeles. The name Loma Linda translates from Spanish as “Beautiful Hill”.

9 BEFORE: Game with annoying pop-ups? : WHAC-A-MOLE (WHALE)

The Whac-A-Mole arcade game was invented in 1976. Players use a mallet to force five plastic moles back into their holes. Whacking the moles can be so frustrating that we sometimes use the term “whac-a-mole” to describe a repetitive and futile task.

11 High-fashion inits. : YSL

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

12 Cardiac conduit : ARTERY

Arteries are vessels that carry blood away from the heart, and veins are vessels carrying blood to the heart.

13 Smith who wrote “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” : BETTY

Betty Smith’s novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is a story that is largely autobiographical. The tree referenced in the title and the story is the “tree of heaven”, a deciduous variety native to China that was brought into the US in 1784. The tree is so successful here in America that it takes over vacant lots and many “waste” spaces of land, and is now considered to be a weed. An awfully big weed, I’d say …

14 Country whose national animal is the elephant : LAOS

The present-day nation of Laos can trace its roots back to the historic Lao kingdom of Lan Xang that existed from 1354 to 1707. The full name of the kingdom was “Lan Xang Hom Khao”, which translates as “The Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol”.

15 Member of an elite fighting force : US MARINE

Apparently, the US Marines were nicknamed “Teufel Hunden” (dogs from Hell”) by German soldiers during WWI, although this has been disputed. Notwithstanding, the “Devil Dog” nickname is still used today by the Marines, and with pride.

16 BEFORE: Theme park chain : SEAWORLD (SEAL)

SeaWorld was started in San Diego in 1964. The original plan was to build an underwater restaurant with a marine life show. Eventually the founders dropped the idea of the eating establishment and just went with a theme park. SeaWorld has been mired in controversy since the 2013 release of the documentary “Blackfish”, which tells of the involvement of a particular orca (killer whale) in the death of two SeaWorld employees and one SeaWorld visitor.

17 QVC alternative : HSN

The Home Shopping Network (HSN) was the first national shopping network, and was launched locally as the Home Shopping Club in Florida in 1982. Its first product was a can opener.

28 Meeting places : FORA

The Latin “forum” (plural “fora”) translates as “marketplace, town square”. “The Roman Forum” is the most famous example of such a space. The Forum at the heart of the city of Rome is surrounded by the ruins of several ancient government buildings, and has been referred to as the most celebrated meeting place in the world.

29 Basic cable channel : USA

The USA Network cable television channel has been around since 1971. Back in 1971, it was called the Madison Square Garden Network, and became USA in 1979.

44 Like some ancient Greek poetry : SAPPHIC

Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet born on the Greek island of Lesbos. Sappho was much admired for her work, although very little of it survives today. She was renowned for writing erotic and romantic verse that dealt with the love of women as well as men. It was because of this poetry that the word “lesbian” (someone from Lesbos) is used to describe a gay woman.

45 Cargo : FREIGHT

Cargo is freight carried by some vehicle. The term “cargo” comes into English via Spanish, ultimately deriving from the Latin “carricare” meaning “to load on a cart”.

55 Basic cable channel : TBS

The tbs cable television station started out in 1967 as a local broadcast TV station in Atlanta. The station’s first call letters were WJRJ-TV, and this was changed to WTCG in 1970 when it was acquired by Ted Turner (the TCG stood for Turner Communications Group). In 1976, Turner started distributing WTCG via satellite making its programming available in other parts of the country. WTCG was only the second channel to transmit via satellite, following HBO. The difference was that WTCG was broadcast without requiring a premium subscription. The station’s call sign was changed again in 1979 to WTBS, with “TBS” standing for Turner Broadcasting System. In 1981, the channel adopted the moniker “Superstation WTBS”.

57 Soccer star ___ Morgan : ALEX

Alex Morgan is a professional soccer player and co-captain of the US national team from 2018 to 2020. Off the pitch, Morgan is a children’s author who has written books for middle-schoolers. Her 2013 “Saving the Team” debuted at number seven on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children’s Middle Grade. Her books have been adapted into a TV show called “The Kicks”.

61 Scat syllable : DOO

Scat singing is a vocal improvisation found in the world of jazz. There aren’t any words as such in scat singing, just random nonsense syllables made up on the spot.

63 Suffix with Paul or marion : -ETTE

A marionette is a type of puppet, one that is controlled from above by a series of strings or wires. The term “marionette” is French for “little, little Mary” and is probably a reference to one of the first such puppets, which depicted the Virgin Mary.

65 Broadway letters of success : SRO

Standing room only (SRO)

67 Theme park known for its international food : EPCOT

EPCOT Center (now just called “Epcot”) is the theme park beside Walt Disney World in Florida. EPCOT is an acronym standing for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a representation of the future as envisioned by Walt Disney. Walt Disney actually wanted to build a living community for 20,000 residents at EPCOT, but he passed away without that vision being realized.

70 AFTER: Military pattern : CAMO

Our word “camouflage” (often abbreviated to “camo”) evolved directly from a Parisian slang term “camoufler” meaning “to disguise”. The term was first used in WWI, although the British navy at that time preferred the expression “dazzle-painting” as it applied to the pattern painted on the hulls of ships.

72 Brobdingnagian : GIANT

Brobdingnag is one of the lands visited by the hero in Jonathan Swift’s novel “Gulliver’s Travels”. Brobdingnag is inhabited by giants, so we use the term “brobdingnagian” to mean “huge, enormous”.

78 Houston sch. : TSU

Texas Southern University (TSU) is a school in Houston. TSU was founded as the Houston Colored Junior College in 1927.

83 Langston Hughes poem about racial inequality : I, TOO

Langston Hughes was a poet active in the Harlem Renaissance, and someone who helped develop the literary form known as “jazz poetry”. His poem “I, Too, Sing America” was published in 1925.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–

I, too, am America.

85 Baldwin who was the first to play Jack Ryan : ALEC

Alec Baldwin is the oldest of the acting Baldwin brothers. I think Alec’s big break was playing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October”, but thank goodness that role was taken over by Harrison Ford for the subsequent Jack Ryan movies. Baldwin also made a name for himself playing Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock”, opposite Tina Fey. More recently, he made a name for himself by impersonating President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”. Famously, Baldwin was involved in a tragic incident while filming a Western movie titled “Rust” in 2021. He discharged a revolver being used as a prop during a rehearsal, but the gun was loaded with live ammunition. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured.

88 Philip II of ___, father of Alexander the Great : MACEDON

Alexander the Great was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He spent much of his life on military campaigns, and his early victories led to the overthrow of the Persian King Darius III. Alexander eventually conquered the whole of the First Persian Empire, giving him rule of lands stretching from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

91 Solar phenomenon : SUNSPOT

Sunspots are temporary dark spots seen on our sun, the sites of intense magnetic activity accompanying a drop in surface temperature (hence the darkening in color).

93 “The Future of Law Enforcement,” according to a 1987 movie : ROBOCOP

“RoboCop” is a film released in 1987 starring Peter Weller in the title role. Weller wore a very impressive robot suit for the film, the most expensive item on the set, costing over a million dollars. Weller would lose three pounds a day in sweat alone as temperatures inside the suit went to over 100 degrees F.

96 AFTER: Actress Rowlands : GENA

Gena Rowlands is an actress best known for the films made with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes. Notably, Rowlands played a lead role opposite James Garner in the weepy, weepy 2004 film “The Notebook”. “The Notebook” was directed by her son Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands was nominated for Oscars for her performances in two films: “Gloria” (1980) and “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974).

99 Some linemen: Abbr. : RTS

In American football, right tackles (RTs) guard the quarterback (QB).

101 AFTER: Shakespearean title starter : ALL’S …

“All’s Well That Ends Well” is a play by William Shakespeare, one with elements of both tragedy and comedy. As such, “All’s Well That Ends Well” is classified as one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays”, plays of his that cannot be neatly classified as either tragedy or comedy.

105 Sails in a zigzag way : TACKS

“To tack” is a sailing term, one meaning “to veer into and through the wind in order to change course”. After the maneuver is completed, the wind is coming over the opposite side of the vessel.

106 Cape Colony settlers : BOERS

“Boer” is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for “farmer”, and a word that was used to describe the Dutch-speaking people who settled parts of South Africa during the 1700s.

108 Assistant of classic film : IGOR

In the world of movies, Igor has been the assistant to Dracula, Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein among others. Igor is almost invariably portrayed as a hunchback.

111 Painter Mondrian : PIET

Piet Mondrian was a painter from the Netherlands who also lived and worked in Paris, London and New York. Mondrian’s works ranged in style from Impressionism to Abstract.

113 Monopoly set, for short : RRS

The four railroad (RR) properties in the Monopoly board game are:

• Reading Railroad
• Pennsylvania Railroad
• B&O Railroad
• Short Line